Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- GIS -4.4%, CP -2.9% (guidance), NG -2%, JEF -1.4% (also increases repurchase program to $250 mln)
Select semiconductor related names showing early weakness following reports the US mulling new restrictions on artificial intelligence chip exports from China:
- NVDA -3%, AMD -2.7%, SMH -1.3%, MU -0.9%, INTC -0.7%
Other news:
- ASTS -25.7% (launches 12 mln share offering)
- ETON -19.6% (receives Complete Response Letter (CRL) for dehydrated alcohol injection for the treatment of methanol poisoning)
- AXSM -11.2% (proposed public offering of common stock)
- FHTX -6% (clinical data from phase 1 study of FHD-286)
- EAR -3.2% (approves cost reduction plan 32-42% workforce reduction; CEO to step down)
- LQDA -1.5% (Liquidia Technologies and Pharmosa Biopharm to collaborate for sustained-release inhaled treprostinil product in North America)
- GPI -1% (SVP sold 10,000 shares)
Analyst comments:
- MLCO -2.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities)
- DKL -2.3% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup)
- UBER -0.6% (downgraded to Outperform from Buy at Daiwa Securities)
Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- AVAV +5.2%, ROIV +4%, GB +2.7%
Other news:
- RETA +7.7% (receives FDA approval of prior approval supplement for SKYCLARYS)
- CIR +6.8% (receives acquisition proposal from Arcline for $57.00 per share)
- CMRX +3.2% (names new CEO)
- MSGE +2.5% (Director bought 322580 shares)
- SPR +1.8% (labor deal with union still needs ratification)
- IGT +1.5% (to provide its casino mgmt system to the Rio Hotel)
- PRIM +1.4% (receives solar projects with combined value of $770 mln)
- BA +1.3% (in sympathy with SPR labor deal)
Analyst comments:
- LPX +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Truist)
- NNN +1.8% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney)
- BCC +1.4% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Truist)
- CBU +0.9% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Hovde Group)
Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- RETA +8.7%, CIR +7%, AVAV +6.5%, VRNA +3.3%, CMRX +3.2%, KEN +3%, GB +2.7%, MSGE +2.5%, PRIM +1.4%, EAR +1%, BA +0.8%, SPR +0.8%, GD +0.6%
- Gapping down:
- ASTS -24.5%, AXSM -7.6%, NVDA -3.9%, AMD -3.3%, EXK -1.8%, LQDA -1.5%, IGT -1.4%, JEF -1.4%, GPI -1%, MU -1%, DKNG -1%, INTC -0.9%
European airport boss calls for scrutiny of rising airfares
Ticket prices have shot up thanks to a combination of huge demand and a shortage of aircraft
A senior European airport executive has called on regulators to scrutinise the cost of air fares following a surge in ticket prices this year.
Olivier Jankovec, director-general of airport trade body ACI Europe, said ticket prices had risen 30 per cent year-on-year in Europe and regulators should “monitor the level of air fares, and check whether there is no abuse of pricing power”.
Ticket prices have shot up despite the weak economic backdrop thanks to a combination of huge demand since the end of pandemic restrictions and a shortage of aircraft.
Jankovec said he was not asking for air fares to be capped, but that it was “legitimate” to question why many major airports had their landing fees capped while airlines were free to charge whatever they wanted.
Regulators like the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK oversee consumer protection in the industry, including passenger rights during disruption.
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The CAA has intervened when there have been problems like last summer’s travel chaos, and the delays to passenger refunds for cancelled flights during the pandemic.
But while national regulators can cap landing fees that airports are allowed to charge, they don’t have any role in setting airfares.
One executive at a European regulator said it would be “challenging” to control ticket prices.
Jankovec said airlines “continue to cry and whine” about airport landing charges, which are passed on to passengers through airfares, while “exerting massive pricing power” by raising ticket prices.
In response, trade group Airlines for Europe, which represents carriers including easyJet, Ryanair and British Airways, said competition among airlines has helped drive down air fares and “delivered affordable air travel for millions of European consumers”.
“Ultimately, airports — especially larger ones — still function as natural monopolies, necessitating firm regulatory oversight to keep them in check,” it said.
Airlines and airports have regularly clashed as the industry has recovered from the pandemic.
