Daily Brief Japan: Suruga Bank Ltd, Nidec Corp, D.Western Therapeutics Institute Inc. and more

In today’s briefing:

Suruga Bank (8358 JP) – New Div, New Buyback, New KPIs, New 6yr High Price
Nidec (6594) | Forget the EV Slump
D. Western Therapeutics Institute (4576 JP) – Flurry of Pipeline Activity in 2023

Suruga Bank (8358 JP) – New Div, New Buyback, New KPIs, New 6yr High Price

10+ Months ago, Suruga Bank Ltd (8358 JP) announced it would sell a large chunk of its treasury shares to Credit Saison and would then buy back ¥22bn of stock.
I liked the odds in Suruga Bank (8358) To Sell, Then Buy Back 17% of the Bank, but HOW Is Key. They spent the ¥22bn. The stock rose a lot.
Today, we get a div hike for H2 (implying a div hike for this year too), another buyback, a huge share cancellation, and new KPIs. As always, details matter.

Nidec faces challenges amid global EV sales decline, with shares and valuations reflecting market pessimism.
Anticipated catalysts include forthcoming guidance, potential MTP reassessment, and a strategic acquisition opportunity.
At 18x EBIT, Nidec looks a compelling play on secular themes of electrification, automation, and energy efficiency.

Major milestones with high expectations coming in the next 2-3 years: 1) Phase IIb US trials for H-1337 as “first choice as a second-line Glaucoma drug” for patients who do not respond to PGs
2) 2024 application/approval and 2025 launch of DW- 1002 in Japan, 2023 application and 2024 approval/launch in China, as well as orphan drug designation for combination formula MembraneBlue-DualⓇ (DW-1002 + trypan blue) in the US,
3) in Japan, start P2 clinical trials in 2024, P3 trials in late 2025 though 2026, and normal schedule application for approval for regenerative cell-therapy DWR-2206 in 2027

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