The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that according to ATB Capital Markets analyst Patrick O'Rourke, the Canadian energy market has recently started to distinguish between higher and lower quality business models. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that this differentiation has been driven by a merger and acquisition cycle that has highlighted the value of inventory in transaction multiples. Mr. O'Rourke says in a note: "As a result of the clear differentiation, we currently view stock picking within the sector as inherently more challenging, where investors will have to weigh a trade-off between lower-quality and higher-risk business models and assets at cheaper valuations and higher-quality, lower-risk assets at more expensive valuations, and the breadth of alpha is likely to narrow. We favour higher-quality business models at opportunistic valuations." Mr. O'Rourke has reaffirmed his "outperform" recommendation for Canadian Natural Resources. He gave his share target a $7 boost to $107. Analysts on average target the shares at $107.79. The Globe reported on April 18 that Mr. O'Rourke had reaffirmed his "outperform" call on Canadian Natural. It was then worth $82.23.