The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Nov. 16, edition that Desjardins Securities analyst John Sclodnick has upgraded Marathon Gold to "tender" from "buy." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Sclodnick slashed his share target by $1.53 to 72 cents. Analysts on average target the shares at $1.34. Mr. Sclodnick made his rating change following the announcement of Marathon Gold's deal to be acquired by Calibre Mining, believing it "appears to be [the] only way forward." Mr. Sclodnick says in a note: "We certainly view it as a disappointing outcome for a quality Canadian project. However, given Marathon Gold was significantly underfunded in a challenging financing market, the Calibre Mining offer appears to be the best solution for Marathon shareholders, who can continue to participate in the potential rerating of Calibre's undervalued shares. We had previously modelled a $70-million funding gap for Marathon to complete the Valentine Gold project as per the latest study. However, if management were to proceed with its proposed larger throughput upfront, that funding gap would have increased to $100-million, or 35 per cent of the company's market cap."