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Smartkarma Daily Briefs

Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Max Healthcare (MAXHEALTH IN): Improving Operating Parameters; Well-Positioned for Long-Term Growth and more

By | Daily Briefs, Equity Bottom-Up

In today’s briefing:

  • Max Healthcare (MAXHEALTH IN): Improving Operating Parameters; Well-Positioned for Long-Term Growth
  • SJVN Limited (SJVN IN): Renewable Energy Play; Installed Capacity To Double in 12-18 Months.
  • Money Forward: Lower S&M Spending in 1Q Drives Losses Down
  • Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Cutting Capex, Earnings This Week; Suppliers ASML & Lam Also Will Report
  • QANTM Intellectual Property (ASX:QIP) – Registering Potential Operating Leverage
  • Micron Technology: How This DRAM & NAND Leader Is Surviving In A Challenging Market – Key Drivers
  • QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd – Registering Potential Operating Leverage
  • Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.: Advancements In Healthcare & Key Drivers
  • Nike Inc.: Continued Franchise Expansion
  • KEFI Gold and Copper – New timings

Max Healthcare (MAXHEALTH IN): Improving Operating Parameters; Well-Positioned for Long-Term Growth

By Tina Banerjee

  • Max Healthcare Institute (MAXHEALT IN) reported improved occupancies, revenues, EBITDA and other operating and financial parameters in Q3FY23 versus year-ago period.   
  • The company recorded highest-ever EBITDA – both in terms of absolute value and margins, EBITDA per bed, ARPOB, and ROCE for the third consecutive quarter in FY23.
  • During the last three-year, Max had revenue and EBITDA CAGR of 12% and 59%, respectively. Consensus expects the company to report double-digit revenue and EPS growth through FY25.

SJVN Limited (SJVN IN): Renewable Energy Play; Installed Capacity To Double in 12-18 Months.

By Mohit Surana

  • Fundamentally strong company with track record of high profitability and efficient operations. 
  • Installed power generation capacity will more than double to ~5,500 MW by FY24 and another 4-5x by FY30. 
  • Potential for DPS to improve from a trailing 1.70 INR to INR 2.50 by FY24, implying an attractive dividend yield of 7.5%. 

Money Forward: Lower S&M Spending in 1Q Drives Losses Down

By Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

  • MF reported 1QFY11/2023 results on Friday. Revenue increased 43.0% YoY to ¥6.8bn (vs consensus ¥6.5bn) while operating losses dropped to ¥1.59bn vs ¥1.65bn in 1QFY11/22 (vs consensus ¥2.0bn).
  • The company’s S&M spending is the lowest during first quarter of the year, which drove losses down. However, the company has guided for higher S&M spending in 2Q.
  • Our analysis on Money Forward (3994 JP) BO SAAS vs Non-BO SAAS shows that non-BO businesses’ GPM has continued to decline suggesting that these non-BO businesses only help inflate revenues.

Taiwan Tech Weekly: TSMC Cutting Capex, Earnings This Week; Suppliers ASML & Lam Also Will Report

By Vincent Fernando, CFA

  • TSMC is cutting its 2023E capex plans by 12% according to Taiwan’s EDN. The company will also report earnings this Thursday.
  • TSMC suppliers ASML and Lam Research will also be reporting this week. Realtek will report this week as well.
  • Delta Thailand valuation still precarious relative to Delta Taiwan. Apple has continued to outperform the Quanta & Pegatron pair.

QANTM Intellectual Property (ASX:QIP) – Registering Potential Operating Leverage

By Research as a Service (RaaS)

  • Initiation of Coverage with a DCF valuation of $1.57/share. QIP is trading at a 60% discount to its nearest peer, IPH (ASX:IPH)
  • Key areas of focus  are completing its business transformation programme and expanding geographically.
  • Success will lead to EBITDA margin expansion, greater exposure to Asia, and a growing exposure to automated and IP technology.

Micron Technology: How This DRAM & NAND Leader Is Surviving In A Challenging Market – Key Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Micron Technology’s results in the quarter were disastrous as the company failed to meet the revenue expectations of Wall Street and reported wider-than-expected losses.
  • Total fiscal revenue was down, whereas DRAM revenue represented 74% of the total revenue.
  • Revenue from the Mobile Business Unit was up and Embedded Business Unit revenue was down.

QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd – Registering Potential Operating Leverage

By Research as a Service (RaaS)

  • QANTM Intellectual Property Ltd (ASX:QIP) owns a group of intellectual property (IP) services businesses operating under the independent brands of Davies Collison Cave (DCC), FPA Patent Attorneys and Sortify.tm.
  • It is a major player in the mature and regulated Australian patent, trade marks and IP legal services market with 16.5% market share (H1 FY23) in its key patents segment (68% of revenue) and a diversified mix of local and foreign clients (~45%/55% split; ~50% US$ revenue).
  • QIP produces ~$97m service revenue (3.7% five-year CAGR) primarily via various workstreams underlying the patent and trade marks lifecycles, and has a history of profitability and cash flow generation which facilitates high dividend pay-outs. 

