The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Jerome Dubreuil has elevated his recommendation of BCE to "buy" from "hold." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Dubreuil hiked his share target to $40 from $39. Analysts on average target the shares at $34.10. After an examination of its U.S. plans, Mr. Dubreuil changed his view on BCE's $5-billion acquisition of Internet provider Ziply Fiber, leading him to issue a ratings upgrade. Mr. Dubreuil says in a note: "We now better appreciate the merits of Ziply. We believe Ziply would have generated greater returns in the hands of a U.S. wireless operator for the same price. However, that does not mean the deal is de facto bad for BCE. Rather, we believe the deal solves BCE's challenge to (1) deliver sustainable EBITDA growth from core competencies; (2) ensure the acquired business had sufficient scale to move the needle; (3) avoid putting its balance sheet at risk; and (4) keep investment requirements small enough to support a deleveraging plan that appeared credible to investors. ... The market has thus far been skeptical of BCE's U.S. plan, partly due to the deal's complexity and high price tag."