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

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings / Equity Bottom-Up

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH US)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings

<ul><li>Laboratory Corporation of America delivered a disappointing set of results as the company was unable to meet the revenue expectations as well as the earnings expectations of Wall Street.</li><li>Base business revenue and base business revenue of Diagnostic Laboratories grew driven by strong base business volume and Ascension.</li><li>Labcorp, a segment of the company's laboratory services business, delivered exceptional growth in its Diagnostic Laboratories and generated strong progress in Central Laboratories.</li></ul>

Laboratory Corporation of America delivered a disappointing set of results as the company was unable to meet the revenue expectations as well as the earnings expectations of Wall Street.Base business revenue and base business revenue of Diagnostic Laboratories grew driven by strong base business volume and Ascension.Labcorp, a segment of the company's laboratory services business, delivered exceptional growth in its Diagnostic Laboratories and generated strong progress in Central Laboratories.

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings: Does It Have A Sustainable Competitive Advantage? - Key Drivers

Head of Research, Krungthai XSpring

Waraporn Wiboonkanarak

Head of Research

A full service Thai brokerage

Krungthai XSpring

Krungthai XSpring is a full service broker. The company provides a wide range of investment services such as Securities Brokerage, Derivative Agent Business, Securities Borrowing and Lending, Securities Trading, Underwriting, Financial Advisory, Wealth Advisory, Private Fund Management and International Markets Securities Trading. 

In terms of credibility, Fitch Ratings has assigned Krunghtai XSpring a long-term rating of AA- and a national short-term rating of F1+ with stable outlook.

<ul><li>Technically, the SET Index is expected to move sideways up.</li><li>First, the focus is on the vote for the prime minister.</li><li>We believe that Khun Pita will be the sole proposed candidate, but he may not receive sufficient support from the senators to secure more than half of the total seats.</li></ul>

Technically, the SET Index is expected to move sideways up.First, the focus is on the vote for the prime minister.We believe that Khun Pita will be the sole proposed candidate, but he may not receive sufficient support from the senators to secure more than half of the total seats.

PTT Exploration & Production / Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>Amid the uncertain SET Index direction in 3Q23E as a result of the retreats of global equity markets, concerns over the economic slowdown, global central banks' interest rate uptrend, and the lack of clarity regarding the new Thai government, we suggest that investors consider investing in selective dividend plays, including the following: i) stocks expected to offer interim dividend yields in the middle of 2023E of greater than 1.5% (for three-month investment); ii) stocks expected to offer 2023E dividend yields of greater than 3.5% plus upside gain to the share prices of at least 10%; and iii) stocks that offer dividends every quarter (REITs).</li><li>We believe that certain stocks offering good and consistent returns can be viable investment alternatives amid the current circumstances, where although the downside risk to the SET Index has lessened, concerns related to the vote on the prime minister and the negative momentum in global risk assets due to the expected economic slowdown and potential bubble bursts in Al-related businesses remain.</li><li>Based on the 2Q23E and 2023-24E earnings projections from the Bloomberg consensus as well as the past dividend payment data of SET-listed firms, we have found that a number of Thai stocks have managed to offer dividend yields that exceeded short-term bond yields.</li></ul>

Amid the uncertain SET Index direction in 3Q23E as a result of the retreats of global equity markets, concerns over the economic slowdown, global central banks' interest rate uptrend, and the lack of clarity regarding the new Thai government, we suggest that investors consider investing in selective dividend plays, including the following: i) stocks expected to offer interim dividend yields in the middle of 2023E of greater than 1.5% (for three-month investment); ii) stocks expected to offer 2023E dividend yields of greater than 3.5% plus upside gain to the share prices of at least 10%; and iii) stocks that offer dividends every quarter (REITs).We believe that certain stocks offering good and consistent returns can be viable investment alternatives amid the current circumstances, where although the downside risk to the SET Index has lessened, concerns related to the vote on the prime minister and the negative momentum in global risk assets due to the expected economic slowdown and potential bubble bursts in Al-related businesses remain.Based on the 2Q23E and 2023-24E earnings projections from the Bloomberg consensus as well as the past dividend payment data of SET-listed firms, we have found that a number of Thai stocks have managed to offer dividend yields that exceeded short-term bond yields.

