Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- CLRO +59.9%, PLTR +18.2%, YMAB +15.2%, SHLS +14.4%, PGNY +8.9%, PAY +8.2%, DVA +7.6%, PINC +7.3%, HLIT +7.2%, AUDC +7.1%, BWXT +6.8%, HNRG +4.6%, CLVT +4.2%, ROVR +4%, ICUI +3.8%, SWAV +3.7%, KOS +3.2%, TREX +2.6%, MXCT +2.5%, RVMD +2.3%, GH +2.1%, DVN +2%, BRBR +2%, MCK +2%, INTA +2%, HPP +1.9%, ATKR +1.7%, ACM +1.6%, WDC +1.6%, VTNR +1.5%, TSLX +1.4%, JELD +1.4%, CRBG +1.3%, ONTF +1.2%, IIPR +1.1%, HBM +0.9%, VTR +0.8%
- Gapping down:
- ENTA -24.3%, SWKS -9.8%, DDD -9.2%, LCID -8.8%, CERT -6.7%, W -6.5%, MRVI -6.5%, AVTA -6.2%, TMCI -5.7%, HIMS -5.2%, PYPL -4.3%, SBSW -4.1%, BILI -3.5%, TASK -3.5%, ACLX -3.1%, FN -2.7%, BHF -2.6%, GBDC -2.3%, IDYA -2.2%, AMCR -2.1%, DRQ -2%, PRAA -2%, TALO -2%, SQSP -1.9%, XNCR -1.8%, IFF -1.7%, GVA -1.4%, BAK -1.4%, PCOR -1.2%, WTRG -1.1%, ACAD -1.1%, SAND -0.8%, CBT -0.8%, ASX -0.8%
>>> Up
* Aena Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT 175 euros
* Elmera Group ASA Raised to Buy at SpareBank; PT 22 kroner
* Elmos Semiconductor Raised to Buy at Hauck & Aufhaeuser (+)
* Enersense Raised to Accumulate at Inderes; PT 6 euros
* Fielmann Raised to Buy at Bryan Garnier; PT 54 euros
* IAG Raised to Buy at Peel Hunt; PT 175 pence
* IAG PT Raised to 350 pence from 240 pence at Liberum (+)
* Intertek Raised to Sector Perform at RBC; PT 3,900 pence
* Intesa Sanpaolo Raised to Neutral at Mediobanca SpA
* Vestas Raised to Hold at ABG; PT 190 kroner
>>> Down
* BioNTech ADRs PT Cut to $109 from $130 at Cowen
* Carlsberg Cut to Reduce at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 990 kroner (+)
* Capricorn Energy Cut to Hold at Peel Hunt; PT 250 pence
* Terna Cut to Hold at Equita; PT 8.60 euros
* Tulikivi Cut to Reduce at Inderes; PT 60 euro cents
>>> Initiation
* Deutsche Boerse Rated New Neutral at Goldman
* EQT Rated New Underperform at Autonomous; PT 228.57 kronor
* Euronext Rated New Neutral at Goldman
* Man Group Rated New Neutral at Autonomous; PT 234.37 pence
* Partners Group Rated New Outperform at Autonomous
* Standard Supply Rated New Buy at Arctic Securities (+)
>>> Call
* Aena Shares Appear Undervalued, Upgraded to Buy at Jefferies
* IAG Raised to Buy at Peel Hunt Following Strong Start to Year
* JPMorgan Lowers Euro-Zone Equities to Underweight
* LSE Is Goldman Exchanges Pick; Deutsche Boerse, Euronext Neutral
* UBS Management Reshuffle Gives ‘Welcome’ Visibility, RBC Says (+)
* Wacker Neuson Results Exceptionally Strong, Jefferies Says
Saudi Aramco profits fall by almost a fifth
Group reports net income of $32bn as oil prices decline but pledges to pay $19bn dividend next quarter
First-quarter profits at oil group Saudi Aramco dropped by almost a fifth after oil prices slumped, according to a filing on Tuesday.
The company reported $31.9bn in net income for the period, 19 per cent lower than the same period last year, although it said it would pay a $19.5bn dividend in the next quarter.
Aramco made record profits of $161bn in 2022 and increased its quarterly payout to shareholders to almost $20bn as oil prices soared after Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine.
The company said it remained well positioned despite the decline in prices.
“Global crude oil prices declined in the first quarter of 2023 mainly driven by macroeconomic events contributing to market volatility. Aramco believes it is well positioned to withstand fluctuating commodity prices through its low-cost upstream production and strategically integrated downstream operations,” it said in a statement.
