The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that in the wake of Barrick Gold's Investor Day event in New York on Nov. 22, National Bank analyst Mike Parkin reaffirmed his "sector perform" recommendation for its shares, however, he acknowledged the possibility of becoming "more positive on the name as it works through some near-term challenges, and we get closer to the operational upside from the internal project pipeline." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Parkin lowered his share target by a loonie to $27. Analysts on average target the shares at $34.47. Mr. Parkin says in a note: "We remain modestly conservative to [Barrick's] new capex guidance to reflect future inflation, as well as potential additional challenges in ramping the asset up to full capacity. We incorporated the planned 35-day shutdown at the PV mill in 1Q25 as management noted it plans to revamp the thickener as it currently pushes too much water into the autoclave circuit. Additionally, we took a more conservative approach to the ramp-up on both throughput and costs, given the challenges experienced at the site thus far." With his changes, Mr. Parkin reduced his earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization expectations.