Dividend Plays: Investment Alternative Amid Downside Risks

<ul><li>The SET Index today is expected to recover, with the support at 1,518/1,507 points and the resistance at 1,540/1,545 points.</li><li>The market will thus turn its focus to the 1Q23 corporate earnings that will be reported this week, which could provide a lift if they come out better than expected.</li><li>Historical data from the five most recent general elections shows that the SET Index generated an average return of +1.87% in the week before the elections took place.</li></ul>

The SET Index today is expected to recover, with the support at 1,518/1,507 points and the resistance at 1,540/1,545 points.The market will thus turn its focus to the 1Q23 corporate earnings that will be reported this week, which could provide a lift if they come out better than expected.Historical data from the five most recent general elections shows that the SET Index generated an average return of +1.87% in the week before the elections took place.

<ul><li>The SET Index is expected to weaken further, with the support at 1,550/1,543 points and the resistance at 1,570/1,580 points, based on the technical signals indicating a major downtrend in a rounding top pattern.</li><li>However, the fundamentals suggest that a retreat especially to the range of 1,539-1,572 points, i.e., the lower bound or -1 S.D. and -2 S.D., respectively – would present a good opportunity for accumulating, based on our projection that the index will rally toward the target of 1,607 points in 2Q23E.</li><li>We recommend PTTEP on the back of the expectation for outstanding 1Q23E earnings, which may be announced this week, as well as SAPPE and AH, as they are export-related stocks that are likely to report robust earnings due to the potentially upbeat Thai export figures in March.</li></ul>

The SET Index is expected to weaken further, with the support at 1,550/1,543 points and the resistance at 1,570/1,580 points, based on the technical signals indicating a major downtrend in a rounding top pattern.However, the fundamentals suggest that a retreat especially to the range of 1,539-1,572 points, i.e., the lower bound or -1 S.D. and -2 S.D., respectively – would present a good opportunity for accumulating, based on our projection that the index will rally toward the target of 1,607 points in 2Q23E.We recommend PTTEP on the back of the expectation for outstanding 1Q23E earnings, which may be announced this week, as well as SAPPE and AH, as they are export-related stocks that are likely to report robust earnings due to the potentially upbeat Thai export figures in March.

The SET Index Has Entered the Buying Area; Speculate On Stocks With Specific Positive Factors: PTTEP (Good Earnings) And Export Stocks (In Response To The Likely Recovery In March's Exports)

United States

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings is a clinical laboratory company that offers clinical laboratory tests used by the medical profession in routine testing, patient diagnosis, and in the monitoring and treatment of disease. The Company develops specialty testing operations, such as oncology testing, HIV genotyping and phenotyping, diagnostic genetics and clinical trials.

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Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH US)

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings: Does It Have A Sustainable Competitive Advantage? - Key Drivers

Laboratory Corporation of America delivered a disappointing set of results as the company was unable to meet the revenue expectations as well as...

Baptista Research

Today's Dominant Ideas

Technically, the SET Index is expected to move sideways up. First, the focus is on the vote for the prime minister. We believe that Khun Pita will...

Krungthai XSpring

Dividend Plays: Investment Alternative Amid Downside Risks

Amid the uncertain SET Index direction in 3Q23E as a result of the retreats of global equity markets, concerns over the economic slowdown, global...

Krungthai XSpring

Today's Dominant Ideas

The SET Index today is expected to recover, with the support at 1,518/1,507 points and the resistance at 1,540/1,545 points. The market will thus...

Krungthai XSpring

The SET Index Has Entered the Buying Area; Speculate On Stocks With Specific Positive Factors: PTTEP (Good Earnings) And Export Stocks (In Response To The Likely Recovery In March's Exports)

The SET Index is expected to weaken further, with the support at 1,550/1,543 points and the resistance at 1,570/1,580 points, based on the...

Krungthai XSpring

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