London’s Heathrow has been the site of the biggest rows, with airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic leading a successful push to stop the airport raising its fees by 90 per cent following the pandemic.
ACI Europe on Tuesday said Europe’s airports posted a combined net profit of €6.4bn in 2022, the industry’s first since 2019. But it said this had partly been achieved by companies “significantly” cutting capital investment.
The industry body said the number of cities connected by air travel in Europe has fallen 16 per cent since 2019 as airlines have prioritised the busiest and most lucrative routes. This means “travellers from European airports continue to see fewer options”.
>>> Up
* Aedas Homes SA Raised to Outperform at Renta 4; PT 20.50 euros (+)
* Boliden Raised to Neutral at BNPP Exane; PT 315 kronor
* BHG Group Raised to Buy at ABG; PT 23 kronor
* Centamin Raised to Hold From Sell by RBC; PT cut to 89p from 93p
* Centamin Raised to Hold at Liberum; PT 89 pence (+)
* Credem Raised to Buy at Jefferies, Pop. Sondrio Cut to Hold
* Credito Emiliano Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT 8.90 euros
* Credito Emiliano Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT 8.90 euros
* Inmobiliaria del Sur Raised to Outperform at Renta 4 (+)
* Partners Group Raised to Buy at Citi; PT 940 Swiss francs
* Prosus Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT 77 euros
* Sage Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 1,100 pence
* SBB Raised to Neutral at Goldman; PT 4 kronor
* Thule Raised to Buy at Pareto Securities; PT 350 kronor (+)
* Vodafone Raised to Neutral at BNPP Exane (+)
>>> Down
>>> Down
* Aker Horizons Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 7 kroner
* Carnival Cut to Hold at CFRA; PT $16
* Ciech Cut to Hold at Erste Group; PT 49.80 zloty
* Pop. Sondrio Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 4.40 euros
* Pop. Sondrio Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 4.40 euros
* Siemens Energy Cut to Neutral at UBS; PT 16 euros (+)
* Vale ADRs Cut to Underperform at BNPP Exane; PT $13.20
>>> Initiation
>>> Initiation
* Carrefour Reinstated Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 21 euros
* Cboe Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays (+)
* CME Group Rated New Overweight at Barclays; PT $215 (+)
* EasyJet Reinstated Sector Perform at RBC; PT 540 pence
* Ercros Rated New Buy at Mirabaud Securities; PT 4.40 euros
* IAG Reinstated Sector Perform at RBC; PT 180 pence
* IAG Reinstated Sector Perform at RBC; PT 180 pence
* Intercontinental Exchange Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays (+)
* Lufthansa Reinstated Sector Perform at RBC; PT 10 euros
* MarketAxess Rated New Overweight at Barclays; PT $310 (+)
* Ryanair Reinstated Outperform at RBC; PT 21.50 euros
* Siem Offshore Reinstated Buy at Pareto Securities (+)
* Tatton Asset Management Rated New Buy at Peel Hunt; PT 550 pence
* TMX Group Rated New Equal-Weight at Barclays (+)
* WAG Payment Solutions Rated New Buy at Wood & Company
* Wizz Air Reinstated Outperform at RBC; PT 3,900 pence
>>> Call
* Barclays Strategists See Investors Forced to Chase Stocks Higher (+)
* Carrefour, Cheap and Cash Rich, Is Top Pick at Morgan Stanley (+)
* DSM-Firmenich Profit Warning Shows Vitamin Pricing Woes: Citi (+)
* Goldman Strategists Say Russell 2000 Offers Higher Return, Risk (+)
* Morgan Stanley Strategists Say US Has Highest Domestic Exposure (+)
* Partners Group Raised at Citi, Intermediate Capital Top Pick
* Ryanair, Wizz Air Preferred Names at RBC Among European Airlines
* Ryanair, Wizz Air Preferred Names at RBC Among European Airlines
* SBB Upgraded to Neutral at Goldman Following Underperformance (+)
* Siemens Energy Cut at UBS on Gamesa Provisions, Turbine Issues (+)
VW Curbs EV Production As EU Demand Falters Amid Gloomier Economic Picture
German newspaper Nordwest-Zeitung reports Volkswagen has temporarily reduced the production of electric vehicles at one of its plants.
