The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Jan. 15, edition that Canaccord Genuity analyst Dalton Baretto raised Silvercorp Metals ($7.60) to "buy" from "hold" based on valuation. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Baretto bumped his share target up to $11 from $10.75. Analysts on average target the shares at $10.56. Mr. Baretto says in a note: "[Silvercorp's] shares recorded a 16-per-cent gain in calendar 2020, underperforming the peer group average of 51 per cent, despite a 45-per-cent rally in the silver price. Based on our conversations with investors, the true value proposition of the company is not well understood, as it is overshadowed by the China-centric presence, exposure to 'secondary metals' (silver, lead and zinc), non-traditional pricing structure (given methodology at Chinese smelters) and limited scale. The hallmark event for Silvercorp in 2020 was the attempted acquisition of Guyana Goldfields; ultimately Silvercorp was outbid by deep-pocketed Chinese entity Zijin Mining. We believe an M&A overhang may also be responsible for Silvercorp's underperformance in 2020." The Globe reported on Sept. 16 that Mr. Baretto rated Silvercorp "hold" in new coverage, when it was worth $11.19.