Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Quantitative Analysis

<div><p>The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.</p></div><div><p>For the week from 22-26 March, Hong Kong saw shorts rise on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/baidu-inc-a55ca720-5968-48f0-8194-ac94390d065c" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:32212:1" rel="noopener">Baidu (9888 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tencent-holdings-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26:1" rel="noopener">Tencent Holdings (700 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yihai-int-l-holding-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22803:1" rel="noopener">Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/beijing-kuaishou-technology-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29725:1" rel="noopener">Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lenovo-group-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13359:1" rel="noopener">Lenovo (992 HK)</a> while there was short covering on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/meituan-dianping" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26970:1" rel="noopener">Meituan (3690 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sino-biopharmaceutical" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:230:1" rel="noopener">Sino Biopharmaceutical (1177 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/haier-smart-home-co-ltd-b3ef445f-0f54-4586-8c58-9073de98d60e" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31105:1" rel="noopener">Haier Smart Home Co Ltd (6690 HK)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/jd-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29043:1" rel="noopener">JD.com Inc. (9618 HK)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-literature-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24388:1" rel="noopener">China Literature (772 HK)</a>. Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Financials, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yaskawa-electric-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2458:1" rel="noopener">Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/base-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28353:1" rel="noopener">BASE Inc (4477 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toshiba-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:637:1" rel="noopener">Toshiba Corp (6502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aeon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3:1" rel="noopener">Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/peptidream-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13514:1" rel="noopener">Peptidream Inc (4587 JP)</a> while shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/takeda-pharmaceutical-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11747:1" rel="noopener">Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/monex-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14211:1" rel="noopener">Monex Group Inc (8698 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pan-pacific-international-holdings-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13475:1" rel="noopener">Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nexon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16032:1" rel="noopener">Nexon (3659 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mizuho-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:219:1" rel="noopener">Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JP)</a>. Shorts increased in the Industrials sectors, and decreased in the Financials, Communication Services and Health Care sectors.</p></div><div><p>In Korea, shorts decreased on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/celltrion-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:991:1" rel="noopener">Celltrion Inc (068270 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-biologics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22932:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/samsung-electronics-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:191:1" rel="noopener">Samsung Electronics (005930 KS)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-hynix-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16955:1" rel="noopener">SK Hynix (000660 KS)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hyundai-motor-co" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:155:1" rel="noopener">Hyundai Motor Co (005380 KS)</a> during the week. </p></div><div><p>Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/largan-precision-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9126:1" rel="noopener">Largan Precision (3008 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/pegatron-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12852:1" rel="noopener">Pegatron Corp (4938 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yageo-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13212:1" rel="noopener">Yageo Corporation (2327 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/novatek-microelectronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10904:1" rel="noopener">Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT)</a> while shorts were covered on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/unimicron-technology-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18778:1" rel="noopener">Unimicron Technology (3037 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/elite-semiconductor-memory" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9373:1" rel="noopener">Elite Semiconductor Memory (3006 TT)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/au-optronics-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6704:1" rel="noopener">AU Optronics (2409 TT)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiwan-semiconductor-manufacturing-company" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11230:1" rel="noopener">TSMC (2330 TT)</a>. </p></div>