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc.: Advancements In Healthcare & Key Drivers

By Baptista Research

  • Walgreens Boots Alliance produced a strong second quarter which happened to be an all-around beat.
  • Also, this quarter served as a turning point in their transition to the healthcare industry.
  • Besides that, Boots had a fantastic quarter in the international segment, achieving retail comp growth of 16% over the same period last year.

Nike Inc.: Continued Franchise Expansion

By Baptista Research

  • Nike delivered another strong quarter with revenue growth across all geographies, channels, and brands.
  • It had strong digital growth, fueled by increased traffic on its apps and mobile.
  • In APLA, the brand momentum of Nike continues to fuel strong growth.

KEFI Gold and Copper – New timings

By Edison Investment Research

Notwithstanding the trials and tribulations that it has had to deal with in Ethiopia in recent years, KEFI believes that it is finally nearing the end of its approvals odyssey. Being first mover and also traversing the country’s turbulent swing to democracy has cost the company unpredictability, time and money. However, the new mining minister is reported to be serious – to the point of being enthusiastic – about developing KEFI’s Tulu Kapi project and the three substantive pre-conditions for final approval (the two banks having equal protections in the country, government installation of elevated security and the right for KEFI to administer its own banking and capital servicing arrangements) have been met or (in the case of the third) appear in the process of formalisation. With respect to security, KEFI reports that a disciplined formation of the Ethiopian Federal military has been deployed to secure mine sites throughout the country, including Tulu Kapi. In the meantime, the company has continued to upgrade and develop its assets in Saudi Arabia.


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Daily Brief United States: Ethereum and more

By | Daily Briefs, United States

In today’s briefing:

  • The New Frontier

The New Frontier

By Etherbridge

  • The true emerging market of our time is the digital economy.
  • As technology advances, we witness rapid online business growth and an increasing reliance on digital solutions.
  • This burgeoning sector knows no borders, with its educated, innovative citizens distributed worldwide.

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Daily Brief China: Lalatech Holdings Co Ltd, Lonking Holdings, Beijing Luzhu Biotechnology, Shui On Land and more

By | China, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • TRACKING TRAFFIC/Lalatech IPO: Attractive Segment | ‘Unbelievable’ Cost Control | Hidden Competition
  • Lonking (3339 HK): Back to Attractive Zone
  • Pre-IPO Beijing Luzhu Biotechnology – The Eventual Revenue Scale and Profit Margins Could Be Limited
  • Morning Views Asia: Fosun International, Guangzhou R&F Properties, China Datang Corp Renewable Power

TRACKING TRAFFIC/Lalatech IPO: Attractive Segment | ‘Unbelievable’ Cost Control | Hidden Competition

By Daniel Hellberg

  • Lalatech’s largest segment by revenue — Chinese intra-city on-demand freight — features many of the attributes that are attractive to online logistics intermediaries
  • At the top of the list of red flags in its prospectus is Lalatech’s company’s dramatic 71% Y/Y reduction in Sales and Marketing expenses last year
  • Although Lalatech appears to be the leading platform for Chinese intra-city on-demand freight matching, the company faces ‘hidden’ competition from several larger groups

Lonking (3339 HK): Back to Attractive Zone

By Osbert Tang, CFA

  • After a poor FY22, 1H23 will stay challenging for Lonking Holdings (3339 HK). However, we expect pick-up in business momentum going forward, and export is a major growth driver.
  • Gross margin rebounded HoH and YoY in 2H22, and Lonking maintained good operating cost control. Recovery of equity market suggests potential big positive swing in investment income. 
  • Including investment portfolio, 92% of the current market capitalisation is net cash, providing solid downside buffer. Its 6.5x PER, 9.2% yield and 0.52x P/B are very attractive valuations.

Pre-IPO Beijing Luzhu Biotechnology – The Eventual Revenue Scale and Profit Margins Could Be Limited

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

  • Either vaccines or therapeutic biologics, Luzhu’s clinical progress has no advantages. There have been quite a few competing products on the market or candidates with faster development progress than Luzhu.
  • Luzhu applies the low price strategy to open the market. We’re not sure if it works or not, since it still depends on R&D efficiency, product quality and commercialization capabilities.
  • We tend to be conservative about the Company’s prospects because its eventual revenue scale and profit margins are likely to be very limited based on our analysis.

