In today’s briefing:
- GMO Internet (4784) DropDown Holdco Gone Ballistic – Squeezed on Truly Tiny Float
- Sanrio (8136 JP): Global Index Inclusion in May
- Adastria: Cautious on the Platform Narrative, But Optimistic on Margins and Valuation Rebound
- Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JP): Positive Phase 3 Results Of Orforglipron Augurs Well
- Nikkei Index Options Weekly (Apr 14 – 18): Vol Unwinds, Nikkei Rebounds and USD Cracks
- ECM Weekly (22 Apr 2025) – Suzuki, Zenergy, Chagee, Duality, Manycore, Horizon, Giant Bio, TV Asahi
- D. Western Therapeutics Institute (DWTI) 4576 JP – Full Report
- The Bigger Issue than the Lack of Higher Compensation for Outside Board Directors Is…
GMO Internet (4784) DropDown Holdco Gone Ballistic – Squeezed on Truly Tiny Float
- Gmo Ad Partners (4784 JP) has become GMO Internet as of 1 January 2025. On that day, it merged with the “internet infrastructure business” of GMO Internet (9449 JP).
- It was a kind of reverse takeover – a backdoor listing – and it on 24-Dec-2024, it was announced GMO Internet would move from TSE Standard to TSE Prime end-Jan2025.
- The stock is +300% since then. Why? A squeeze. Share count increase? 15x. Float share increase? Zero. Resulting Real World Float? 1.24% of shares out and about to shrink.
Sanrio (8136 JP): Global Index Inclusion in May
- Sanrio (8136 JP)‘s stock price dropped following the placement announcement in November. Then there was a rally in the stock amid increased volatility.
- The placement resulted in an increase in free float and the move higher in the stock could lead to Sanrio (8136 JP) being added to a global index in May.
- There is positioning in the stock but a lot of that appears to have been taken off in the last month. The stock could move higher depending on global cues.
Adastria: Cautious on the Platform Narrative, But Optimistic on Margins and Valuation Rebound
- Adastria’s “5th CHANGE” outlines a strategic pivot from specialty retail to a platform model aimed at scaling across brands, categories, and geographies while navigating domestic headwinds and evolving consumer behaviors.
- While Adastria Co Ltd (2685 JP)’s narrative emphasizes transformation, actual targets for user growth and GMV expansion appear modest, suggesting limited operational changes.
- Despite mixed views on the mid-term plan, we remain optimistic on Adastria. Gross margin normalization could drive meaningful OP upside, potentially surpassing mid-term plan targets.
Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JP): Positive Phase 3 Results Of Orforglipron Augurs Well
- Eli Lilly & Co (LLY US) has recently announced positive topline Phase 3 results for orforglipron, the GLP 1 RA drug candidate they licensed from Chugai Pharma in 2018.
- At the top dose, patients lost 7.3 kg of the 90.2 kg they weighed at the start of the trial, bettering Ozempic’s trial results.
- Once approved and commercialized, orforglipron should provide a long-term revenue visibility for Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519 JP) through milestone and royalty receipts from Lilly.
Nikkei Index Options Weekly (Apr 14 – 18): Vol Unwinds, Nikkei Rebounds and USD Cracks
- Nikkei rebounded and volatility eased meaningfully – implied vol giving back much of last week’s spike.
- USD/JPY softened alongside a broader break in DXY, raising questions about the depth of demand for USD assets.
- Option volumes dropped, and Put activity held steady with no clear directional tilt in flow.
ECM Weekly (22 Apr 2025) – Suzuki, Zenergy, Chagee, Duality, Manycore, Horizon, Giant Bio, TV Asahi
- Aequitas Research’s weekly update on the IPOs, placements, lockup expiry and other ECM linked events that were covered by the team over the past week.
- On the IPO front, Duality Biotherapeutics delivered a strong listing, while Jiangsu Zenergy Battery Technologies was still holding on to its deal price.
- On the placements front, we looked at number of upcoming lockup expiries.
D. Western Therapeutics Institute (DWTI) 4576 JP – Full Report
- SIR believes DWTI has entered an exciting new phase given significant advances in pipeline development achieved over the last 12 months.
- Key advances include: 1) publishing favorable topline results of in-house H-1337 PIIb US trials (strong prospects as “first choice as a second-line Glaucoma drug”),
- 2) commencing jointly developed Japan PII clinical trials of regenerative medicine cell therapy DWR-2206 with ActualEyes, and successfully completing all transplants
The Bigger Issue than the Lack of Higher Compensation for Outside Board Directors Is…
- It’s not desirable for shareholders to have outside directors who are comfortable and remain in office for a long period of time while they are expected to fulfill their duties.
- The high demand for outside directors of the same senior generation as inside directors has led to a situation in which senior outside directors hold positions at several companies.
- There are few competent young talents to take on the job of outside director among the senior, all-male, internal board directors who are under strong peer pressure.
💡 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
