'Quantamental' Japan Specialist, LightStream Research

Campbell Gunn

'Quantamental' Japan Specialist

ja research

ja research is an independent research platform focused exclusively on Japanese equities. Leveraging data and graphic analysis provided by Japan Analytics, we provide insights on small and medium-sized companies that have been ignored by the sell-side as well as challenging conventional wisdom on larger companies. We also offer analyst and corporate access, the latter with translation if required. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/116/923/original/2020-02-08_18-15-45.png?1581196263" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="116923"></figure><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/116/924/original/2020-02-09_06-34-51.png?1581197706" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="116924"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source • Japan Analytics</div><div class="content-caption"></div><p><strong>OOOPS!</strong> - The 480 quarterly results announced on Friday subtracted a further 20 basis points from our Results Score. If the remaining 38% of companies continue this trend, the current quarter will equal CQ2019-1 and CQ2018-2 in seeing a 200 basis point Results Score decline. 169 forecasts or revision announcements added  5bps to the Forecast/Revision Score, supported by slight upward revisions from <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/softbank-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27445:1" rel="noopener">Softbank Corp (9434 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/honda-motor-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:154:1" rel="noopener">Honda Motor (7267 JP)</a>.  The Results Score has dipped below the Forecast/Revision Score for the first time since July 2016 and is a necessary precursor of the bottoming of the cycle. Japan is now in a recession and could see a decline in GDP for the calendar year. The market's current optimism (aided by the Bank of Japan's buy-the-dips support programme) is more appropriate to the middle of the cycle and, with two further poor earnings quarters ahead, suggests limited further upside. </p><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/116/925/original/2020-02-08_10-48-19.png?1581199859" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="116925"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source • Japan Analytics</div><p><strong>18x EARNINGS</strong> - Trailing-twelve-month (TTM) Operating Income for the composite of listed companies has declined to ¥57.4t, 10% below the peak of early 2019. TTM Net Income has declined by 20% over the same period, resulting in a 6.1 point increase in the market price-earnings ratio to 17.6 times.</p><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/116/927/original/2020-02-08_10-55-21.png?1581200256" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="116927"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source • Japan Analytics</div><p style="text-align: left;"><strong>TTM RESULTS</strong> - TTM Operating Profits have been declining quarter-on-quarter for five straight quarters, and are 8.1% lower year-on-year. The Operating Margin has declined from 7.45% to 6.80%. TTM Revenues are now also falling and have only increased by 0.7% year-on-year.</p><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/116/928/original/2020-02-08_10-59-00.png?1581200533" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="116928"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source • Japan Analytics</div><p><strong>FORECASTS</strong> - The year-on-year Operating Profit decline using current forecasts is 8.5%, while Revenues are flat. Revenue forecasts have been falling quarter-on-quarter for three quarters in a row. The 'uplift' from TTM to Forecast is just ¥3t for sales and ¥0.3t for OP. </p>

Source • Japan AnalyticsOOOPS! - The 480 quarterly results announced on Friday subtracted a further 20 basis points from our Results Score. If the remaining 38% of companies continue this trend, the current quarter will equal CQ2019-1 and CQ2018-2 in seeing a 200 basis point Results Score decline. 169 forecasts or revision announcements added  5bps to the Forecast/Revision Score, supported by slight upward revisions from Softbank Corp (9434 JP) and Honda Motor (7267 JP).  The Results Score has dipped below the Forecast/Revision Score for the first time since July 2016 and is a necessary precursor of the bottoming of the cycle. Japan is now in a recession and could see a decline in GDP for the calendar year. The market's current optimism (aided by the Bank of Japan's buy-the-dips support programme) is more appropriate to the middle of the cycle and, with two further poor earnings quarters ahead, suggests limited further upside. Source • Japan Analytics18x EARNINGS - Trailing-twelve-month (TTM) Operating Income for the composite of listed companies has declined to ¥57.4t, 10% below the peak of early 2019. TTM Net Income has declined by 20% over the same period, resulting in a 6.1 point increase in the market price-earnings ratio to 17.6 times.Source • Japan AnalyticsTTM RESULTS - TTM Operating Profits have been declining quarter-on-quarter for five straight quarters, and are 8.1% lower year-on-year. The Operating Margin has declined from 7.45% to 6.80%. TTM Revenues are now also falling and have only increased by 0.7% year-on-year.Source • Japan AnalyticsFORECASTS - The year-on-year Operating Profit decline using current forecasts is 8.5%, while Revenues are flat. Revenue forecasts have been falling quarter-on-quarter for three quarters in a row. The 'uplift' from TTM to Forecast is just ¥3t for sales and ¥0.3t for OP. 

