The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Aug. 27, edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Chris MacCulloch has elevated his recommendation for Whitecap Resources to "buy" from "hold." The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. MacCulloch gave his share target a 50-cent boost to $12.50. Analysts on average target the shares at $13.17. Whitecap has returned 17.5 per cent since Desjardins downgraded the stock on June 3, more than double the return of the energy index. "Simply put, we got the call wrong," Desjardins conceded. Mr. MacCulloch says in a note: "Following several rounds of positive estimate revisions since early June and the company's stellar 2Q25 financial results, we have gained better comfort in the resilience of the business model in a softer commodity price environment, including its ability to sustain the 73 cents/share annual dividend. Moreover, we recognize that our model retains some degree of conservatism following the massive 2Q25 cash flow beat, which could support continued outperformance, particularly with respect to the $210-million of identified synergies from the Veren transaction, which we ultimately expect to be lapped. Bottom line, we see a green light to return to the story."