The Asia Short Interest weekly looks at moves in market wide short interest and highlights movements in stock specific short interest across Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan using the last available data published by the relevant authorities.For the week from 22-26 March, Hong Kong saw shorts rise on Baidu (9888 HK), Tencent Holdings (700 HK), Yihai Int’L Holding (1579 HK), Kuaishou Technology (1024 HK) and Lenovo (992 HK) while there was short covering on Meituan (3690 HK), Sino Biopharmaceutical (1177 HK), Haier Smart Home Co Ltd (6690 HK), JD.com Inc. (9618 HK) and China Literature (772 HK). Shorts increased in the Communication Services, Financials, Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors.In Japan, stocks that saw the most shorts were Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP), BASE Inc (4477 JP), Toshiba Corp (6502 JP), Aeon Co Ltd (8267 JP) and Peptidream Inc (4587 JP) while shorts decreased on Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502 JP), Monex Group Inc (8698 JP), Pan Pacific International Holdings (7532 JP), Nexon (3659 JP) and Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JP). Shorts increased in the Industrials sectors, and decreased in the Financials, Communication Services and Health Care sectors.In Korea, shorts decreased on Celltrion Inc (068270 KS), Samsung Biologics Co., (207940 KS), Samsung Electronics (005930 KS), SK Hynix (000660 KS) and Hyundai Motor Co (005380 KS) during the week. Stocks in Taiwan that saw the highest increase in shorts were Largan Precision (3008 TT), Pegatron Corp (4938 TT), Yageo Corporation (2327 TT) and Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034 TT) while shorts were covered on Unimicron Technology (3037 TT), Elite Semiconductor Memory (3006 TT), AU Optronics (2409 TT) and TSMC (2330 TT). 

Asia Short Interest: Baidu, Kuaishou, Smoore, Yaskawa, BASE, Toshiba, Celltrion, Samsung, Largan

Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Supun Walpola

Equity Analyst

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Forensic Accounting

<div class="content-highlight">
<p>This insight has been produced jointly by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/shifara-samsudeen-acma-cgma" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:3297" rel="noopener">Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA</a> ​and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/profiles/supun-walpola" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="accounts:1650" rel="noopener">Supun Walpola</a> ​at <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/companies/lightstream-research" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="companies:909" rel="noopener">LightStream Research</a> ​</p>
</div>
<ul>
<li>In this Smartkarma Original, we provide a guide on short-sell strategies employed by short-sellers to identify, analyse, and subsequently target companies. We also provide our recommendations to companies to prevent, detect, and combat short-sell attacks.</li>
<li>We believe companies whose share prices have increased significantly within a short period of time and whose valuations are at significant premiums to their peers become vulnerable for short-sell attacks. The share price of the short-sell targets in our sample increased by 89.2% on average from its 52-week low to the date of release of the short-sell report. The EV/Revenue, EV/OP, P/E, and P/B multiples of the short-sell targets in our sample were at premiums of 241.2%, 37.6%, 42.5%, and 118.7% on average over their peers, respectively.</li>
<li>Short sellers also seem to target companies that significantly outperform their peers on operating matrices. Short-sellers imply that such outperformance is due to fabricated results. The OP margin of the short-sell targets in our sample were around 4.5x higher than their peers.</li>
<li>It is conventional wisdom that insiders cash-out when they are no longer confident about the prospects of the company. Short sellers try to exploit this idea and are often on the lookout for instances where insiders are continuously cashing out, either by way of selling their stake in the company, or through back door transactions like share pledges, collar transactions, and high levels of compensation.</li>
<li>Short-sellers show no mercy when it comes to questionable or complex corporate structures like VIE arrangements either. Short-sellers are of the view that such dubious corporate structures enable companies to round trip revenue and assets to fabricate financial results. Short-sellers are also on the lookout for suspicious M&amp;A transactions with related parties, particularly overvalued asset sales to and undervalued asset purchases from insiders.     </li>
<li>When a company fakes revenue or profit at the income statement level, it leads to a fake cash problem, i.e. the company then has to forge significant cash balances to match its inflated profit. Short sellers believe that inflated capex or R&amp;D expenses are helpful tools to burn fake cash as these expenses often do not raise any suspicion if they do not generate instant returns.</li>
<li>Short-sellers also seem to target companies and insiders that historically have a bad reputation. We also came across several instances where short-sellers have questioned the track record of auditors, underwriters, and appraisers that were employed by the target companies. Short-sellers also consider frequent auditor changes and audit fees that are either too-high or too-low as red-flags.</li>
<li>Short-sellers regularly keep an eye out for companies with weaker corporate governance practices. However, some of the cases that we came across in our research suggest that traditional corporate governance matrices have limited relevance in exposing fraudsters in this day and age. Short-sellers now seem to question the true “independence” of independent directors and are sceptical about companies with high board turnover.</li>
<li>A short-seller can identify a plethora of red-flags for a company, but a short-sell attack is seldom successful without any smoking-gun evidence. Therefore, short-sellers often thrive on finding that one key piece of evidence that would make their thesis irrefutable. In most of the cases we looked at, this smoking gun evidence has come in the form of alternative filings, which include the likes of filings with the local regulators, credit reports, and tax filings. Short sellers have often used these alternative filings to reconcile reported financials and in some cases to trace the “true” ownership of assets.</li>
<li>We believe recent short-sell reports on <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/luckin-coffee-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28046:1" rel="noopener">Luckin Coffee (LK US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/gsx-techedu-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28069:1" rel="noopener">GSX Techedu (GSX US)</a> raise the bar for modern-day short-sellers. The anonymous short-sell report on Luckin was backed by 11,000+ hours of store traffic video and 25,000+ customer receipts while Grizzly’s short-sell report on GSX Techedu used a variety of alternative data sources such as customer reviews, web traffic, keyword search results and app rankings as smoking-gun evidence.</li>
<li>Short-seller attacks have become part of today’s investment world and companies should learn to co-exist with them and more importantly, to defend these attacks, companies should have a plan in place while strengthening their fundamentals and improving corporate disclosures.  </li>
<li>In order to prevent short-seller attacks we recommend companies to 1) be honest about any errors and make due restatements to reported financials, 2) adopt conservative accounting practices, 3) avoid providing aggressive earnings guidance, 4) provide detailed disclosures when deviating from accepted accounting standards, 5) avoid withholding or delaying bad news such as product failures, litigation, profit warnings, layoffs, etc. from the market, 6) improve corporate governance measures, 7) and improve company disclosures particularly regarding company acquisitions, divestitures, and capital investments.</li>
<li>If a company has always been committed to providing complete disclosures and its shareholders are kept informed about both good and bad news regarding a company, the best way to approach the shorts may be to completely ignore them. However, a company should respond to a short sell attack if the allegations laid out by the shorts were unreasonable or misleading or if it is impacting the company’s valuation.</li>
</ul>


This insight has been produced jointly by Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA ​and Supun Walpola ​at LightStream Research ​


In this Smartkarma Original, we provide a guide on short-sell strategies employed by short-sellers to identify, analyse, and subsequently target companies. We also provide our recommendations to companies to prevent, detect, and combat short-sell attacks.
We believe companies whose share prices have increased significantly within a short period of time and whose valuations are at significant premiums to their peers become vulnerable for short-sell attacks. The share price of the short-sell targets in our sample increased by 89.2% on average from its 52-week low to the date of release of the short-sell report. The EV/Revenue, EV/OP, P/E, and P/B multiples of the short-sell targets in our sample were at premiums of 241.2%, 37.6%, 42.5%, and 118.7% on average over their peers, respectively.
Short sellers also seem to target companies that significantly outperform their peers on operating matrices. Short-sellers imply that such outperformance is due to fabricated results. The OP margin of the short-sell targets in our sample were around 4.5x higher than their peers.
It is conventional wisdom that insiders cash-out when they are no longer confident about the prospects of the company. Short sellers try to exploit this idea and are often on the lookout for instances where insiders are continuously cashing out, either by way of selling their stake in the company, or through back door transactions like share pledges, collar transactions, and high levels of compensation.
Short-sellers show no mercy when it comes to questionable or complex corporate structures like VIE arrangements either. Short-sellers are of the view that such dubious corporate structures enable companies to round trip revenue and assets to fabricate financial results. Short-sellers are also on the lookout for suspicious M&amp;A transactions with related parties, particularly overvalued asset sales to and undervalued asset purchases from insiders.     
When a company fakes revenue or profit at the income statement level, it leads to a fake cash problem, i.e. the company then has to forge significant cash balances to match its inflated profit. Short sellers believe that inflated capex or R&amp;D expenses are helpful tools to burn fake cash as these expenses often do not raise any suspicion if they do not generate instant returns.
Short-sellers also seem to target companies and insiders that historically have a bad reputation. We also came across several instances where short-sellers have questioned the track record of auditors, underwriters, and appraisers that were employed by the target companies. Short-sellers also consider frequent auditor changes and audit fees that are either too-high or too-low as red-flags.
Short-sellers regularly keep an eye out for companies with weaker corporate governance practices. However, some of the cases that we came across in our research suggest that traditional corporate governance matrices have limited relevance in exposing fraudsters in this day and age. Short-sellers now seem to question the true “independence” of independent directors and are sceptical about companies with high board turnover.
A short-seller can identify a plethora of red-flags for a company, but a short-sell attack is seldom successful without any smoking-gun evidence. Therefore, short-sellers often thrive on finding that one key piece of evidence that would make their thesis irrefutable. In most of the cases we looked at, this smoking gun evidence has come in the form of alternative filings, which include the likes of filings with the local regulators, credit reports, and tax filings. Short sellers have often used these alternative filings to reconcile reported financials and in some cases to trace the “true” ownership of assets.
We believe recent short-sell reports on Luckin Coffee (LK US) and GSX Techedu (GSX US) raise the bar for modern-day short-sellers. The anonymous short-sell report on Luckin was backed by 11,000+ hours of store traffic video and 25,000+ customer receipts while Grizzly’s short-sell report on GSX Techedu used a variety of alternative data sources such as customer reviews, web traffic, keyword search results and app rankings as smoking-gun evidence.
Short-seller attacks have become part of today’s investment world and companies should learn to co-exist with them and more importantly, to defend these attacks, companies should have a plan in place while strengthening their fundamentals and improving corporate disclosures.  
In order to prevent short-seller attacks we recommend companies to 1) be honest about any errors and make due restatements to reported financials, 2) adopt conservative accounting practices, 3) avoid providing aggressive earnings guidance, 4) provide detailed disclosures when deviating from accepted accounting standards, 5) avoid withholding or delaying bad news such as product failures, litigation, profit warnings, layoffs, etc. from the market, 6) improve corporate governance measures, 7) and improve company disclosures particularly regarding company acquisitions, divestitures, and capital investments.
If a company has always been committed to providing complete disclosures and its shareholders are kept informed about both good and bad news regarding a company, the best way to approach the shorts may be to completely ignore them. However, a company should respond to a short sell attack if the allegations laid out by the shorts were unreasonable or misleading or if it is impacting the company’s valuation.


Short-Sell Strategies – How to Get Teflon Coated?

<div><p>The short notional in the market for the data released 3 March is US$24.60bn (up by US$388mm excluding FX movements) with the largest short positions in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18448:1">Itochu Corp (8001 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toyota-motor-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:73:1">Toyota Motor (7203 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/canon-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1:1">Canon Inc (7751 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fast-retailing-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:751:1">Fast Retailing (9983 JP)</a>. </p></div><div><p>Most shorted stocks as a percentage of free float are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/anritsu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3700:1">Anritsu Corp (6754 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aruhi-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26072:1">Aruhi Corp (7198 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokai-carbon-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9145:1">Tokai Carbon (5301 JP)</a> while the stocks with the highest days to cover are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vital-ksk-holdings-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7398:1">Vital Ksk Holdings (3151 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aruhi-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26072:1"></a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/katakura-industries-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2007:1">Katakura Industries (3001 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/j-trust-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20246:1">J Trust Co Ltd (8508 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18448:1">Itochu Corp (8001 JP)</a>. </p></div><div><p>The largest increases in short notional over the week were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tdk-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18847:1">TDK Corp (6762 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/peptidream-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13514:1">Peptidream Inc (4587 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/t-d-holdings-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3431:1">T&amp;D Holdings (8795 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/minebea-mitsumi-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5032:1">Minebea Mitsumi (6479 JP)</a> while shorts were covered in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fuji-heavy-industries-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:5439:1">Subaru Corp (7270 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/m3-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13316:1">M3 Inc (2413 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/fast-retailing-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:751:1">Fast Retailing (9983 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/advantest-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18107:1">Advantest Corp (6857 JP)</a>.   </p></div><div><p>Sectorally, short positions increased in Industrials (US$194m), Information Technology (US$63m) and Materials (US$54m), while shorts were covered in Real Estate (US$35m) and Health Care (US$19m).</p></div>

