The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, May 16, edition that Stifel analyst Ian Gillies has downgraded Neo Performance Materials to "hold" from "buy." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Gillies slashed his share target by $4.75 to $8.25. Analysts on average target the shares at $14.85. Before the bell on Friday, Neo reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1-million, fell below Mr. Gillies's $11-million estimate and the consensus expectation of $13-million. Mr. Gillies says in a note: "The miss emanated from higher cost inventory from prior periods being sold at lower prices during the current period. We had expected this to occur, but not at this magnitude. Magnequench volume related issues in 1Q23 have persisted into 2Q23 and are expected for at least the next few quarters. In an effort to manage this risk, the company has significant reduced its head count in this segment. Moreover, it is working to identify ways to structurally improve the business, such as reducing the lead-lag time of three to five months. Margin issues are expected to persist through 3Q23E, but should return to a normalized level in 2024."