🇯🇵 JAPAN • Results & Revisions Daily Roundup - 7th February ▲2121 7267 5713 ▼ 5401 9616 3407

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

MSCI Emerging Markets Index / Technical Analysis

<p style="text-align: justify;">We continue to believe the weight of the evidence points to a new leg higher for global equities, a viewpoint that is supported by the several international markets that are breaking out to new highs or making bullish inflections since our previous <em>Int’l Compass </em>(10/31/19). While developments continue to lean bullish, global equities have rallied substantially since the start of October, making it perfectly reasonable to expect some consolidation of recent gains which would allow for a more meaningful move higher.</p>

We continue to believe the weight of the evidence points to a new leg higher for global equities, a viewpoint that is supported by the several international markets that are breaking out to new highs or making bullish inflections since our previous Int’l Compass (10/31/19). While developments continue to lean bullish, global equities have rallied substantially since the start of October, making it perfectly reasonable to expect some consolidation of recent gains which would allow for a more meaningful move higher.

Global Equity Strategy: The Pause that Refreshes?

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

<p><strong>The South Korean government announced today that it will officially exclude Japan from its "whitelist" of preferred trading countries with fast track status starting September.</strong> This report provides details of what this mean for Japan and South Korea. The exclusion of Japan from this whitelist means that some of the products that are exported from South Korea to Japan (especially related to weapons production and machine tools) will likely face a lot stricter permit review processes that could face some delays. </p><p>According to the Korean government, there are 1,735 strategic material items that are exported from South Korea to Japan, of which <a href="https://www.mk.co.kr/news/economy/view/2019/08/622290/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1,138 items will be changed into an individual permit approval process. </a>Of the major exports to Japan from South Korea in 2018, the petroleum products were the highest amount ($5.1 billion), followed by steel ($4.0 billion), general machinery ($3.0 billion), petrochemicals ($2.1 billion), agriculture products/foods ($2.0 billion), and semiconductor products ($1.2 billion). </p><p>In this report, we also provided a list of 25 companies in the Japanese stock market that are negatively impacted by a prolonged trade war between Japan and South Korea. These 25 stocks, including <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/asahi-kasei-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19771:1" rel="noopener">Asahi Kasei (3407 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/panasonic-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:222:1" rel="noopener">Panasonic Corp (6752 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/japan-airport-terminal-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18034:1" rel="noopener">Japan Airport Terminal Co (9706 JP)</a>, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toray-industries-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:625:1" rel="noopener">Toray Industries (3402 JP)</a> are down on average 3.4% from end of June (day before Japanese initially announced economic restriction against South Korea) to August 12th, 2019.</p>

The South Korean government announced today that it will officially exclude Japan from its "whitelist" of preferred trading countries with fast track status starting September. This report provides details of what this mean for Japan and South Korea. The exclusion of Japan from this whitelist means that some of the products that are exported from South Korea to Japan (especially related to weapons production and machine tools) will likely face a lot stricter permit review processes that could face some delays. According to the Korean government, there are 1,735 strategic material items that are exported from South Korea to Japan, of which 1,138 items will be changed into an individual permit approval process. Of the major exports to Japan from South Korea in 2018, the petroleum products were the highest amount ($5.1 billion), followed by steel ($4.0 billion), general machinery ($3.0 billion), petrochemicals ($2.1 billion), agriculture products/foods ($2.0 billion), and semiconductor products ($1.2 billion). In this report, we also provided a list of 25 companies in the Japanese stock market that are negatively impacted by a prolonged trade war between Japan and South Korea. These 25 stocks, including Asahi Kasei (3407 JP), Panasonic Corp (6752 JP), Japan Airport Terminal Co (9706 JP), and Toray Industries (3402 JP) are down on average 3.4% from end of June (day before Japanese initially announced economic restriction against South Korea) to August 12th, 2019.

