EM PM, Ecstrat

Emad Mostaque

EM PM

Ecstrat

Ecstrat is a consultancy advising on asset allocation between global equity markets, with a focus on the intersection of governments, geopolitics, governance and markets.
 
Over the past few years and more especially since the Great Financial Crisis (GFC), investors have become more focused on short-term market movements and real-time returns and have consequently neglected the analysis of the underlying structural themes that underpin longer term performance.
​
More specifically we believe that the evolution of governance-based relationships between investors, controlling shareholders, labour and the state is one of the primary determinants of both relative and absolute performance between individual equity markets.
 
We will endeavour to provide investors with some of the context surrounding governance-related issues which encompass many different disciplines including history, economics and political science, as well as the financial metrics which are the most obvious manifestation of the structural characteristics of each market.
 
We will pay particular attention to the shifts and potential inflection points for governance in individual markets as these are often the best lead indicators for both economic and market performance.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ol><li>Align yourself with the Qatar government, $200bn in GDP, $200bn in assets for 200,000 civilians who own 96% of the stock market. Qatar Investment Fund, a $200m closed end fund listed in London run by Qatar Insurance giving you exposure to the Qatar index at a discount to NAV. Returned over 20% last year (dollar pegged) despite oil prices halving, will likely return double digits over the next 7-10 years annually. </li><li>Buy Iran as soon as it opens, currently under 6x PE with double digit dividends. I believe an Iran deal is likely in the next few months. One of the funds I advise hopes to have an easy to access listed fund to make things easier once SWIFT sanctions are removed </li><li>Buy oil for delivery in 2 years either direct or through options. You may not make as much as spot, but if I (and more importantly T Boone Pickens) are right, it should offer 20%+ return at the least with minimal downside risk unless someone decides to spend hundreds of billions in exploration or the world economy completely collapses. Buy Brent as the Brent-WTI spread will gap out into the middle of the year on Cushing inventory build due to the contango in the curve. </li></ol>

Align yourself with the Qatar government, $200bn in GDP, $200bn in assets for 200,000 civilians who own 96% of the stock market. Qatar Investment Fund, a $200m closed end fund listed in London run by Qatar Insurance giving you exposure to the Qatar index at a discount to NAV. Returned over 20% last year (dollar pegged) despite oil prices halving, will likely return double digits over the next 7-10 years annually. Buy Iran as soon as it opens, currently under 6x PE with double digit dividends. I believe an Iran deal is likely in the next few months. One of the funds I advise hopes to have an easy to access listed fund to make things easier once SWIFT sanctions are removed Buy oil for delivery in 2 years either direct or through options. You may not make as much as spot, but if I (and more importantly T Boone Pickens) are right, it should offer 20%+ return at the least with minimal downside risk unless someone decides to spend hundreds of billions in exploration or the world economy completely collapses. Buy Brent as the Brent-WTI spread will gap out into the middle of the year on Cushing inventory build due to the contango in the curve. 

Director, Head of Research, Smartkarma

Pranav Rao

Director, Head of Research

Smartkarma

Smartkarma unites the fragmented investment industry, connecting institutional investors, independent research providers, and corporates within a single network.

Research Reinvented

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,300+ insights published on Smartkarma.</li>
<li>In this cut, we review the outlook for energy markets amid the Persian Gulf conflict, highlight coverage of gold miners large and small, and identify opportunities in Japanese financials.</li>
<li>Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next.</li>
</ul>


Welcome to Curator’s Cut - a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,300+ insights published on Smartkarma.
In this cut, we review the outlook for energy markets amid the Persian Gulf conflict, highlight coverage of gold miners large and small, and identify opportunities in Japanese financials.
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message with the themes you’d like to see highlighted next.


Curator's Cut: Crude Reality, Reshuffling Gold Miners & Banking on Japanese Fintech

European Event-Driven Analyst

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

<ul>
<li>Repsol Is evaluating a spin-off and potential reverse merger with APA Corp (APA US) to list its upstream division in the U.S., accelerating its planned 2026 “liquidity event.”</li>
<li>A U.S. listing could narrow Repsol’s valuation gap versus American E&amp;Ps, surface hidden upstream value, and improve liquidity, while management insists on maintaining ≥51 % ownership of the new entity.</li>
<li>The proposed structure offers upside asymmetry: even if talks stall, Repsol retains IPO or private-placement options; a completed deal could unlock 15–25 % SOTP upside through U.S. multiple convergence.</li>
</ul>


Repsol Is evaluating a spin-off and potential reverse merger with APA Corp (APA US) to list its upstream division in the U.S., accelerating its planned 2026 “liquidity event.”
A U.S. listing could narrow Repsol’s valuation gap versus American E&amp;Ps, surface hidden upstream value, and improve liquidity, while management insists on maintaining ≥51 % ownership of the new entity.
The proposed structure offers upside asymmetry: even if talks stall, Repsol retains IPO or private-placement options; a completed deal could unlock 15–25 % SOTP upside through U.S. multiple convergence.


