by Stockwatch Business Reporter
Alternative trading systems in Canada, handled 31.9 per cent of trading volume during the week ended Dec. 7, 2012. As usual, Alpha Exchange was in the lead, with an average of 109 million shares a day or 14.8 per cent of volume. Chi-X Canada came second, with an average of 80 million shares a day or 10.9 per cent of volume. Pure Trading took third place with 14.6 million shares or 1.9 per cent of volume. Then there were dark pool Match Now with 12.2 million shares or 1.6 per cent, Omega ATS with 11.2 million shares or 1.5 per cent and TMX Select with 7.1 million shares or 0.9 per cent. The Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange were left with a healthy 68.1 per cent of volume.
Looking at those securities listed only on the TSX, the exchange had 62 per cent of volume. Alpha captured 16.5 per cent, Chi-X captured 13.2 per cent and together the other ATSs handled 8.3 per cent.
After last week, when the TMX Group reported its lower trading volumes for November, one security analyst fiddled with his rating, and got his fiddle reported as news. The Financial Post reported that GMP Securities analyst Stephen Boland changed his lukewarm buy rating to hold, and cut his price target of the stock, then $50.88, to $51 from $52. He also decreased his 2012 earnings-per-share forecast by one Canadian penny to $2.15, and his 2013 EPS forecast by four Canadian pennies to $4.08. He says the stock is fully valued, but there might be room for growth outside Canada.