The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Stifel analyst Alex Terentiew has lowered his recommendation for First Quantum Minerals to "hold" from "buy." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Terentiew is sticking with his $39 share target. Analysts on average target the shares at $36.51. Mr. Terentiew issued his downgrade despite an "operationally strong" second quarter. He based his negative rating turn on First Quantum's recent share-price outperformance and a heightened valuation versus peers. Mr. Terentiew says in a note: "With one of the strongest management teams in the business and a moderate growth profile, we continue to like First Quantum as a core holding in the sector. However, the company's valuation, we believe, now reflects most of the positive attributes and we see more relative share price upside in some of the company's peers. ... First Quantum posted a production beat, but a miss on financials owing to higher costs. However, the company positively maintained 2023 guidance, while we had been anticipating a downgrade. ... On a CuEq basis, First Quantum posted a 7 per cent beat, with all-in costs coming in slightly better than our estimates."