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>This is our first report on Truist Financial Corporation, one of the largest regional banks in the United States.</li><li>Truist opened 146,000 bank accounts online.</li><li>We initiate coverage on the stock of Truist Financial Corporation with a 'Hold' rating.</li></ul>

This is our first report on Truist Financial Corporation, one of the largest regional banks in the United States.Truist opened 146,000 bank accounts online.We initiate coverage on the stock of Truist Financial Corporation with a 'Hold' rating.

Truist Financial Corporation: Initiation of Coverage – Business Strategy & Key Drivers

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

Market dynamics remain largely healthy, and new developments continue to point to improving risk appetites. Still, Energy (XOP, RYE) is the only cyclical value Sector that has been able to decisively break to new price highs, while others remain in congestion. Therefore, our outlook remains neutral yet constructive overall, and we see pullbacks as buying opportunities.Charts highlighted: XLF, Copper, IWM, MCHI, KRE, XLB, S&amp;P 500, CNQ, SU, IMO, CVE, OVV, COP, EOG, PXD, OXY, HES, DVN, CLR, CFR, PB, BOKF, IBTX, TBK, BSVN, BAC, WFC, USB, PNC, TFC, FITB, KEY, RF, and CMA

Market dynamics remain largely healthy, and new developments continue to point to improving risk appetites. Still, Energy (XOP, RYE) is the only cyclical value Sector that has been able to decisively break to new price highs, while others remain in congestion. Therefore, our outlook remains neutral yet constructive overall, and we see pullbacks as buying opportunities.Charts highlighted: XLF, Copper, IWM, MCHI, KRE, XLB, S&amp;P 500, CNQ, SU, IMO, CVE, OVV, COP, EOG, PXD, OXY, HES, DVN, CLR, CFR, PB, BOKF, IBTX, TBK, BSVN, BAC, WFC, USB, PNC, TFC, FITB, KEY, RF, and CMA

U.S. Equity Strategy: Risk Appetites Improving; Watching Financials, Copper, US Dollar

Silver Point

Thomas J. Monaco

Silver Point is a boutique research firm that focuses on the broader financial services sector, with a particular focus on troubled institutions globally. 

Asia Ex Japan

*We Anxiously Await HSBC’s US Departure: According the Financial Times on November 28, 2020, HSBC is considering offloading its entire US retail network - although a full exit from other businesses in the US is unlikely. The recommendation of a US exit is expected to be presented to the board as early as this week, although the Group is scheduled to provide an update on its plans for its French and US businesses in February 2021; *HSBCNA Should Be Sold: HSBCNA is a chronic mess, and there is absolutely no need for HSBC to maintain a full commercial/retail banking presence in the US. It cannot earn a positive return under its current structure; credit is again about to fall off a cliff; does not earning; NIMs are among the lowest in the USA; and capital is shortly about to fall below regulatory guidance. Further, the bad acquisitions and regulatory headaches should spur management to cut and run in the US. Knowing HSBC management as we do, they will continue making the same mistakes over and over again; and    *Hong Kong Tax Rate Continues To Mask Management’s Global Mistakes: When your core subsidiary in Hong Kong has a statutory corporate tax rate of 16.5% and the organization is not subject to global taxation, low taxes can mask the many mistakes that HSBC makes.

*We Anxiously Await HSBC’s US Departure: According the Financial Times on November 28, 2020, HSBC is considering offloading its entire US retail network - although a full exit from other businesses in the US is unlikely. The recommendation of a US exit is expected to be presented to the board as early as this week, although the Group is scheduled to provide an update on its plans for its French and US businesses in February 2021; *HSBCNA Should Be Sold: HSBCNA is a chronic mess, and there is absolutely no need for HSBC to maintain a full commercial/retail banking presence in the US. It cannot earn a positive return under its current structure; credit is again about to fall off a cliff; does not earning; NIMs are among the lowest in the USA; and capital is shortly about to fall below regulatory guidance. Further, the bad acquisitions and regulatory headaches should spur management to cut and run in the US. Knowing HSBC management as we do, they will continue making the same mistakes over and over again; and    *Hong Kong Tax Rate Continues To Mask Management’s Global Mistakes: When your core subsidiary in Hong Kong has a statutory corporate tax rate of 16.5% and the organization is not subject to global taxation, low taxes can mask the many mistakes that HSBC makes. 

