IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Kaname Capital, the second-largest shareholder of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/proto-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2511:1" rel="noopener">Proto Corp (4298 JP)</a>, has issued an <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250218252175/en/Kaname-Capital-Sends-an-Open-Letter-of-Inquiry-Regarding-Opportunistic-MBO-by-Founder-of-Proto-Corporation1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open letter</a> stating that the JPY2,100 MBO tender offer is a bad conclusion at the wrong price.</li>
<li>Some assertions are valid, while others do not stand up to scrutiny. Kaname claims that Proto is worth JPY3,778, which will make it hard to reach a compromise. </li>
<li>Maintaining terms is increasingly not viable. The Chairman is likely to respond by lowering the minimum acceptance condition and/or bumping to secure the support of minorities (excluding Kaname).</li>
</ul>


Kaname Capital, the second-largest shareholder of Proto Corp (4298 JP), has issued an open letter stating that the JPY2,100 MBO tender offer is a bad conclusion at the wrong price.
Some assertions are valid, while others do not stand up to scrutiny. Kaname claims that Proto is worth JPY3,778, which will make it hard to reach a compromise. 
Maintaining terms is increasingly not viable. The Chairman is likely to respond by lowering the minimum acceptance condition and/or bumping to secure the support of minorities (excluding Kaname).


Proto Corp (4298 JP): Kaname Capital Throws a Spanner in the Works

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>Our outlook remains bullish following the S&amp;P 500's multi-month base breakout above 5670, alongside constructive market dynamics which have significantly improved over the past week.</li>
<li>Last week's 11/5/24 report titled "Buy the Pullback" discussed how we were buyers, expecting a strong end-of-year rally to start that day or the following day (day after the election)</li>
<li>The strong rally officially started on election day, and all that is left to do is ride the trend higher into year-end and the early part of 2025</li>
</ul>


Our outlook remains bullish following the S&amp;P 500's multi-month base breakout above 5670, alongside constructive market dynamics which have significantly improved over the past week.
Last week's 11/5/24 report titled "Buy the Pullback" discussed how we were buyers, expecting a strong end-of-year rally to start that day or the following day (day after the election)
The strong rally officially started on election day, and all that is left to do is ride the trend higher into year-end and the early part of 2025


Ride the Trend Higher; Significant End-Of-Year Rally Underway; Four Sector Upgrades, One Downgrade

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>TrueCar's performance in the second quarter of 2024 presented a mixed picture characterized by both opportunities and challenges.</li><li>Highlighting strategic developments and financial outcomes, the company showed signs of progress amidst external disruptions and evolving market conditions.</li><li>On the positive side, TrueCar reported a 6.4% increase in total revenue year-over-year, totaling $41.8 million, with a 1.8% growth quarter-over-quarter.</li></ul>

TrueCar's performance in the second quarter of 2024 presented a mixed picture characterized by both opportunities and challenges.Highlighting strategic developments and financial outcomes, the company showed signs of progress amidst external disruptions and evolving market conditions.On the positive side, TrueCar reported a 6.4% increase in total revenue year-over-year, totaling $41.8 million, with a 1.8% growth quarter-over-quarter.

TrueCar’s Potential Takeover: What Makes This Digital Car Platform So Irresistible?

Investment Advisors, JL Warren Capital

Junheng Li

Investment Advisors

JL Warren Capital

JL Warren Capital LLC is a leading independent equity research firm focused on Chinese companies and listed multinationals in China. We employ a bottom-up research approach that takes great care to avoid the acquisition of material non-public information. Through investigative due diligence including channel surveys and interviews, our research helps clients to pinpoint the dislocations in the market.

