Following the private placement of a $175-million senior secured green bond, National Bank’s Rupert Merer increased his Polaris Renewable Energy Inc. target to $23 from $20 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $23.42. “PIF continues to make the right moves to diversify the business, optimize its existing footprint and add flexibility to its balance sheet,” he said. “With this, we raise our target ... based on a long-term DCF with a 12.5-per-cent discount rate (was 13 per cent), driven by lower country risk premium (with its diversification), and a lower 12-month forecast for the Cda 10-yr bond (now 2.65 per cent, was 2.95 per cent). If PIF shares do not re-rate over the medium term, we would not be surprised to see private equity interest.”