Payroll employment edged up 0.1% in April, the second straight monthly gain…

… driven by strength in health care and public administration, which offset a 2% decline in computer systems design.

Meanwhile, job openings remain range bound - ticking down to ~490K for a vacancy rate of 2.7%…

… indicating there’s still plenty of slack in the labour market, with ~3 job seekers per available seat.

Jamieson Wellness (JWEL) ran 10% after receiving an unsolicited offer that triggered a strategic review, which could attract more bids given the growth profile…

… and relatively inelastic demand within consumer discretionary, thanks to an aging population and a more health-focused younger demographic.

With those two dynamics working for it, private capital should be more than willing to look past some near-term margin compression as new geographies mature…

… leaving another ~15% upside from here if a deal gets done at JWEL’s long-term average valuation, similar to recent Canadian take-privates we’ve seen.

Aecon (ARE) should be up today after announcing it bought the remaining 27.5% of its utilities business for $320M, or 13x LTM EBITDA - below where it trades…

… despite the segment’s attractive outlook, with roughly half of its LTM revenue tied to electrical end markets where demand is ramping up - as evidenced by Toromont’s $1B of new power systems orders.

MDA Space (MDA) has traded down ~7% since Wednesday despite its $688M deal with the Canadian Space Agency…

… and a smaller one with Mitsubishi. While clearly positives for the company, the stock seems like it’s losing momentum - giving back all of the gains from its $874M BCT acquisition and then some.

Blackberry (BB) ran nearly 20% on the back of its Q1 results, which beat big on both revenue and margins…

… thanks to strong numbers out of the company’s QNX and Secure Communications segments. That prompted a bump to management guidance, which now calls for 10% Y/Y revenue growth…

… making its near-10x NTM sales multiple look rich if the company can’t execute on its medium term growth drivers (Alloy Kore, GEM, etc.).

Was this forwarded to you? Join 10,000+ investors reading The Morning Meeting by clicking the button below.