Daily Brief Energy/Materials: EcoPro Materials, Irc Ltd, Schlumberger Ltd, Ocean Power Technologies, Pulsar Helium, Tata Steel Ltd and more

• TIGER ETF (305540) rebalanced on January 11th, with Ecopro Materials correcting by 4%, contrasting a 20% surge from Jan 8-10. TIGER recorded net purchases aligning with a 2% inclusion weight.
• Preemptive positions by local hedge funds were observed from Jan 8-10, closing on the 11th. Despite a KOSPI decline and minimal sector movement, Ecopro Materials exhibited this unusual price pattern.
• Observing this pattern implies a potential recurrence during the March rebalancing of KODEX ETF. Notably, local hedge funds may initiate similar preemptive positions. We should consider this in position setup.

• Back on the 1st November, Nikolai Levitskii, Russian iron-ore play IRC (1029 HK)‘s chairman and largest shareholder, acquired 4.72% of shares out, lifting his stake above 30%, triggering an MGO.
• The Offer is conditional on Levitskii holding more than 50% of shares out. His intention is to maintain IRC’s listing. At the first close, he held 35.77% (5.16% had tendered). 
• The current spread is 9.2%. MIC, with 16.67% of shares out, has yet to tender. Nor do I expect them to. Plus IRC is on the OFAC sanction list. Avoid.

• Growth is expected to be fueled by robust performance in international markets. Management expects revenue growth for 2023 to cross 15% YoY.
• Pretax operating margins in Q42023 to get a boost from higher year-end digital sales and seasonal product and equipment sales.
• The analyst consensus on the stock’s growth is overwhelmingly bullish given the expectation of strong growth in international and offshore segments.

• Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT) substantially completed its research and development (R&D) phase and has witnessed meaningful progress in orders, pipeline, and backlog across its business.
• Additionally, the company has reallocated headcount toward execution and commercialization to bolster its next phase of evolution.
• OPT’s cutting-edge suite of products provides comfort against macro headwinds and also positions the company for commercial success and profitability in 2025.

• Pulsar Helium is raising C$4.255 mm of new equity through a placement of 18.5 mm new unit at a price of C$0.23 per unit.
• Each unit consists of one share and one warrant with a strike price of C$0.36 per share. The warrants have a duration of 24 months.
• The proceeds of the raise will allow the company to fund the well test of the high impact Jetstream#1 appraisal well scheduled to spud in February at the Topaz project in Minnesota. 

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.

• Tata Steel Thailand