The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Feb. 6, edition that a legal claim against Primero Mining ($2.25) from the Mexican tax authority (SAT) has prompted Canaccord Genuity analyst Rahul Paul to lower his recommendation for the stock to "hold" from "buy." The Globe's David Leeder writes that while Canaccord considers the legal claim to be "without merit," Mr. Paul says the SAT's efforts to nullify the 2012 APA (Advance Pricing Agreement) ruling lowers the likelihood that the ruling can be extended beyond 2014. He says: "We have updated our valuation and forecasts to assume that the company would pay taxes at spot silver prices going forward (2015 and beyond) but no additional taxes payable for the period covering the duration of the APA ruling (2010 -- 2014). We estimate an additional $30-million to $35-million in annual cash outflow going forward under this scenario (vs. our prior published forecasts), which lowers our NAVPS estimate by 45 per cent to $3.74/share." An out-of-court settlement is the preferred means to settle the issue, "whereby Primero negotiates a compromise (going forward) with the SAT and the current claim is withdrawn," says Mr. Paul. He cut his price target from $4.75 to $2.75.