(Every week, Business Edge columnist Gyle Konotopetz profiles the top three stock picks of one of Canada’s most accomplished investment pros.)

FEATURED PRO: Jean-Francois Tardif is a portfolio manager with Sprott Asset Management (www.sprott.ca). The independent brokerage specializes in small- and mid-cap stocks with high growth potential and also manages a hedge fund.

* Fund Form: The Sprott Canadian Equity Fund is down
3.3 per cent in the past 12 months compared to the group average of 19.6 per cent, while the Sprott Gold and Precious Metals Fund has returned 21.5 per cent compared to the group average of +10.1 per cent.

Tardif’s Perspective: “Quite simply, we don’t like the overall stock market and we’re short-selling most of the market, but we continue to focus on gold. If the U.S. dollar keeps plunging, the stock market will continue to go down and gold will continue its rally.

“We also like oil and gas stocks, particularly natural gas (weighted) companies as we expect a big spike in the price of natural gas. We think there will be another squeeze in natural gas (supplies) this summer as there was the past winter, and there will also likely be another squeeze next winter.”



FIRST STAR
* Orvana Minerals (ORV-TSX)
* Recent Price: $1.18.
* 52-Week Range: 0.40-$1.40.
* Snapshot: Orvana is a gold exploration company that is nearing completion of construction of its core property – the Don Mario mine in Bolivia.
* CEO: Jaime Urjel.
* Head Office: Mississauga, Ont.
* Vital Stats: Revenue (last 12 mos), $169,896; Profit/Loss (last 12 mos), $947,556; Market Cap, $131.44 million; Shares Outstanding, 111.39 million.
* Tardif’s View: “This is a stock that is leveraged to price of gold rising. We like management, we like the assets and they will be going into production soon.”
* Tardif’s Risk Rating: High.
* Web watch: www.orvana.com



SECOND STAR
* Golden Star Resources (GSC-TSX)
* Recent Price: $2.67.
* 52-Week Range: $1.10-$3.79.
* Snapshot: Golden Star produced 124,400 ounces of gold from its open-pit mine in Ghana in 2002 and has been increasing its land holdings in West Africa.
* CEO: Peter Bradford.
* Head Office: Littleton, Colo. (1,084 employees).
* Vital Stats (U.S. funds): Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 30.0; Revenue (last 12 mos), $59.9 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 224.1%; Profit (last 12 mos), $7.6 million; Market Cap, $259.7 million; Shares Outstanding, 97.27 million.
* Tardif’s View: “This company already has earnings and they’re planning to grow their production. At the current price, we think it’s a reasonably cheap stock.”
* Tardif’s Risk Rating: High.
* Web watch: www.gsr.com



THIRD STAR
* Bonavista Petroleum (BNP-TSX)
* Recent Price: $34.
* 52-Week Range: $25.50-$36.50.
* Snapshot: Bonavista recently joined the hot trend in the oilpatch, announcing that it was converting 90 per cent of its producing assets into an income trust and spinning off the remainder of its operations into a
junior company. The restructuring has yet to be completed.
* CEO: Keith MacPhail.
* Head Office: Calgary (67 employees).
* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 15.1; Revenue (last 12 mos), $288.6 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 103.7%; Profit (last 12 mos), $52.1
million; Market Cap, $1.12 billion; Shares Outstanding, $32.94 million.
* Tardif’s View: “This is one of the best-managed companies in the industry and I think the stock is undervalued here, based on what the company will look like when it completes its transformation into a royalty trust. I expect that this management will be able to grow the new junior company at a very interesting rate.”
* Tardif’s Risk Rating: High.
* Web watch: www.bonavistapete.com
* Tardif’s Edge Record: -1.6%. Best Pick: Eldorado Gold (ELD-TSX) +38.3%. Worst Pick: High River Gold (HRG-TSX) -19.3%.
* Disclosure: Tardif says he owns the funds in which the featured stocks are held.