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>Ecovyst recently announced the sale of its Advanced Materials & Catalysts (AM&C) segment to Technip Energies for $530 million in net proceeds, a move that has reignited speculation about broader synergies between the two companies.</li><li>The divestiture, expected to close in Q1 2026, involves assets such as Advanced Silicas and Zeolyst International and brings 330 specialized staff and three key manufacturing facilities under Technip's fold.</li><li>For Ecovyst, the proceeds have significantly de-levered the business, bringing net leverage under 1.5x and allowing for a reallocation of capital into organic growth, acquisitions, and stock buybacks.</li></ul>

Ecovyst recently announced the sale of its Advanced Materials & Catalysts (AM&C) segment to Technip Energies for $530 million in net proceeds, a move that has reignited speculation about broader synergies between the two companies.The divestiture, expected to close in Q1 2026, involves assets such as Advanced Silicas and Zeolyst International and brings 330 specialized staff and three key manufacturing facilities under Technip's fold.For Ecovyst, the proceeds have significantly de-levered the business, bringing net leverage under 1.5x and allowing for a reallocation of capital into organic growth, acquisitions, and stock buybacks.

Ecovyst Unloads AM&C—Here’s Why Technip Energies Might Want More!

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

<ul>
<li>We will stay near-term bullish as long as crucial support levels of 6824 on SPX (up from 6480-6520), $610 on QQQ, and $245 on IWM continue to hold.</li>
<li>Just last week (1/6/26 Compass) we discussed the many breakouts (most notably the Russell 2000) which led us to believe immediate upside was ahead. The breakouts just keep coming.</li>
<li>Latest breakouts include SPX, space exploration (ARKX), autonomous/robotics (ARKQ), Consumer Discretionary (XLY), retail (XRT), homebuilders (ITB, XHB), small-cap growth (IWO), quantum (QTUM), China (MCHI), and Staples (XLP).</li>
</ul>


We will stay near-term bullish as long as crucial support levels of 6824 on SPX (up from 6480-6520), $610 on QQQ, and $245 on IWM continue to hold.
Just last week (1/6/26 Compass) we discussed the many breakouts (most notably the Russell 2000) which led us to believe immediate upside was ahead. The breakouts just keep coming.
Latest breakouts include SPX, space exploration (ARKX), autonomous/robotics (ARKQ), Consumer Discretionary (XLY), retail (XRT), homebuilders (ITB, XHB), small-cap growth (IWO), quantum (QTUM), China (MCHI), and Staples (XLP).


Breakouts Just Keep Coming; Upgrading Materials to Market Weight; Still Bullish. Buys: ALB, ATI ++

Founder, BWS Financial Inc

Hamed Khorsand

Founder

Independent Stock Specific Research

BWS Financial Inc

BWS provides independent stock specific research focused on companies with distinct value that are going through a special situation where there is a tangible catalyst not priced in. The catalyst can be anything from new product, restructuring, M&A, management change, change in business strategy, etc. BWS’s focus is to understand the change and evaluate the potential return for investors.

BWS utilizes a self formed proprietary approach in discovering stocks by putting great emphasis on deep research. BWS does generate short recommendations following a similar criteria.

<ul>
<li>ECVT has gone through several business divestments and acquisitions over its history and the latest news suggests management is not content. </li>
<li>The timing is a surprise given the segment is to serve ECVT’s growth trajectory. The segment houses new technologies that should begin to contribute to sales in coming quarters.   </li>
<li>Advanced materials and catalysts is also the segment that owns the 50% stake in JV Zeolyst, which has been core of issues this year related to ECVT’s adjusted EBITDA performance.   </li>
</ul>


ECVT has gone through several business divestments and acquisitions over its history and the latest news suggests management is not content. 
The timing is a surprise given the segment is to serve ECVT’s growth trajectory. The segment houses new technologies that should begin to contribute to sales in coming quarters.   
Advanced materials and catalysts is also the segment that owns the 50% stake in JV Zeolyst, which has been core of issues this year related to ECVT’s adjusted EBITDA performance.   


<ul>
<li>ECVT reported third quarter results proving the business can move past one-time events and generate positive free cash flow.   </li>
<li>Third quarter results showed a normalized period where ecoservices revenue grew sequentially. This business continues to show consistent results.   </li>
<li>ECVT added more than $40 million to its cash balance between the two quarters and is poised to add another $20 million to $30 million in the fourth quarter. </li>
</ul>


ECVT reported third quarter results proving the business can move past one-time events and generate positive free cash flow.   
Third quarter results showed a normalized period where ecoservices revenue grew sequentially. This business continues to show consistent results.   
ECVT added more than $40 million to its cash balance between the two quarters and is poised to add another $20 million to $30 million in the fourth quarter. 


<ul>
<li>ECVT continues to experience setbacks to its operations this year. The latest from its joint venture, Zeolyst, having renewable fuel customers delay catalyst orders.   </li>
<li>The headwinds ECVT has dealt with in the past year creates pressure on investor sentiment and the Company now having to reassure investors it can sustain generating free cash flow.</li>
<li>The investor story that shifted out to 2025 remains unchanged. We believe ECVT’s stock price currently reflects investor unrest as to the possibility of ECVT’ 2025 prospects.  </li>
</ul>


ECVT continues to experience setbacks to its operations this year. The latest from its joint venture, Zeolyst, having renewable fuel customers delay catalyst orders.   
The headwinds ECVT has dealt with in the past year creates pressure on investor sentiment and the Company now having to reassure investors it can sustain generating free cash flow.
The investor story that shifted out to 2025 remains unchanged. We believe ECVT’s stock price currently reflects investor unrest as to the possibility of ECVT’ 2025 prospects.  


ECVT: Another Pushout in Story, PT to $12

United States

Ecovyst Inc. provides specialty catalysts and services in the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Ecoservices and Catalyst Technologies. The Ecoservices segment offers sulfuric acid recycling services for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications. The Catalyst Technologies segment provides customized catalyst products and process solutions to producers and licensors of polyethylene and methyl methacrylate. Its catalyst supports the production of plastics used in packaging films, bottles, containers, and other molded applications. This segment also provides zeolite-based emission control catalysts, which enable the removal of nitrogen oxides from diesel engine emissions, as well as sulfur dioxide from fuels during the refining process. The company was formerly known as PQ Group Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Ecovyst Inc. in August 2021. Ecovyst Inc. was founded in 1831 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

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Ecovyst (ECVT US)

Ecovyst Unloads AM&C—Here’s Why Technip Energies Might Want More!

Ecovyst recently announced the sale of its Advanced Materials & Catalysts (AM&C) segment to Technip Energies for $530 million in net...

Baptista Research

Breakouts Just Keep Coming; Upgrading Materials to Market Weight; Still Bullish. Buys: ALB, ATI ++

Breakouts Just Keep Coming $SPX $ARKX $ARKQ $XLY $XRT $ITB $IWO $QTUM $MCHI $XLP; Upgrading Materials to Market Weight $XLB $GDX $XME $REMX; Still...

Vermilion Research

ECVT: Unlocking of Value

ECVT has announced its intention to pursue strategic alternatives for its advanced materials and catalysts business, which could help unlock value

BWS Financial Inc

ECVT: Regenerating Free Cash Flow

ECVT reported third quarter results without the anomalies of prior quarters leading to cash building up on the balance sheet. The action in ECVT's...

BWS Financial Inc

ECVT: Another Pushout in Story, PT to $12

The reset in expectations continues a set of events that started in 2023, albeit some of it out of the Company's control. We believe the latest...

BWS Financial Inc

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