The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, March 13, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Vishal Shreedhar has reaffirmed his "sector perform" recommendation for Lassonde Industries. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Shreedhar jacked his share target up by $14 to $213. Analysts on average target the shares at $217. Mr. Shreedhar says in a note: "We consider Lassonde to be a company with turnaround potential, predominantly within the U.S. operations. If the U.S. business returns to historical EBIT margins, we estimate more than 10-per-cent upside to our 2026 EPS estimates. That said, we believe that heightened expected capex alters the thesis from what was strictly a turnaround story. We model 8.4-per-cent sales growth year-over-year (excluding acquisitions and FX), reflecting higher year-over-year pricing and volumes (additional volumes from the new single-serve line in North Carolina). Our blended input cost index suggests continued pressure; notwithstanding, we model gross margin rate expansion of 150 basis points year-over-year (excl. acquisitions) largely reflecting lower conversion costs and pricing."