Morning Views Asia: Fosun International, Guangzhou R&F Properties, China Datang Corp Renewable Power

By Charles Macgregor

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


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Daily Brief Australia: Newcrest Mining and more

By | Australia, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Merger Arb Mondays (17 Apr) – Newcrest, Essential, Healius, Lian Beng, Golden Energy, Arcland

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Daily Brief South Korea: Lotte Shopping Co and more

By | Daily Briefs, South Korea

In today’s briefing:

  • Aiming for Price Movement Patterns with Low Market Exposure in MSCI Korea May Review

Aiming for Price Movement Patterns with Low Market Exposure in MSCI Korea May Review

By Sanghyun Park

  • We should aim for price movement patterns with relatively low market exposure. One of them is the post-effective upward price movement of deletions.
  • The relative price performance for one week after the implementation compared to KOSPI 200 was consistently positive, ranging from 2.41% to 6.82%.
  • Given the recent price movement of four deletion candidates, there is again a high possibility that the price distortion caused by MSCI flow will revert after the effective date.

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Daily Brief Singapore: Lian Beng and more

By | Daily Briefs, Singapore

In today’s briefing:

  • Weekly Deals Digest (16 Apr) – Lian Beng, Arcland, Essential, Genesis, Newcrest, Rakuten Bank, ZJLD

Weekly Deals Digest (16 Apr) – Lian Beng, Arcland, Essential, Genesis, Newcrest, Rakuten Bank, ZJLD

By Arun George


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Daily Brief Japan: Rakuten Bank, Arcland Sakamoto, Nikkei 225, Baycurrent Consulting and more

By | Daily Briefs, Japan

In today’s briefing:

  • Rakuten Bank (5838) IPO – Let’s Go! (Part 2)
  • Arclands (9842) Overpays for Arclands Service Holdings (3085)
  • Japan and Korea Action Levels
  • Baycurrent Consulting: Strong Earnings Beat with an Overly Conservative Guidance

Rakuten Bank (5838) IPO – Let’s Go! (Part 2)

By Travis Lundy

  • SBI Sumishin Net Bank (7163 JP) lowered its listing price vs what were already lowered expectations from a year prior. Then Rakuten Bank (5838 JP) lowered its IPO range. 
  • SBI Sumishin dilly-dallied around IPO price for three days then went nuts, rising 40% as of Friday morning. Rakuten Bank’s IPO looks dirt cheap now. 
  • But it is worthwhile comparing it on a spectrum of OTHER Japanese banks and neobanks. 

Arclands (9842) Overpays for Arclands Service Holdings (3085)

By Travis Lundy

  • On Friday Arcland Sakamoto (9842 JP) and restaurant franchise subsidiary Arcland Service (3085 JP), which it launched in 1993 and IPOed in 2007, announced they had agreed to merge. 
  • Arcland SHD runs 18 restaurant brands, of which Katsuya is most well-known, with a total of 750 or so restaurants managed globally. It has grown consistently.
  • The merger ratio is at an all-time high for Arcland SHD. This should be a done deal but I might expect some complaints. I think Arclands is probably overpaying. 

Japan and Korea Action Levels

By Thomas Schroeder

  • Japan and Korea are meeting rally objective action points. NKY 28,500 touted as the level to short. Korea meeting the 337/338 upper wedge range target to lock in some gains.
  • Japan has formed previous tops below 29,000. Korea will need to backfill and likely retest the top of the rising wedge given the impulsive nature of the rise. 
  • These topping patterns show conviction to form bigger cycle peaks into late April ahead of a more negative phase in May. Factor in final SPX push to 4,200-20.

Baycurrent Consulting: Strong Earnings Beat with an Overly Conservative Guidance

By Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

  • Baycurrent reported fourth quarter and full-year FY02/2023 results on Friday. 4Q revenues increased 32.1% YoY to ¥21.2bn (vs consensus ¥20.7bn) and OP increased 60.8% to ¥9.6bn (vs consensus ¥8.3bn).
  • Full-Year revenue and OP increased 32% and 39% YoY respectively to ¥76.1bn and ¥29.9bn, beating own guidance by 7% and 15% respectively.
  • The company’s FY02/2023E guidance is too conservative as there has been no signs of an earnings slowdown as DX consulting and high-value add projects would drive next phase of growth.

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Daily Brief TMT/Internet: Lalatech Holdings Co Ltd, Nanya Technology, Ethereum and more

By | Daily Briefs, TMT/Internet

In today’s briefing:

  • TRACKING TRAFFIC/Lalatech IPO: Attractive Segment | ‘Unbelievable’ Cost Control | Hidden Competition
  • Memory Monitor: Nanya Technology Hopeful of 2H23E DRAM Recovery
  • The New Frontier

TRACKING TRAFFIC/Lalatech IPO: Attractive Segment | ‘Unbelievable’ Cost Control | Hidden Competition