Glencore plans Europe’s biggest electric car battery recycling plant
Commodity trader and mining group aims to extend its business to take advantage of big demand for EVs
Glencore has plans to build Europe’s largest battery recycling plant as it seeks to grow its natural resources business on the back of the switch to electric cars.
The Swiss-based company, one of the world’s largest diversified natural resources groups with commodity trading and mining arms, is launching a joint study with Canada’s Li-Cycle into building the facility in Italy by 2027.
The London listed company, which has a 10 per cent stake in Li-Cycle, aims to repurpose its zinc and lead smelter in Sardinia to produce lithium, nickel and cobalt, key metals used to make batteries for electric cars.
Converting the 94-year-old site would extend Glencore’s control over the supply of critical raw materials needed by carmakers.
It would also give it a leading role in battery recycling, while bolstering its portfolio of copper, nickel and cobalt mines. It has already established itself as one of the world’s largest metal recyclers.
Glencore chief executive Gary Nagle has said that recycling already contributes $200-250mn of the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, which was $34.1bn in total in 2022.
He added that the unit’s growth is expected to be “exponential” because tens of millions of EVs worldwide will be due for recycling in anywhere between eight to 15 years time.
Tim Johnston, co-founder and chair of Li-Cycle, said: “This is a landmark project for Europe’s battery recycling industry.” He added: “These assets are needed soon.”
The plans at the Sardinia site involve recycling disused portable electronics, scrap from battery manufacturing and old EV batteries to create lithium, nickel and cobalt supplies.
The plant will be capable of processing up to 50,000 to 70,000 tonnes of black mass, shredded batteries that would undergo hydrometallurgical processes to extract the raw materials.
That would be enough to recycle batteries from 600,000 used electric cars.
Recycling is set to play an important role in easing the demand for primary raw materials from mines, especially given Europe’s lack of domestic mining supply.
Battery recycling firm Li-Cycle predicts that 10 per cent of Europe’s lithium demand will be satisfied by recycled supply by 2030.
EU legislators have proposed that batteries in EVs must contain above a certain threshold of recycled raw materials from 2030, rising to 20 per cent for cobalt, 10 per cent for lithium and 12 per cent for nickel five years later, as well as setting recycling recovery rate targets.
Kunal Sinha, head of recycling at Glencore, said the group intended to meet growing demand from automakers for circular metal supplies.
“We will do a study and then could subsequently develop the largest battery recycling hub in Europe,” he said.
However, recycling is fraught with risk because it is difficult to predict when large volumes of EV batteries can be processed because of difficulties in forecasting their lifespan in EVs and second use in industries such as energy storage.
In North America, Li-Cycle has built a large black mass processing hub in Rochester near New York. The site is half the size of the planned facility in Sardinia and cost $485mn.
While the cost of the Sardinia plant is yet to be fixed, the two companies said it is less capital intensive than Rochester because they can use existing infrastructure in Italy to help keep prices down.
The site marks a key expansion in Europe for Li-Cycle. It has a shredding site in Germany set to open in mid-2023 with further sites to follow in Norway and France.
Under an expected 50-50 joint venture agreement, Glencore would provide low-cost capital to Li-Cycle, which would take the lead on the engineering of the plant and repay its Swiss partner through the asset’s cash flows.
The feasibility study is due for completion in mid-2024 with operations set to begin at the end of 2026 or early 2027, if a final investment decision is taken.
Wall Street Grapples With Conflicting Reports Over Activist Investor Circling Estée Lauder
The reports come after the beauty giant once again lowered its full-year outlook.
The Estée Lauder Cos.’ share price closed up just a touch above 1 percent following a day of confusion over whether it could soon face pressure from a billionaire activist investor.
The beauty giant, whose brands include Jo Malone, Bobbi Brown, MAC, The Ordinary and most recently Tom Ford, saw its share price rise above $209 in early-morning trading after The New York Post reported Sunday that fresh from making a splash with Walt Disney Co., Nelson Peltz is considering making Lauder his next activist play. That could include pushing a sale and ousting president and chief executive officer Fabrizio Freda, according to the report.
But it soon lost some of those gains after Jim Cramer, a CNBC host, said the report was “not true” during an appearance on the business network Monday.
“It’s a controlled stock. You’d have to have 90-year-old Mr. Lauder say that it’s for sale, but this a move that should be repealed rather quickly,” Cramer said.
The stock closed up $2.52, or 1.24 percent, to $206.01.
The Lauder family has around 84 percent of voting control and four of 17 board seats. No filings have been made through the SEC to show Peltz has bought stock, meaning that if he holds any, it would be less than 5 percent.
Neither Peltz’s Trian Fund Management nor Lauder responded to request for comment.