Volkswagen's Emden plant in Lower Saxony has reduced production of the electric ID.4 compact SUV and ID.7 sedan for the next two weeks because of weakening sales.
Industry blog Autocar reported Manfred Wulff, head of the works council for the Emden plant, told German Press Agency in an earlier article published by the North West newspaper that while EV production was being reduced, production of combustion-engine models, including the Volkswagen Passat, are unaffected.
Wulff said 300 of the current 1,500 temporary workers employed at the plant would not have their contracts renewed in August. And he noted EV demand is 30% below planned production figures.
"We are experiencing strong customer reluctance in the electric vehicle sector," he told the North West.
Wulff noted that the ID 7 saloon, planned to start production in July, would be delayed to "later this year."
North West interviewed the minister of economic affairs for Lower Saxony, Olaf Lies, who said, "Registration numbers of electric vehicles continue to be high, but what concerns us is the current dip in demand - not only at Volkswagen but across all manufacturers."
The timing of this news comes as the eurozone economy was in a technical recession in the first three months of 2023.
The contraction was due to a downward revised second estimate from Germany's statistics office showing that the eurozone's largest economy was in recession in early 2023.
A downturn in the euro area economy is weighing on demand for large ticket items, like fancy EVs. Many on the continent have been dealing with the highest energy and food inflation in a generation as living standards plunge.
Stifel analyst Daniel Schwarz commented on the news. He said, "Reducing the number of temps and canceling a shift signals that VW is not expecting this to improve in the short term."
Could we be witnessing the beginning innings of EV demand cracking?
Klimt painting sets European record with $108 million price tag at Sotheby’s auction in London
LONDON (AP) — A late-life masterpiece by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt sold Tuesday for 85.3 million pounds ($108.4 million), making it the most expensive artwork ever auctioned in Europe.
“Dame mit Fächer” — Lady with a Fan — sold to a buyer in the room at Sotheby’s in London after a 10-minute bidding war for a hammer price of 74 million pounds ($94.35 million). The higher final figure includes a charge on top of the sale price known as the buyer’s premium.
The sale price well exceeded the presale estimate of 65 million pounds, or $80 million.
It also beat the previous European auction record of $104.3 million — 65 million pounds at the time — including buyer’s premium paid for Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture “Walking Man I” at Sotheby’s in 2010. Previously, the most expensive painting auctioned in Europe was Claude Monet’s “Le basin aux nymphéas,” which fetched $80.4 million at a Christie’s sale in 2008.
The piece sold Tuesday was the last portrait Klimt completed before his death in 1918. The painting shows an unidentified woman against a resplendent, China-influenced backdrop of dragons and lotus blossoms.
It was last sold in 1994, going for $11.6 million at an auction in New York.
Sotheby’s said the buyer was art adviser Patti Wong, acting on behalf of a Hong Kong collector.
Famed for his bold, daring art nouveau paintings, Klimt was a key figure in artistic modernism at the start of the 20th century. His work has fetched some of the highest prices for any artist.
Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” sold at a New York auction in 2006 for $87.9 million, and his landscape “Birch Forest” sold at Christie’s in New York last year for $104.6 million.
Two more of his portraits are reported to have sold privately for more than $100 million.
The world auction record for an artwork is the $450.3 million paid in 2017 for Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” though some experts dispute whether the panting of Jesus Christ is wholly the work of the Renaissance master.
- Nel (D7G TH) +1.5%
- Vodafone (VODI TH) +1.1%
- Siemens Energy (ENR TH) +1%
- Lanxess (LXS TH) +0.9%
- Sartorius (SRT3 TH) +0.9%
- Aixtron (AIXA TH) +0.8%
- Watch Semiconductors after Nvidia Drops on AI Chip Curbs Report
- Porsche AG (P911 TH) +0.7%
- Rheinmetall (RHM TH) +0.7%
- Carrefour (CAR TH) +0.7%
- Carrefour Reinstated Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 21 euros
- Porsche (PAH3 TH) +0.7%
- Veolia (VVD TH) -0.5%
- Unilever (UNVB TH) -0.6%
- Unilever Reader Interest Increases
- Bayer (BAYN TH) -1.6%
- DSM-Firmenich (ZX6 TH) -7.3%
- Sees Lower Adjusted Ebitda in 2023 on Weak Vitamin Market