The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Oct. 17, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Ahmed Abdullah assumed coverage of Lassonde Industries with a "sector perform" recommendation, seeing "early signs of progress" from its ongoing turnaround process while warning of growing capital expenditures. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Abdullah set a Street-low share target of $237. Analysts on average target the shares at $255.50. Mr. Abdullah says in a note: "In early 2022, Lassonde began a multiyear strategy focused on three pillars: building a growth-oriented portfolio, driving sustainable performance and improving operational agility. The plan targets accelerated sales growth, margin enhancement and overall profitability, aiming for a $3-billion sales run rate by the end of 2026 via organic expansion, M&A and capital investments. Lassonde executed early operational improvements through investments and production relocations at underperforming U.S. sites, aiding margin recovery since 2022. ... Lassonde has always traded at a discount, partly due to its exposure to lower growth segments, margin erosion (now improving), operational issues, ongoing investments and limited trading liquidity."