By Daniel Hellberg

  • Lalatech’s largest segment by revenue — Chinese intra-city on-demand freight — features many of the attributes that are attractive to online logistics intermediaries
  • At the top of the list of red flags in its prospectus is Lalatech’s company’s dramatic 71% Y/Y reduction in Sales and Marketing expenses last year
  • Although Lalatech appears to be the leading platform for Chinese intra-city on-demand freight matching, the company faces ‘hidden’ competition from several larger groups

Memory Monitor: Nanya Technology Hopeful of 2H23E DRAM Recovery

By Vincent Fernando, CFA

  • Nanya Technology’s recent results showed a margin and ASP decline that appears to have performed better than the industry average. 
  • However, Nanya Technology may have traded off better pricing and margins for a continuation of high inventory levels. Nanya shares have underperformed Micron since our Mar 30th piece.
  • Nanya said it expects a marginal recovery for the DRAM market in the second half of 2023E. SK Hynix will be a next major data point, to report April 26th.

The New Frontier

By Etherbridge

  • The true emerging market of our time is the digital economy.
  • As technology advances, we witness rapid online business growth and an increasing reliance on digital solutions.
  • This burgeoning sector knows no borders, with its educated, innovative citizens distributed worldwide.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars

Daily Brief Consumer: Arcland Sakamoto, Lotte Shopping Co, Arrival Group and more

By | Consumer, Daily Briefs

In today’s briefing:

  • Arclands (9842) Overpays for Arclands Service Holdings (3085)
  • Aiming for Price Movement Patterns with Low Market Exposure in MSCI Korea May Review
  • Riding the Re-SPAC Wave

Arclands (9842) Overpays for Arclands Service Holdings (3085)

By Travis Lundy

  • On Friday Arcland Sakamoto (9842 JP) and restaurant franchise subsidiary Arcland Service (3085 JP), which it launched in 1993 and IPOed in 2007, announced they had agreed to merge. 
  • Arcland SHD runs 18 restaurant brands, of which Katsuya is most well-known, with a total of 750 or so restaurants managed globally. It has grown consistently.
  • The merger ratio is at an all-time high for Arcland SHD. This should be a done deal but I might expect some complaints. I think Arclands is probably overpaying. 

Aiming for Price Movement Patterns with Low Market Exposure in MSCI Korea May Review

By Sanghyun Park

  • We should aim for price movement patterns with relatively low market exposure. One of them is the post-effective upward price movement of deletions.
  • The relative price performance for one week after the implementation compared to KOSPI 200 was consistently positive, ranging from 2.41% to 6.82%.
  • Given the recent price movement of four deletion candidates, there is again a high possibility that the price distortion caused by MSCI flow will revert after the effective date.

Riding the Re-SPAC Wave

By subSPAC

  • In the ever-changing landscape of SPACs, a new trend has emerged that has got investors talking: Re-SPACs.
  • Last week, electric vehicle startup Arrival announced its intention to Re-SPAC with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp. V, signifying a growing interest among De-SPAC companies in exploring alternative capital-raising strategies.
  • Traditionally, SPACs have been a popular vehicle for ushering businesses into the public markets.

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Daily Brief Financials: Rakuten Bank, Nikkei 225, Shui On Land and more

By | Daily Briefs, Financials

In today’s briefing:

  • Rakuten Bank (5838) IPO – Let’s Go! (Part 2)
  • Japan and Korea Action Levels
  • Morning Views Asia: Fosun International, Guangzhou R&F Properties, China Datang Corp Renewable Power

Rakuten Bank (5838) IPO – Let’s Go! (Part 2)

By Travis Lundy

  • SBI Sumishin Net Bank (7163 JP) lowered its listing price vs what were already lowered expectations from a year prior. Then Rakuten Bank (5838 JP) lowered its IPO range. 
  • SBI Sumishin dilly-dallied around IPO price for three days then went nuts, rising 40% as of Friday morning. Rakuten Bank’s IPO looks dirt cheap now. 
  • But it is worthwhile comparing it on a spectrum of OTHER Japanese banks and neobanks. 

Japan and Korea Action Levels

By Thomas Schroeder

  • Japan and Korea are meeting rally objective action points. NKY 28,500 touted as the level to short. Korea meeting the 337/338 upper wedge range target to lock in some gains.
  • Japan has formed previous tops below 29,000. Korea will need to backfill and likely retest the top of the rising wedge given the impulsive nature of the rise. 
  • These topping patterns show conviction to form bigger cycle peaks into late April ahead of a more negative phase in May. Factor in final SPX push to 4,200-20.

Morning Views Asia: Fosun International, Guangzhou R&F Properties, China Datang Corp Renewable Power

By Charles Macgregor

Lucror Analytics Morning Views comprise our fundamental credit analysis, opinions and trade recommendations on high yield issuers in the region, based on key company-specific developments in the past 24 hours. Our Morning Views include a section with a brief market commentary, key market indicators and a macroeconomic and corporate event calendar.


💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars