Smartkarma Daily Briefs

Context: Statistical analysis of a relative value opportunity in the Australian Banking industry between ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ AU) and National Australia Bank (NAB AU).
Highlights: Going long ANZ and short NAB targets a 4.5% return to the statistical mean reversion level, with ANZ supported by cheaper valuations.
Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

JX Advanced Metals (5714 JP) – Dominant in Sputtering, Recycling Pivot, Valuations Lag Peers

By Rahul Jain

Listed in March 2025 via Japan’s largest IPO since SoftBank 2018, JX Advanced Metals has since accelerated recycling, governance restructuring, and potential Toho Titanium consolidation.
A global leader in high-purity sputtering targets (35–40% share) and thin film materials, it is scaling capacity and deepening foundry partnerships (TSMC, Samsung) to capture long-term semiconductor growth.
Despite strong positioning, it trades at just ~7x EV/EBITDA FY25E—below peers—offering structural growth at value multiples amid recovering earnings and strategic asset backing.

Two Asian Life Insurance Stocks (Both Up >30% YTD) Worth Closer Looks

By Alec Tseung

Share prices of China Life and Prudential plc have been up by 33% and 40% – 50% YTD, respectively.
China Life’s agency restructuring is bearing fruit, as evidenced by increasing agency productivity, and is expected to continue driving new business growth and margin expansion.
Our previous thesis for Prudential plc remains largely intact. Albeit the strong share price performance YTD, valuation upside remains as its new business multiple continues to re-rate.

ASICS (7936) | Nike Q4 Preview: Eyes on Margins and Momentum

By Mark Chadwick

Nike reports Q4 earnings Thursday. Focus for ASICS investors: (1) Sales momentum recovery, (2) Gross margin trends.
Nike’s continued weakness (global footwear sales -8% YoY in MRQ) supports bullish near-term thesis on ASICS.
However, signs of stabilization at Nike could signal increasing competitive pressure in H2/FY26.

TechChain Insights: Himax Threatened by China Auto Chip Push? CPO Tech with TSMC Remains Bright Spot

By Vincent Fernando, CFA

China’s push for 100% auto chip localization by 2027 poses risk to Himax, which derived 75% of 1Q25 revenue from China. We engaged the company for comments./
Himax may avoid direct targeting due to Taiwanese roots and local production via CN Nexchip, and we believe is less vulnerable than Western firms like NXP, TI, and Wolfspeed.
Copackaged Optics (CPO) industry momentum continues to build as Himax continues role alongside TSMC and FOCI; industry moves from Nvidia, AMD validate long-term optical interconnect opportunity Himax is positioned for.

Defense Tech: Taiwan Advanced Submarine Trial & Global Turmoil Puts CSBC in the Investor Spotlight

By Vincent Fernando, CFA

Submarine Milestone Validates CSBC’s Strategic Role: Taiwan’s June 17 maiden sea trial of the Hai Kun-class submarine highlights CSBC as the sole builder of Taiwan’s Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) program.
Scale of Program Is Significant vs. Market Cap: Seven additional submarines are expected to follow, with a reported program budget of NT$284bn (~US$9.5bn), over 12x CSBC’s current US$760m market cap.
Emerging Naval, Drones, & Energy Platforms Provide Optionality: Beyond submarines, CSBC is expanding into unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and offshore wind engineering, offering long-term exposure to Taiwan’s asymmetric defense.

Relative Value Roundup: Performance Recap of Pair Trades in Asia-Pacific

By Research as a Service (RaaS)

Context: This Insight follows up on previously highlighted relative value opportunities, using a statistical methodology based on mean-reversion to identify opportunities in paired securities.
Highlight: Six pair trade opportunities across three markets and three sectors persist. Two
Why read: Statistical analysis offers a unique perspective on relative value. Gain insights into actionable statistical pair trade opportunities and monitor performance of previously highlighted pairs.

Apple Intelligence. What’s Another Year?

By William Keating

Apple failed to deliver on the highly anticipated Siri makeover, noting that it didn’t meet their quality standards and effectively pushing it out for another full year
Internal rivalries, divided opinions on the direction AI should take, organizational restructuring, unwillingness to do meaningful acquisitions would all appear to be contributing to Apple’s AI woes
Apple’s peers are advancing their AI ambitions at warp speed, investing heavily, taking bold risks and mostly delivering on their promises. Apple is the polar opposite. What’s another year? Failure.

Flynn Gold Ltd – Building the business

Flynn Gold Limited (ASX:FG1) is a junior gold explorer which holds a portfolio of tenements (20+3 in application) across Tasmania and Western Australia.
The tenement package is prospective for several commodities, however, exploration efforts have largely focused on gold at the company’s flagship project, Golden Ridge, which is located in the north-east of Tasmania.
Field work and ongoing drilling at the project over the past two years has resulted in FG1 developing critical mass at the project which is building up towards an inaugural JORC-compliant resource.

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Jun 23

Daily Brief Macro: Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (20 June to 4 July 2025) and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Macro

In today’s briefing:

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (20 June to 4 July 2025)
Fed Policy Conduct: Limitations of Data-Dependent Approach Being Exposed
Buy the Cannons: Exploring the Bull Case
Iron Ore Tracker (23-June-2025): Iron Ore Due for A Small Bounce?
Copper Tracker 23rd June 2025: Bullish On Low Inventory, But Need To Monitor China
Forecasting Fed Policy: Hints From the Hard Data

Top 10 Korean Stock Picks and Key Catalysts Bi-Weekly (20 June to 4 July 2025)

By Douglas Kim

In this insight, we provide the top 10 stocks picks and key catalysts in the Korean stock market for the two weeks (20 June to 4 July 2025).
Kakaopay was the best performing stock in KOSPI in the past two weeks. It could be a key potential beneficiary of the increased use of stablecoin based system in Korea.
The top 10 picks in this bi-weekly include S&T Holdings, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung SDS, Samsung Securities, Hyundai Elevator, SK Hynix, Paradise, Hanwha System, Hanwha Aerospace, and Korea Kolmar.

Fed Policy Conduct: Limitations of Data-Dependent Approach Being Exposed

By Said Desaque

The Fed left its policy rate unchanged last week but embraced a stagflationary outlook for the US economy by lowering growth and raising inflation and unemployment rate forecasts.
The policy goals within the Fed’s dual mandate have not been equally pursued. Data-dependent conduct by the Fed runs the risk of policy becoming too reactionary and less forward-looking.
Recent inflation trends should not prevent the Fed from reducing its policy rate. Some survey-based measures of consumers’ inflationary expectations appear to have rolled over, following tariff-induced spikes in April.

Buy the Cannons: Exploring the Bull Case

By Cam Hui

Is this a time to embrace the contrarian adage of “buy on the cannons, sell on the trumpets”?
While our base case still calls for a S&P 500 trading range, we are open to the possibility that stock prices could break out to all-time highs.
We have outlined the bullish factors that should put a floor on stock prices should they weaken. Investors should monitor our bullish triggers that the bulls have taken control.

Iron Ore Tracker (23-June-2025): Iron Ore Due for A Small Bounce?

By Sameer Taneja

Iron ore continued to slip into negative territory and has now breached the lower end of the range of 95-130 USD/ton, which it has maintained over the last four years.
Data from CISA (China Iron and Steel Association) showed a decline in daily steel production YoY for May and June (tracking -4% YoY), after a lacklustre April (flat steel production).
The bright spot is that China continues to maintain strong net exports with May numbers at 10.1 million tons (121 million tons annualized), and mill margins are improving.

Copper Tracker 23rd June 2025: Bullish On Low Inventory, But Need To Monitor China

By Sameer Taneja

Copper prices on the spot market are set to breach 10,000 USD/ton again as inventory levels tighten on the LME, driven by a rush to ship metal to the US.
Current KPIs in China, such as weak steel production (-2-3% YoY est.) and thermal power production (-19% YoY) for May temper our bullishness.
We are bullish on copper in the short term, expecting it to break above $10,000 USD easily. However, we will closely monitor China data for potential impacts on the outlook.

Forecasting Fed Policy: Hints From the Hard Data

By Cam Hui

The Fed is on hold and waiting the data to guide its monetary policy. Preliminary data shows that the economy is slowing, but not in an alarming recessionary fashion.
Early indications from apparel CPI point to modest tariff pass-through effects on inflation, which is positive news.
The key risk is that a prolonged Middle East conflict could boost commodity prices and raise the odds of a stagflation scenario of weak growth and rising inflation.

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Jun 23

Most Read: Zhejiang Sanhua Intellignt Controls, ROHM Co Ltd, VanEck Gold Miners ETF/USA, ENN Energy, Hygon Information Technology C, SK Inc, NTT Data Corp, Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Most Read

In today’s briefing:

Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls (2050 HK): Big Raise Supported by Cornerstones
Nikkei 225 Index Rebalance: Rohm (6963) To Replace NTT Data Group (9613)
[Quiddity Index] Nikkei 225 Boots NTT Data (9613) Early, Rohm (6963) IN 3 July; $3.8bn a Side
Curator’s Cut: Building Materials Moves, Benchmarking Gold Miners & Semaglutide in India and Japan
[Quiddity Index] Nikkei 225 Sep25 Rebal: One ADD/DEL, Less Certain Than Before
Merger Arb Mondays (23 June) – ENN Energy, Dickson, HKBN, Mayne, Insignia, Santos, Smartpay
Hygon/Sugon Merger: BIG Index Flows on Completion
Korea Holdco Rerating Pullback Risk: No Retroactive Treasury Cancellation
Last Week in Event SPACE: Shin Kong/Taishin, Santos, NTT Data, ENN Energy, Mitsui Matsushima
Sanhua Intelligent Controls H Share Listing (2050 HK): Trading Debut

Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls (2050 HK): Big Raise Supported by Cornerstones

By Brian Freitas

Zhejiang Sanhua Intellignt Controls Co. (002050 CH)‘s global offering opens today and the raise could reach up to US$1.4bn if the offer-size adjustment option and the overallotment option are exercised.
There is a large allocation to cornerstone investors. The discount of around 22.7% to the A-shares is attractive given the recent trend for Midea (300 HK) and CATL (3750 HK).
The H-shares should be added to Southbound Stock Connect in July, to the HSCI in September, and to a global index in December.

Nikkei 225 Index Rebalance: Rohm (6963) To Replace NTT Data Group (9613)

By Brian Freitas

Following the results of NTT (9432 JP)‘s tender offer for NTT Data Corp (9613 JP), NTT Data will be deleted from the Nikkei 225 (NKY INDEX).
ROHM Co Ltd (6963 JP) will be added to the Nikkei 225 (NKY INDEX) at the close on 3 July. The stock is up a fair bit from its lows.
Nearly all the NTT Data Corp shares not tendered will be held by passives and there will be selling in the stock as index providers move the float lower/delete.

[Quiddity Index] Nikkei 225 Boots NTT Data (9613) Early, Rohm (6963) IN 3 July; $3.8bn a Side

By Travis Lundy

Today the results of the NTT Data Corp (9613 JP) Tender Offer came out. NTT has 81.75%. I warned of lack of liquidity at that level yesterday here.
Yesterday I proposed that ROHM Co Ltd (6963 JP) would replace NTT Data in the Nikkei 225 and that the likely timing was the last couple of days of August.
Today, the Nikkei used the June 2020 rule change to announce NTT Data’s near-term deletion. Rohm goes in 3 July. 7.5x ADV to buy. $3.8bn a side to trade.

Curator’s Cut: Building Materials Moves, Benchmarking Gold Miners & Semaglutide in India and Japan

By Pranav Rao

Welcome to Curator’s Cut, a fortnightly roundup of standout themes from the 1,000+ insights published over the past two weeks on Smartkarma
In this cut, we spotlight building materials corporate actions, gold miners’ benchmark shifts, and semaglutide’s prospects in India and Japan
Want to dig deeper? Comment or message on the themes you think should be highlighted next

[Quiddity Index] Nikkei 225 Sep25 Rebal: One ADD/DEL, Less Certain Than Before

By Travis Lundy

I published a Sep25 Nikkei 225 prediction list last Wednesday. By Friday, we had a new paradigm due to an ad hoc change. That new paradigm informs the September selection.
As it is, I expect one (1) ADD (Shift Inc (3697 JP)) and one (1) DELETE (Tokuyama Corp (4043 JP)) – a prediction which change on a corporate announcement.
My confidence on the ADD is a little lower due to the implications of the choice of Rohm. And the interesting ECM trade for September remains Sony Financial.

Merger Arb Mondays (23 June) – ENN Energy, Dickson, HKBN, Mayne, Insignia, Santos, Smartpay

By Arun George

We summarise the latest spreads and newsflow of merger arb situations we cover across Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Chinese ADRs.
Highest spreads: Mayne Pharma (MYX AU), Insignia Financial (IFL AU), ENN Energy (2688 HK), Smartpay Holdings (SPY NZ), Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP), Santos Ltd (STO AU).
Lowest spreads: Bright Smart Securities And (1428 HK), Ascentech KK (3565 JP), Brickworks Ltd (BKW AU), Toyota Industries (6201 JP), Avjennings Ltd (AVJ AU), Hainan Meilan International Airport (357 HK).

Hygon/Sugon Merger: BIG Index Flows on Completion

By Brian Freitas

On 26 May, Hygon Information Technology (688041 CH) and Dawning Information Industry (603019 CH) announced a merger in a sign of consolidation in China’s chipmaking industry.
For each share of Dawning held, shareholders will receive 0.5525 shares of Hygon. With uncertainty on the timeline for merger completion, Dawning is trading at a 10% discount.
On completion of the merger, passive trackers will need to buy over US$1.1bn of Hygon Information Technology C (688041 CH) with nearly of that from local index trackers.

Korea Holdco Rerating Pullback Risk: No Retroactive Treasury Cancellation

By Sanghyun Park

Mandatory treasury cancellation isn’t in the current bill, but FSC and MOJ have started internal reviews; enforcement decree could drop as early as Q4.
An internal policy paper suggests mandatory cancellation will apply only to newly acquired treasury shares, with tight limits on existing ones to curb owner control abuse.
Lack of retroactive cancellation weakens the bull case, and while holdco sentiment stays upbeat, momentum may fade, opening the door to a tactical pullback.

Last Week in Event SPACE: Shin Kong/Taishin, Santos, NTT Data, ENN Energy, Mitsui Matsushima

Taishin Financial (2887 TT) is cheap to peers. Shin Kong Financial (2888 TT) is cheap vs Taishin. Long Shin Kong. Long Taishin vs Peers. Long Shin Kong vs Taishin Peers.
Abu Dhabi makes a big, bold bet on Santos Ltd (STO AU). However FIRB will have the last word on whether the deal goes through.
If the results show NTT owns >80% of NTT Data (9613 JP), buy a lot for a potential squeeze. If the results show NTT owns 68-70%, you can probably ignore.

Sanhua Intelligent Controls H Share Listing (2050 HK): Trading Debut

By Arun George

Zhejiang Sanhua Intelligent Controls (2050 HK) priced its H Share at HK$22.53 to raise HK$9,336 million (US$1.2 billion) in gross proceeds. The H Share will be listed tomorrow.
I discussed the H Share listing in Sanhua Intelligent Controls H Share Listing: The Investment Case.
Sanhua had the highest international oversubscription rates among recent large AH listings. Despite the weak price momentum, the AH discount is attractive.

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Jun 22

Daily Brief ESG: Governance Issues Have Not Been Resolved as Far as Profiles of TSE-Listed Companies Shows and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, ESG

In today’s briefing:

Governance Issues Have Not Been Resolved as Far as Profiles of TSE-Listed Companies Shows

Governance Issues Have Not Been Resolved as Far as Profiles of TSE-Listed Companies Shows

By Aki Matsumoto

The fact that 59.2% of companies have March fiscal year-end and concentrate AGMs in the last week of June, preventing shareholders from attending AGMs, is a fundamental corporate governance issue.
Companies with foreign shareholdings of over 30% represent 17.4% of prime market. Most companies continue to run without a sense of urgency and without much influence from overseas investors.
While the number of listed subsidiaries has decreased over the past decade, the number of equity method affiliates has increased significantly. The business portfolio has not yet been fundamentally restructured.

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Jun 22

Daily Brief ECM: China Healthcare Weekly (Jun.22) – CNPGC to Acquire Shuanglin and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, ECM

In today’s briefing:

China Healthcare Weekly (Jun.22) – CNPGC to Acquire Shuanglin, Thoughts on Zhou Liu Fu’s IPO Pricing
FWD Group IPO: The Investment Case

China Healthcare Weekly (Jun.22) – CNPGC to Acquire Shuanglin, Thoughts on Zhou Liu Fu’s IPO Pricing

By Xinyao (Criss) Wang

The 2024 China Hospital Medication Market Pattern Report has been released, and we have found some interesting points worth the attention.
CNPGC plans to acquire 21.03% of Pacific Shuanglin’s shares at a premium of over 30% and become the actual controller. Due to horizontal competition issue, there’s potential M&A/privatization opportunities here.
The IPO of Zhou Liu Fu is fairly priced. But fundamentals would not improve due to high gold prices and would deteriorate instead. Share price upside potential could be lower-than-expected.

FWD Group IPO: The Investment Case

By Arun George

FWD Group Holdings (FWD HK) is a pan-Asia insurer that has filed its PHIP to raise around US$500 million.
FWD initially aimed for an NYSE IPO in 2021 to raise US$2-3 billion at a US$13-15 billion valuation. An HKEx listing in 2022 was shelved due to market conditions.
This note outlines the investment case. My analysis suggests that the fundamentals are mixed as FWD is rapidly growing its new business, but at the expense of its margin.

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Jun 22

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): China Property Management Sector: Navigating Turbulence for Investment Opportunities and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

China Property Management Sector: Navigating Turbulence for Investment Opportunities
APAC Healthcare Weekly (June 22)- Samsung Biologics, Daewoong Pharma, Shionogi, Simcere, CSL

China Property Management Sector: Navigating Turbulence for Investment Opportunities

By Jacob Cheng

We initiated research on the China property management sector. The PMC sector is characterized by its asset light nature, stable recurring revenue as well as net cash balance sheet
The relationship between PMCs and parent developer is multi-faceted. Although PMCs are fundamentally safer, we think investors need to restore their confidence in developers first for re-rating to occur
For investors with higher risk tolerance, we think LONG CR MixC and LONG COPL (both backed by SOE developers) offer a favourable risk-reward profile

APAC Healthcare Weekly (June 22)- Samsung Biologics, Daewoong Pharma, Shionogi, Simcere, CSL

By Tina Banerjee

Samsung Biologics launches organoid-based drug screening services to support early-stage drug discovery and development. Daewoong Pharmaceutical signed a five-year KRW74B export agreement for botulinum toxin product with its Thailand partner.
Shionogi’s tender offer for Torii Pharmaceutical has become successful. Simcere stuck outlicensing agreement with NextCure for ADC drug candidate SIM0505 for upfront payment, development, and sales milestones up to $745M.
CSL received FDA approval of Andemry for hereditary angioedema. PharmaEssentia has received marketing approval of Besremi in Argentina. Lotus Pharmaceutical acquires a portfolio of five drugs in Vietnam.

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Jun 22

Daily Brief Event-Driven: Last Week in Event SPACE: Shin Kong/Taishin and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Event-Driven

In today’s briefing:

Last Week in Event SPACE: Shin Kong/Taishin, Santos, NTT Data, ENN Energy, Mitsui Matsushima
(Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: Adriatic Metals, Carta, Mayne Pharma, PointsBet, Tourism Holdings

Last Week in Event SPACE: Shin Kong/Taishin, Santos, NTT Data, ENN Energy, Mitsui Matsushima

Taishin Financial (2887 TT) is cheap to peers. Shin Kong Financial (2888 TT) is cheap vs Taishin. Long Shin Kong. Long Taishin vs Peers. Long Shin Kong vs Taishin Peers.
Abu Dhabi makes a big, bold bet on Santos Ltd (STO AU). However FIRB will have the last word on whether the deal goes through.
If the results show NTT owns >80% of NTT Data (9613 JP), buy a lot for a potential squeeze. If the results show NTT owns 68-70%, you can probably ignore.

(Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: Adriatic Metals, Carta, Mayne Pharma, PointsBet, Tourism Holdings

I tally 46 – mostly firm, mostly Asia-Pac – arb transactions currently being discussed and analysed on Smartkarma.
Four new deal were discussed on Smartkarma this week: Santos Ltd (STO AU), Adriatic Metals PLC (ADT AU), Tourism Holdings (THL NZ), and Carta Holdings, Inc. (3688 JP).
Key updates/news took place on: Mayne Pharma (MYX AU), PointsBet Holdings (PBH AU), New World Resources (NWC AU), and Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK).

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Jun 22

Daily Brief Equity Bottom-Up: Ampol (ALD AU) Vs. Woodside Energy (WDS AU): Fueling an Aussie Mean-Reversion Trade and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Equity Bottom-Up

In today’s briefing:

Ampol (ALD AU) Vs. Woodside Energy (WDS AU): Fueling an Aussie Mean-Reversion Trade
Sysmex Corp (6869 JP): Forex to Take Some Sheen Away off Growth in FY26; Japan Still Remains Key
Perseus Mining Vs. Capricorn Metals: Striking Gold with Statistical Arbitrage
JFE Holdings (5411 JP) – Stable Core, Strategic JSW Stake, and Deep-Value Opportunity
Linde plc: Initiation of Coverage- Positioned to Dominate High-Growth Markets with Disruptive Tech Edge!
Okta Inc.: Its Strength In the Public Sector Is One Of Its Biggest Catalysts!
How Kinder Morgan Is Balancing Debt & Growth with Game-Changing Projects Set to Power the Future!
Abbott Laboratories Expansion Play: Can Global Growth & Local Manufacturing Drive the Next Surge?
Digital Turbine: Expansion of Device Footprint
Boston Scientific WATCHMAN Surge: Will 20% Growth & New Clinical Data Cement Its Cardiovascular Dominance?

Ampol (ALD AU) Vs. Woodside Energy (WDS AU): Fueling an Aussie Mean-Reversion Trade

Context: Statistical analysis of a relative value opportunity in the Australian Oil & Gas industry between Ampol (ALD AU) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (WDS AU).
Highlights: Going long Ampol and short Woodside targets an 8% return to the statistical mean reversion level.
Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

Sysmex Corp (6869 JP): Forex to Take Some Sheen Away off Growth in FY26; Japan Still Remains Key

By Tina Banerjee

In FY25, Sysmex Corp (6869 JP) revenue rose 10% YoY to ¥509B. Operating profit margin expanded 20bps to 17.2%. Amid rising costs, favorable Fx impact of ¥8.6B drove the margin.
Sales grew across regions as instrument installed increased and use of reagents multiplied. America’s volatile margin is a concern, amid the fact that Japan remains the major margin contributor.
For FY26, Sysmex has guided for revenue of ¥535B (+5% YoY). The company has factored in the impact of tariff estimating annual cost of sales impact of approximately ¥3B-4B.

Perseus Mining Vs. Capricorn Metals: Striking Gold with Statistical Arbitrage

Context: Statistical analysis of a relative value opportunity between Perseus Mining (PRU AU) and Capricorn Metals (CMM AU), two Australian gold miners.
Highlights: Going long Perseus Mining and short Capricorn Metals targets a 9% return to the statistical mean reversion level, with Perseus offering cheaper valuations and higher growth.
Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

JFE Holdings (5411 JP) – Stable Core, Strategic JSW Stake, and Deep-Value Opportunity

By Rahul Jain

JFE Holdings rebounded from COVID-era losses to deliver peak earnings in FY22, followed by a gradual normalization through FY25, with stable steel volumes but declining margins amid weak domestic demand.
The group is investing ¥970B (~$6.5B) through FY2030 across decarbonization, product upgrades (e.g., electrical steel, galvanizing), and overseas downstream expansion to sustain competitiveness.
Adjusting for its ₹910B (~¥1.7T) JSW stake, ~30% of EV, JFE trades at just 2.7x EV/EBITDA—deeply discounted vs peers like Nippon Steel and POSCO.

Linde plc: Initiation of Coverage- Positioned to Dominate High-Growth Markets with Disruptive Tech Edge!

Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, recently reported its first quarter financial results for 2025.
Despite navigating economic headwinds, the company demonstrated resilience, reflecting the robustness of its operating model.
Linde employees managed to deliver an 8% growth in Earnings Per Share (EPS) excluding foreign exchange impacts, while expanding operating margins by 120 basis points to 30.1%.

Okta Inc.: Its Strength In the Public Sector Is One Of Its Biggest Catalysts!

Okta, Inc. has provided a mixed yet insightful picture of its progress and challenges from its latest earnings results.
On the positive side, the company has reported robust financial indicators for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, including record operating profitability and strong cash flows.
These financials showcase Okta’s capability to efficiently manage costs and drive profitability despite a generally cautious economic environment.

How Kinder Morgan Is Balancing Debt & Growth with Game-Changing Projects Set to Power the Future!

Kinder Morgan reported a quarter with financial performance mostly in line with expectations, pointing to a strong demand for natural gas, particularly driven by LNG exports and increasingly by power generation needs, which include data centers.
The company is witnessing encouraging demand projections tied to a continued growth in U.S. natural gas consumption, expected to rise significantly by the decade’s end.
Current transport volumes have reflected the robust demand across key sectors such as residential, commercial, and power generation, with the company citing historical demand benchmarks from past decades to illustrate the potential for continued growth.

Abbott Laboratories Expansion Play: Can Global Growth & Local Manufacturing Drive the Next Surge?

Abbott Laboratories recently shared its first quarter 2025 earnings results, revealing a strong performance amidst a challenging global environment influenced by new tariff policies and ongoing economic uncertainties.
Abbott’s diversified model and strategic framework contribute to the company’s operational resilience, as evidenced by its ability to meet growth objectives and deliver high single-digit sales growth alongside double-digit earnings per share (EPS) growth.
Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

Digital Turbine: Expansion of Device Footprint

Digital Turbine, Inc.’s latest financial results demonstrate a blend of positive developments and ongoing challenges.
For the fiscal fourth quarter ending March 2025, the company returned to year-over-year growth, generating $119.1 million in revenue and $20.5 million in EBITDA, with a non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.10.
This marks a 6% increase in revenue compared to the previous year and a significant 66% rise in year-over-year EBITDA.

Boston Scientific WATCHMAN Surge: Will 20% Growth & New Clinical Data Cement Its Cardiovascular Dominance?

Boston Scientific Corporation reported strong first quarter 2025 results, exhibiting significant growth in both revenue and earnings.
The company’s total operational sales increased by 22% while organic sales grew by 18%, surpassing the upper range of guidance of 14% to 16%.
In terms of earnings, the first quarter adjusted EPS reached $0.75, a 34% growth over the previous year, exceeding the projected range of $0.66 to $0.68.

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Jun 22

Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Ampol, Perseus Mining, JFE Holdings, Linde , Kinder Morgan, CRB Commodity Index, Santos Ltd, Kinetik Holdings and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Energy & Materials Sector

In today’s briefing:

Ampol (ALD AU) Vs. Woodside Energy (WDS AU): Fueling an Aussie Mean-Reversion Trade
Perseus Mining Vs. Capricorn Metals: Striking Gold with Statistical Arbitrage
JFE Holdings (5411 JP) – Stable Core, Strategic JSW Stake, and Deep-Value Opportunity
Linde plc: Initiation of Coverage- Positioned to Dominate High-Growth Markets with Disruptive Tech Edge!
How Kinder Morgan Is Balancing Debt & Growth with Game-Changing Projects Set to Power the Future!
Overview# 29- The Hard-Asset Reset: Buying the Pullback in Commodities
(Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: Adriatic Metals, Carta, Mayne Pharma, PointsBet, Tourism Holdings
Kinetik Holdings: Its New Partnerships In Infrastructure & Power Generation Projects Can Be A Potential Game Changer!

Ampol (ALD AU) Vs. Woodside Energy (WDS AU): Fueling an Aussie Mean-Reversion Trade

Context: Statistical analysis of a relative value opportunity in the Australian Oil & Gas industry between Ampol (ALD AU) and Woodside Energy Group Ltd (WDS AU).
Highlights: Going long Ampol and short Woodside targets an 8% return to the statistical mean reversion level.
Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

Perseus Mining Vs. Capricorn Metals: Striking Gold with Statistical Arbitrage

Context: Statistical analysis of a relative value opportunity between Perseus Mining (PRU AU) and Capricorn Metals (CMM AU), two Australian gold miners.
Highlights: Going long Perseus Mining and short Capricorn Metals targets a 9% return to the statistical mean reversion level, with Perseus offering cheaper valuations and higher growth.
Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

JFE Holdings (5411 JP) – Stable Core, Strategic JSW Stake, and Deep-Value Opportunity

By Rahul Jain

JFE Holdings rebounded from COVID-era losses to deliver peak earnings in FY22, followed by a gradual normalization through FY25, with stable steel volumes but declining margins amid weak domestic demand.
The group is investing ¥970B (~$6.5B) through FY2030 across decarbonization, product upgrades (e.g., electrical steel, galvanizing), and overseas downstream expansion to sustain competitiveness.
Adjusting for its ₹910B (~¥1.7T) JSW stake, ~30% of EV, JFE trades at just 2.7x EV/EBITDA—deeply discounted vs peers like Nippon Steel and POSCO.

Linde plc: Initiation of Coverage- Positioned to Dominate High-Growth Markets with Disruptive Tech Edge!

Linde, a leading global industrial gases and engineering company, recently reported its first quarter financial results for 2025.
Despite navigating economic headwinds, the company demonstrated resilience, reflecting the robustness of its operating model.
Linde employees managed to deliver an 8% growth in Earnings Per Share (EPS) excluding foreign exchange impacts, while expanding operating margins by 120 basis points to 30.1%.

How Kinder Morgan Is Balancing Debt & Growth with Game-Changing Projects Set to Power the Future!

Kinder Morgan reported a quarter with financial performance mostly in line with expectations, pointing to a strong demand for natural gas, particularly driven by LNG exports and increasingly by power generation needs, which include data centers.
The company is witnessing encouraging demand projections tied to a continued growth in U.S. natural gas consumption, expected to rise significantly by the decade’s end.
Current transport volumes have reflected the robust demand across key sectors such as residential, commercial, and power generation, with the company citing historical demand benchmarks from past decades to illustrate the potential for continued growth.

Overview# 29- The Hard-Asset Reset: Buying the Pullback in Commodities

By Rikki Malik

We look at certain investor positioning in the commodity sector
A bear market rally in the USD is the biggest risk and opportunity.
We add some soft commodities to the inflation beneficiaries’ basket

(Mostly) Asia-Pac M&A: Adriatic Metals, Carta, Mayne Pharma, PointsBet, Tourism Holdings

I tally 46 – mostly firm, mostly Asia-Pac – arb transactions currently being discussed and analysed on Smartkarma.
Four new deal were discussed on Smartkarma this week: Santos Ltd (STO AU), Adriatic Metals PLC (ADT AU), Tourism Holdings (THL NZ), and Carta Holdings, Inc. (3688 JP).
Key updates/news took place on: Mayne Pharma (MYX AU), PointsBet Holdings (PBH AU), New World Resources (NWC AU), and Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK).

Kinetik Holdings: Its New Partnerships In Infrastructure & Power Generation Projects Can Be A Potential Game Changer!

Kinetik Holdings Inc. has reported its first quarter 2025 financial results, demonstrating a strong performance that exceeded internal expectations.
The company announced an increase in its share repurchase program to $500 million, indicating a commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
The quarter saw a 7% year-over-year growth in adjusted EBITDA, reaching $250 million, driven by increased processed gas volumes and margin expansion in their Midstream Logistics segment.

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Jun 22

Daily Brief Industrials: Stanley Black & Decker, Plug Power Inc and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Industrials

In today’s briefing:

Stanley Black & Decker Unleashes $500 Million Supply Chain Overhaul to Battle Tariff Headwinds; Will It Work?
Plug Power: Hydrogen Production Facilities in the U.S. & Critical Factors Powering Our Optimism!

Stanley Black & Decker Unleashes $500 Million Supply Chain Overhaul to Battle Tariff Headwinds; Will It Work?

Stanley Black & Decker’s first quarter earnings for 2025 reflected continued progress in line with its transformation strategy, demonstrating both positive outcomes and ongoing challenges.
The company reported organic revenue growth of 1%, driven by strong performance in its outdoor products segment and key contributions from the DEWALT brand, which showed mid-single-digit revenue growth.
The execution of strategic initiatives seems to have resulted in improved supply chain efficiencies, helping to drive a year-over-year gross margin expansion of 140 basis points to 30.4%.

Plug Power: Hydrogen Production Facilities in the U.S. & Critical Factors Powering Our Optimism!