The short notional in the market for the data released 3 March is US$24.60bn (up by US$388mm excluding FX movements) with the largest short positions in Itochu Corp (8001 JP), Toyota Motor (7203 JP), Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP), Canon Inc (7751 JP) and Fast Retailing (9983 JP). Most shorted stocks as a percentage of free float are Anritsu Corp (6754 JP), Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP), Aruhi Corp (7198 JP) and Tokai Carbon (5301 JP) while the stocks with the highest days to cover are Vital Ksk Holdings (3151 JP), Katakura Industries (3001 JP), J Trust Co Ltd (8508 JP) and Itochu Corp (8001 JP). The largest increases in short notional over the week were TDK Corp (6762 JP), Peptidream Inc (4587 JP), T&amp;D Holdings (8795 JP) and Minebea Mitsumi (6479 JP) while shorts were covered in Subaru Corp (7270 JP), M3 Inc (2413 JP), Fast Retailing (9983 JP) and Advantest Corp (6857 JP).   Sectorally, short positions increased in Industrials (US$194m), Information Technology (US$63m) and Materials (US$54m), while shorts were covered in Real Estate (US$35m) and Health Care (US$19m).

Japan - Small Caps and Micro Caps With High Short Interest Free Fall

<div><p>The short notional in the market for the week ending 31 January is US$24.90bn (up by US$370mm) with the largest short positions in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18448:1">Itochu Corp (8001 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/toyota-motor-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:73:1">Toyota Motor (7203 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/canon-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1:1">Canon Inc (7751 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/anritsu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3700:1">Anritsu Corp (6754 JP)</a>. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sumitomo-mitsui-financial-gr" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:217:1"></a></p></div><div><p>Most shorted stocks as a percentage of free float are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/anritsu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3700:1">Anritsu Corp (6754 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/leopalace21-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8244:1">Leopalace21 Corp (8848 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tokai-carbon-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9145:1">Tokai Carbon (5301 JP)</a> while the stocks with the highest days to cover are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vital-ksk-holdings-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7398:1">Vital Ksk Holdings (3151 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aruhi-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:26072:1"></a><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/katakura-industries-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2007:1">Katakura Industries (3001 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/j-trust-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20246:1">J Trust Co Ltd (8508 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/edion-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:14358:1">Edion Corp (2730 JP)</a>.  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dcm-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13042:1"></a></p></div><div><p>The largest increases in short notional over the week were <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yaskawa-electric-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2458:1">Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shionogi-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19535:1">Shionogi &amp; Co (4507 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/advantest-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18107:1">Advantest Corp (6857 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/anritsu-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3700:1">Anritsu Corp (6754 JP)</a> while shorts were covered in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zozo-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18379:1">ZOZO Inc (3092 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/showa-denko-k-k" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1496:1">Showa Denko K K (4004 JP)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/taiyo-yuden-co-ltd" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9924:1">Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/peptidream-inc" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:13514:1">Peptidream Inc (4587 JP)</a>.   <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/yamaha-corp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:17841:1"></a></p></div><div><p>Sectorally, short positions were increased in Information Technology (US$206m), Consumer Staples (US$186m) and Industrials (US$153m) while shorts were covered in Energy (US$72m) and Consumer Discretionary (US$54m).</p></div>