HSBC Holdings Plc – Act Now, You’ll Never See These Prices Again

*FT Suggests Sea Change In US Strategy: In a Financial Times article dated May 25th“HSBC board rethinks overhaul and seeks even sharper cuts”, it was discussed that the Board is particularly scrutinizing the bank’s US business – questioning whether the US operation is viable at all. Seemingly, the Board is even contemplating a sale of this franchise; and   *Sale May Cause Group A Massive Capital Raise: In the case of the latest large bank transaction, BB&amp;T paid USD 28.2 bn in an all stock deal for SunTrust – a relatively clean bank in the US south. This amounted to deal metrics of 1.16x P/BV; 2.03x P/TBV; and a deposit premium of 2.44%, by our calculation, at the date of deal announcement. Provided that HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LN/5.HK) can find a cash buyer who only thinks it needs to account for Year 1 of operating losses and replenish the loss of regulatory capital, HSBCNA will cause HSBC to incur a loss on sale of between USD 14.1-16.7 bn. Year 2 valuation is even uglier, as report a loss of between USD 31.3-35.6 bn. A loss of this magnitude represents between 32.0%-36.4% of Group market cap.

*FT Suggests Sea Change In US Strategy: In a Financial Times article dated May 25th“HSBC board rethinks overhaul and seeks even sharper cuts”, it was discussed that the Board is particularly scrutinizing the bank’s US business – questioning whether the US operation is viable at all. Seemingly, the Board is even contemplating a sale of this franchise; and   *Sale May Cause Group A Massive Capital Raise: In the case of the latest large bank transaction, BB&amp;T paid USD 28.2 bn in an all stock deal for SunTrust – a relatively clean bank in the US south. This amounted to deal metrics of 1.16x P/BV; 2.03x P/TBV; and a deposit premium of 2.44%, by our calculation, at the date of deal announcement. Provided that HSBC Holdings (HSBA.LN/5.HK) can find a cash buyer who only thinks it needs to account for Year 1 of operating losses and replenish the loss of regulatory capital, HSBCNA will cause HSBC to incur a loss on sale of between USD 14.1-16.7 bn. Year 2 valuation is even uglier, as report a loss of between USD 31.3-35.6 bn. A loss of this magnitude represents between 32.0%-36.4% of Group market cap.

HSBC Holdings – Letting A Good Crisis Go To Waste

This market continues to be dominated by signals that suggest we are in the early stages of a new bull phase, which we discuss below. At the same time, small-caps continue to be one area of the market that gives us some reason for pause as neither the Russell 2000 or S&amp;P Small Cap 600 indexes have been able to make bullish price or RS inflections. In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Consumer Discretionary and Financials: Large- and Small-Cap Casinos &amp; Gaming , Banks, Super-Regional, and Asset Management &amp; Custody Banks, Large-Cap.

This market continues to be dominated by signals that suggest we are in the early stages of a new bull phase, which we discuss below. At the same time, small-caps continue to be one area of the market that gives us some reason for pause as neither the Russell 2000 or S&amp;P Small Cap 600 indexes have been able to make bullish price or RS inflections. In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Consumer Discretionary and Financials: Large- and Small-Cap Casinos &amp; Gaming , Banks, Super-Regional, and Asset Management &amp; Custody Banks, Large-Cap.

U.S. Equity Strategy: Waiting on Small-Caps

United States

Truist Financial Corporation provides financial services. The Company offers wide range of services including retail, small business and commercial banking, asset management, capital markets, commercial real estate, corporate and institutional banking, insurance, mortgage, payments, and specialized lending and wealth management solutions.

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Truist Financial (TFC US)

Truist Financial Corporation: Initiation of Coverage – Business Strategy & Key Drivers

This is our first report on Truist Financial Corporation, one of the largest regional banks in the United States. Truist opened 146,000 bank...

Baptista Research

U.S. Equity Strategy: Risk Appetites Improving; Watching Financials, Copper, US Dollar

Financials (XLF) are on the cusp of a breakout above $39, while copper is on the cusp of a breakout above $4.38; breakouts above resistance would...

Vermilion Research

HSBC Holdings Plc – Act Now, You’ll Never See These Prices Again

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC: Financial Times Suggesting Board Will Be Presented With Options On US Franchise This Week. This Was A Long Time In Coming.

Thomas J. Monaco

HSBC Holdings – Letting A Good Crisis Go To Waste

*FT Suggests Sea Change In US Strategy: In a Financial Times article dated May 25th“HSBC board rethinks overhaul and seeks even sharper cuts”, it...

Thomas J. Monaco

U.S. Equity Strategy: Waiting on Small-Caps

This market continues to be dominated by signals that suggest we are in the early stages of a new bull phase, which we discuss below. At the same...

Vermilion Research

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