The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Scotia Capital analyst Maher Yaghi has cut BCE to "sector perform" from "sector outperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Yaghi's share target fell by $2 to $64. Analysts on average target the shares at $65.40. After Rogers Communications closes on its purchase of Shaw Communications, Mr. Yaghi believes the Canadian telecom industry will be entering "a more challenging period." This led him to have valuation concerns, thus prompting his downgrade. Mr. Yaghi says in a note: "We expect the combination of increased regulatory risk and change in market structure to likely lead to increased pressure on broadband and wireless prices. ... BCE will likely face tougher comparables in Q1 in part due to a retroactive adjustment last year that helped the media business. However, in addition to media, the combined wireline/wireless segment will likely show weaker margins as the company continues to grapple with inflationary costs, higher marketing spend on FTTH and increased promotional pricing. ... Overall we expect the company's consolidated EBITDA to decline by 2 per cent year-over-year in Q1 compared to the 2023 annual guidance growth of 2 to 5 per cent."