The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Dec. 8, edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Chris MacCulloch has reaffirmed his "buy" recommendation for Tamarack Valley Energy. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. MacCulloch gave his share target a 50-cent trim to $5.50. Analysts on average target the shares at $5.69. While he reduced his forecast for Tamarack Valley in response to its 2024 corporate budget, Mr. MacCulloch continues to see it as his top pick in the small-cap oil space, citing "its discounted valuation and attractive Clearwater and Charlie Lake asset base," which he sees as "highly defensive in a downward commodity price environment." Mr. MacCulloch says in a note: "That said, we acknowledge that elevated debt levels remain a point of caution, even with an expanded hedge book. ... With the benefit of hindsight, [Wednesday's] negative market reaction to the update is less surprising, although we still believe it was largely overdone. In particular, the Canadian heavy oil complex came under renewed pressure following indications of yet another TMX delay, not to mention the broader pullback in global oil prices. It was a tough day to release 2024 guidance, or much of anything, for that matter."