The short notional in the market for the week ending 31 January is US$24.90bn (up by US$370mm) with the largest short positions in Itochu Corp (8001 JP), Toyota Motor (7203 JP), Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP), Canon Inc (7751 JP) and Anritsu Corp (6754 JP). Most shorted stocks as a percentage of free float are Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP), Anritsu Corp (6754 JP), Leopalace21 Corp (8848 JP) and Tokai Carbon (5301 JP) while the stocks with the highest days to cover are Vital Ksk Holdings (3151 JP), Katakura Industries (3001 JP), J Trust Co Ltd (8508 JP) and Edion Corp (2730 JP).  The largest increases in short notional over the week were Yaskawa Electric (6506 JP), Shionogi &amp; Co (4507 JP), Advantest Corp (6857 JP) and Anritsu Corp (6754 JP) while shorts were covered in ZOZO Inc (3092 JP), Showa Denko K K (4004 JP), Taiyo Yuden (6976 JP) and Peptidream Inc (4587 JP).   Sectorally, short positions were increased in Information Technology (US$206m), Consumer Staples (US$186m) and Industrials (US$153m) while shorts were covered in Energy (US$72m) and Consumer Discretionary (US$54m).

Japan - Shorts Jump on Yaskawa Electric, Shionogi; Drop on Zozo, Showa Denko

Japan TMT Analyst

Pelham Smithers

Market Intel on Asian Tech with a Japan focus

Pelham Smithers Associates

Founded in 2009, Pelham Smithers Associates (PSA) provides market intelligence on Asian technology, focusing in particular on Japan. The industries covered by our team of specialists are: consumer electronics, telecomms, pharmaceuticals, internet, electronic parts and materials, automotive technology, retail and capital goods. 

Research is provided by the following:
Pelham Smithers: Macro, consumer electronics, telecoms & pharma
Joel Scheiman: Electronics materials / components
Julie Boote: Autos
Will Nestuk: Capital goods, machinery & transportation equipment parts
Thao Nguyen: eCommerce, internet content, marketing & advertising

Equity Bottom-Up

<p>News that gilteritinib has received orphan drug status for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) would be rather more exciting for <strong><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/6091" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6091:1">Astellas (4503 JP)</a></strong> but for the fact that AML is the new favourite treatment area for the FDA. In December 2016, Escend received a similar designation for ES-3000, while Boehringer Ingelheim’s volasertib and <strong><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/16469" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16469:1">Prescient Therapeutics' (PTX AU)</a></strong> PTX-200 both gained orphan status this May. AML is a ¥100bil/yr market, so it is on the large side for orphan status.</p><p>AML has proven…</p>

News that gilteritinib has received orphan drug status for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) would be rather more exciting for Astellas (4503 JP) but for the fact that AML is the new favourite treatment area for the FDA. In December 2016, Escend received a similar designation for ES-3000, while Boehringer Ingelheim’s volasertib and Prescient Therapeutics' (PTX AU) PTX-200 both gained orphan status this May. AML is a ¥100bil/yr market, so it is on the large side for orphan status.AML has proven…

Update on Astellas (4503) As It Gets Orphan Drug Status for Gilteritinib

Japan

PeptiDream Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that researches and develops peptide therapeutics to improve the life of patients.

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Peptidream Inc (4587 JP)

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Pelham Smithers Associates

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Asia Short Interest: Baidu, Kuaishou, Smoore, Yaskawa, BASE, Toshiba, Celltrion, Samsung, Largan

The Insight looks at large short interest movements across HK, Japan, Korea and Taiwan stocks and highlights large increases/decreases in shorts to...

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This insight has been produced jointly by Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA ​and Supun Walpola ​at LightStream Research ​ In this Smartkarma...

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The short notional in the market for the data released 3 March is US$24.60bn (up by US$388mm excluding FX movements) with the largest short...

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Japan - Shorts Jump on Yaskawa Electric, Shionogi; Drop on Zozo, Showa Denko

The short notional in the market for the week ending 31 January is US$24.90bn (up by US$370mm) with the largest short positions in Itochu Corp...

Brian Freitas

Update on Astellas (4503) As It Gets Orphan Drug Status for Gilteritinib

News that gilteritinib has received orphan drug status for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) would be rather more exciting for Astellas (4503 JP) but...

Pelham Smithers Associates

This insight has been produced jointly by Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA and Supun Walpola at LightStream Research In this Smartkarma...