South Korea Excludes Japan from Its Whitelist & A List of 25 Japanese Stocks Impacted by Conflict

Korea / Special Situations, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Situations

<p>The whitelist lifting means that Japan is now able to export restrict about 1,200 materials/products to Korea. It is expected that Japan will unveil more details of the next measures on Aug 8. Until then, it's only a guessing game. Even after Aug 8, it is very possible that we won't have any clearer visual on the situation. Probably, this is what the Japanese government wants: creating uncertainties one after another. Nonetheless, we are not short of local speculations about which specific products or materials to be export restricted in the next round. Here are the 4 strong candidates being speculated by local media and industry experts.</p><ol>
<li>Silicon wafer</li>
<li>Shadow mask (FMM: fine metal mask)</li>
<li>Image sensor</li>
<li>Li-ion battery separator</li>
</ol>

The whitelist lifting means that Japan is now able to export restrict about 1,200 materials/products to Korea. It is expected that Japan will unveil more details of the next measures on Aug 8. Until then, it's only a guessing game. Even after Aug 8, it is very possible that we won't have any clearer visual on the situation. Probably, this is what the Japanese government wants: creating uncertainties one after another. Nonetheless, we are not short of local speculations about which specific products or materials to be export restricted in the next round. Here are the 4 strong candidates being speculated by local media and industry experts.
Silicon wafer
Shadow mask (FMM: fine metal mask)
Image sensor
Li-ion battery separator


Japan's Second Round of Export Restrictions Against Korea: 4 Candidate Products

<p>Our outlook remains neutral for global ex-U.S. markets while horizontal consolidation continues on the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. index.  In today’s report we take a bottoms-up view on developed ex-U.S. equities, highlighting stocks that present attractive buy opportunities <em>within the <strong>Communications, Health Care, Manufacturing, Materials, Technology, Transportation, and Utilities </strong>Sectors</em></p>

Our outlook remains neutral for global ex-U.S. markets while horizontal consolidation continues on the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. index.  In today’s report we take a bottoms-up view on developed ex-U.S. equities, highlighting stocks that present attractive buy opportunities within the Communications, Health Care, Manufacturing, Materials, Technology, Transportation, and Utilities Sectors

Bottoms-Up View on Developed Markets: Actionable Stocks, Part 2

Japan

ASAHI KASEI CORPORATION produces synthetic fibers, industrial chemicals, petrochemicals, plastics (resins), and synthetic rubber.  The Company also operates and sells real estates, pharmaceuticals, medical equipments, electronics, construction materials, and consumer products.

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Asahi Kasei (3407 JP)

🇯🇵 JAPAN • Results & Revisions Daily Roundup - 7th February ▲2121 7267 5713 ▼ 5401 9616 3407

OOOPS! - The 480 quarterly results announced on Friday subtracted a further 20 basis points from our Results Score. If the remaining 38% of...

Campbell Gunn

Global Equity Strategy: The Pause that Refreshes?

We continue to believe the weight of the evidence points to a new leg higher for global equities, a viewpoint that is supported by the several...

Vermilion Research

South Korea Excludes Japan from Its Whitelist & A List of 25 Japanese Stocks Impacted by Conflict

The South Korean government announced today that it will officially exclude Japan from its "whitelist" of preferred trading countries with fast...

Douglas Kim

Japan's Second Round of Export Restrictions Against Korea: 4 Candidate Products

The whitelist lifting means that Japan is now able to export restrict about 1,200 materials/products to Korea. It is expected that Japan will...

Sanghyun Park

Bottoms-Up View on Developed Markets: Actionable Stocks, Part 2

Our outlook remains neutral for global ex-U.S. markets while horizontal consolidation continues on the MSCI ACWI ex-U.S. index. In today’s report...

Vermilion Research

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