On December 6th, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/27144" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27144:1">Uxin Ltd (UXIN US)</a> released a press release about a non-binding, non-exclusive partnership with <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/787" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:787:1">Alibaba Group Holding (BABA US)</a> Taobao to jointly establish an online used car shopping mall. The partnership is open-ended with no exclusivity. Post announcement, Uxin established a storefront on Taobao.  As of today,  Taobao has hundreds of used car dealers listing vehicles on its platform, with indistinguishable store fronts and entries. Practically, Taobao traffic has little to do with car buyers.  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/12004" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12004:1">Bitauto Holdings Ltd Adr (BITA US)</a> + <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/446" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:446:1">JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US)</a>  trial and failure is a perfect reference point.  For low-frequency and high price goods such as homes and cars, offline traffic is far more valuable than online traffic, measured by conversation rate.

On December 6th, Uxin Ltd (UXIN US) released a press release about a non-binding, non-exclusive partnership with Alibaba Group Holding (BABA US) Taobao to jointly establish an online used car shopping mall. The partnership is open-ended with no exclusivity. Post announcement, Uxin established a storefront on Taobao.  As of today,  Taobao has hundreds of used car dealers listing vehicles on its platform, with indistinguishable store fronts and entries. Practically, Taobao traffic has little to do with car buyers.  Bitauto Holdings Ltd Adr (BITA US) + JD.com Inc (ADR) (JD US)  trial and failure is a perfect reference point.  For low-frequency and high price goods such as homes and cars, offline traffic is far more valuable than online traffic, measured by conversation rate.  

UXIN: Unusual Trading Activities Before IPO Lockup Presents SHORT Opportunity

Key points:<ul>
<li>Energy names are showing signs of bottoming with the recent uptick in crude, and weakness in the U.S. dollar</li>
<li>REITs are continuing to firm up as rates have plateaued</li>
<li>Biotech stocks are continuing to show leadership characteristics</li>
</ul>Charts highlighted: AFI, ODP, SPWH, CVS, KMB, THS, CHK, KMI, RRC, AXS, ESS, KIM, APTS, KRG, REGN, NERV, NSTG, RARX, AYI, CFX, AXL, PAH, FNSR, TRUE, ALK, HA, SAVE, and PEGI

Key points:
Energy names are showing signs of bottoming with the recent uptick in crude, and weakness in the U.S. dollar
REITs are continuing to firm up as rates have plateaued
Biotech stocks are continuing to show leadership characteristics
Charts highlighted: AFI, ODP, SPWH, CVS, KMB, THS, CHK, KMI, RRC, AXS, ESS, KIM, APTS, KRG, REGN, NERV, NSTG, RARX, AYI, CFX, AXL, PAH, FNSR, TRUE, ALK, HA, SAVE, and PEGI

Technically Attractive U.S. Stocks for Value Investors

United States

TrueCar, Inc. develops and publishes an online automotive information and communication platform. The Company provides data and price reports for cars both online and over the phone for consumers and a communications platform for automobile dealers to communicate with consumers. TrueCar serves customers throughout the United States.

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Truecar Inc (TRUE US)

Proto Corp (4298 JP): Kaname Capital Throws a Spanner in the Works

Some of Kaname's assertions are valid, while others do not stand up to scrutiny. The Chairman will likely respond by lowering the minimum...

Arun George

Ride the Trend Higher; Significant End-Of-Year Rally Underway; Four Sector Upgrades, One Downgrade

Ride the Trend Higher; Significant End-of-Year Rally Underway $SPX $QQQ $IWM; Four Sector Upgrades ($XLF to overweight, $XLY $XLI and $IYT to...

Vermilion Research

TrueCar’s Potential Takeover: What Makes This Digital Car Platform So Irresistible?

TrueCar's performance in the second quarter of 2024 presented a mixed picture characterized by both opportunities and challenges. Highlighting...

Baptista Research

UXIN: Unusual Trading Activities Before IPO Lockup Presents SHORT Opportunity

On December 6th, Uxin Ltd (UXIN US) released a press release about a non-binding, non-exclusive partnership with Alibaba Group Holding (BABA US)...

JL Warren Capital

Technically Attractive U.S. Stocks for Value Investors

Key points: Energy names are showing signs of bottoming with the recent uptick in crude, and weakness in the U.S. dollar REITs are continuing to...

Vermilion Research

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