Repsol: Evaluating Reverse Merger with APA — Fast-Track to U.S. Listing

Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>The second quarter of 2025 was notable for APA Corporation, reflecting significant operational and financial strides.</li>
<li>The company reported consolidated net income of $603 million, with an adjusted net income at $313 million, indicating strong financial health.</li>
<li>The quarter's performance benefited from asset sales in New Mexico and effective trading operations, and the company noted a marked improvement in operational efficiency across its portfolio.</li>
</ul>


The second quarter of 2025 was notable for APA Corporation, reflecting significant operational and financial strides.
The company reported consolidated net income of $603 million, with an adjusted net income at $313 million, indicating strong financial health.
The quarter's performance benefited from asset sales in New Mexico and effective trading operations, and the company noted a marked improvement in operational efficiency across its portfolio.


APA Corporation Partners with TotalEnergies—Will This Offshore Alliance Be a Game-Changer?

US-EU Index Rebalances / Quantitative Researcher

Dimitris Ioannidis

Global Financial Data and Analytics Platform

ORTEX

ORTEX is a global financial data and analytics platform providing real-time securities lending and short interest data, index rebalance data, holdings and insider transactions, trading signals, corporate actions and news,  stock machine learning and factor scores and other analytics. The majority of the data are downloadable and accessible through APIs.

Index Rebalance

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US)</a> became eligible for inclusion in S&amp;P500 following its quarterly earnings of $10bn on 31 July.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/robinhood-markets-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33532:1" rel="noopener">Robinhood Markets (HOOD US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/microstrategy-inc-cl-a" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14717:1" rel="noopener">Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US)</a>, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/applovin-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:32989:1" rel="noopener">AppLovin (APP US)</a> are the main candidates for addition from TMI at the September 2025 review.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/interactive-brokers-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13335:1" rel="noopener">Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (IBKR US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/emcor-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20703:1" rel="noopener">Emcor Group Inc (EME US)</a> are the main candidates for addition from MidCap at the September 2025 review.</li>
</ul>



Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US) became eligible for inclusion in S&amp;P500 following its quarterly earnings of $10bn on 31 July.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD US), Microstrategy Inc Cl A (MSTR US), and AppLovin (APP US) are the main candidates for addition from TMI at the September 2025 review.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc (IBKR US) and Emcor Group Inc (EME US) are the main candidates for addition from MidCap at the September 2025 review.


S&P500 September 2025 Initial Forecast: MicroStrategy (MSTR) Emerges Post-Earnings

United States

APA Corporation operates as an oil and gas company. The Company focuses on exploration and production of oil and gas properties. APA serves clients worldwide.

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APA (APA US)

Islam, Terror, Politics and Oil - Part 1

Align yourself with the Qatar government, $200bn in GDP, $200bn in assets for 200,000 civilians who own 96% of the stock market. Qatar Investment...

Emad Mostaque

Curator's Cut: Crude Reality, Reshuffling Gold Miners & Banking on Japanese Fintech

This Curator's Cut highlights energy market outlook, gold miners coverage, and opportunities in Japanese financials from Smartkarma insights....

Pranav Rao

Repsol: Evaluating Reverse Merger with APA — Fast-Track to U.S. Listing

Repsol is exploring a reverse merger of its upstream unit with APA Corp to fast-track a NYSE listing, unlocking U.S. valuation multiples while...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

APA Corporation Partners with TotalEnergies—Will This Offshore Alliance Be a Game-Changer?

The company reported consolidated net income of $603 million, with an adjusted net income at $313 million, indicating strong financial health.

Baptista Research

S&P500 September 2025 Initial Forecast: MicroStrategy (MSTR) Emerges Post-Earnings

MSTR is now eligible for S&P500 inclusion after reporting $10bn in Q2 earnings on July 31, joining HOOD, IBKR, EME and APP among the top candidates...

Dimitris Ioannidis

Price Gauge

52-week Range

Market Cap (USDm)

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Islam, Terror, Politics and Oil - Part 1

Align yourself with the Qatar government, $200bn in GDP, $200bn in assets for 200,000 civilians who own 96% of the stock market. Qatar Investment...

Emad Mostaque

Curator's Cut: Crude Reality, Reshuffling Gold Miners & Banking on Japanese Fintech

​This Curator's Cut highlights energy market outlook, gold miners coverage, and opportunities in Japanese financials from Smartkarma insights....

Pranav Rao

Repsol: Evaluating Reverse Merger with APA — Fast-Track to U.S. Listing

Repsol is exploring a reverse merger of its upstream unit with APA Corp to fast-track a NYSE listing, unlocking U.S. valuation multiples while...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

APA Corporation Partners with TotalEnergies—Will This Offshore Alliance Be a Game-Changer?

The company reported consolidated net income of $603 million, with an adjusted net income at $313 million, indicating strong financial health.

Baptista Research

S&P500 September 2025 Initial Forecast: MicroStrategy (MSTR) Emerges Post-Earnings

MSTR is now eligible for S&P500 inclusion after reporting $10bn in Q2 earnings on July 31, joining HOOD, IBKR, EME and APP among the top candidates...

Dimitris Ioannidis

This Curator's Cut highlights energy market outlook, gold miners coverage, and opportunities in Japanese financials from Smartkarma insights....