The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that in response to Lithium Royalty's agreement to be acquired by Altius Minerals in a stock-and-cash deal valued at about $520-million, Raymond James analyst Brian MacArthur lowered his call for Lithium Royalty to "market perform" from "outperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. MacArthur gave his share target a 50-cent boost to $9.50, a buck under the consensus. Mr. MacArthur says in a note: "We believe royalty companies like LIRC offer equity investors diversified exposure to commodity prices while mitigating downside risk given limited exposure to operating and capital costs. At the same time, upside optionality exists through exploration and asset expansion potential. The large projected growth in lithium demand to supply EVs and energy storage is likely to require substantial new lithium supply and numerous lithium companies exist with potential projects. LIRC's royalty portfolio is focused on lithium assets with lower jurisdictional risk, higher grade (and therefore lower costs), longer duration, and backed by some strong operators." Mr. MacArthur raised his Altius share target to a Street-high of $43 from $40 with an "outperform" rating.