Nevertheless, analysts at Stifel Finance concluded that a Peltz involvement could be a win-win for Lauder shareholders.
“While we have no knowledge of discussions, should the family seek a sale, the company would generate considerable interest from strategic entities, in our view. This in part reflects its positioning as the largest pure-play global prestige beauty company with a superior collection of brands relative to most peers,” said Mark Astrachan in a note. “We also think Peltz’s potential involvement creates a win-win for EL shareholders. Should he become involved and advocate for a sale or management change, and is coupled with productivity and operational improvement, EL shares are likely to outperform.”
It also noted that Lauder’s sales growth has modestly underperformed large prestige beauty peers since 2018, with more significant underperformance since early 2022.
Last week, the beauty giant and new owner of Tom Ford once again slashed its full-year forecasts for both the top and bottom lines due to a slower-than-expected recovery in travel retail in Asia, causing the company’s share price to tumble around 18 percent to $202.70 that day.
Lauder’s overall net sales for the full year are now forecasted to decrease between 10 percent and 12 percent, greater than the previously expected 5 percent to 7 percent drop. Adjusted diluted earnings per common share are anticipated to slide between 50 percent and 51 percent, compared with the previous forecast for a 27 percent to 29 percent decline.
“As the shape of recovery from the pandemic for Asia travel retail comes into better focus, it is proving to be both far more volatile than we expected and more gradual relative to what we experienced in other regions,” Freda said Wednesday.
Lauder, which has a much bigger travel retail business than some of its competitors, saw its Asia travel retail business continue to be pressured by the slower-than-anticipated recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, with global travel retail organic sales declining 45 percent in the third quarter, compared with a year earlier.
While there had been speculation that Freda, who has been in the top job for close to 14 years, might retire, he stressed at a banking conference last year that he is “completely committed to continue leading this company for the foreseeable future.”
According to its latest annual report, Freda’s total pay package for the fiscal year 2022 was $25.48 million, compared with $65.9 million in 2021. Some of this will be made up of stock options, the full value of which might never be realized due to fluctuations in stock prices and vesting schedules.
While his base salary increased from $1.6 million to $2.1 million, the decrease in the total package was mainly due to 50,429,620 stock awards he received in 2021.
Rishi Sunak to allow pharmacists to prescribe some drugs directly
Measure for people with common ailments intended to cut waiting times to see a GP in England
Rishi Sunak has announced plans to cut the time it takes to see a GP in England as the prime minister hurried to deliver on his promise to cut NHS waiting lists before voters go to the polls in a general election expected by late next year.
The measures will allow people suffering from a range of common ailments to get prescription medication directly from a pharmacy, rather than having to see a family doctor first. These will include drugs to treat conditions such as earache or a sore throat.
Sunak, who is under pressure after the Conservatives lost about 1,000 seats in the local elections last week, made the commitment to reduce queues for treatment at the start of the year, one of five priority policy areas that he said on Tuesday he was “getting on with delivering”.
Transforming primary care “is the next part of this government’s promise to cut NHS waiting lists”, he added.
NHS England said that the new arrangements, which would also allow women to obtain oral contraception direct from a pharmacist, would be in place by the winter.
The changes will be backed by £645mn to expand community pharmacy services and are intended to ease pressure on surgeries by releasing about 15mn GP appointments over the next two years, the government said.
The difficulty in securing an appointment to see a family doctor is one of the most common complaints about the UK’s taxpayer-funded health service.
Dissatisfaction with the NHS is at an all-time high and in the annual British Social Attitudes survey published in March, more than two-thirds of respondents identified long waiting times to get a GP or hospital appointment as one of the biggest reasons.
The Health Foundation, a research organisation, last year estimated there was a shortage of about 4,200 full-time equivalent GPs, which was projected to more than double to almost 9,000 by the end of the decade. The government has previously admitted that a 2019 manifesto pledge to recruit an additional 6,000 GPs by 2025 will not be met.
In another step to reduce demand on health practices, up to half a million people a year will be able to self-refer for services including physiotherapy, hearing tests and podiatry without first seeing a GP. The government also promised to end “the 8am rush for appointments” by investing in better phone technology.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said GPs were “working incredibly hard to deal with unprecedented demand for appointments”. But with an ageing population, “we know we need to further expand and transform the way we provide care for our local communities”.
Mark Lyonette, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, described the move as “a long overdue step” that could “set us back on track for a sustainable, clinically focused future after years of decline”.
However, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, who chairs the Royal College of GPs, said while all the initiatives were positive “none are the silver bullet that we desperately need to address the intense workload and workforce pressures GPs and their teams are working under”.
Labour MP Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said millions of patients were waiting a month to see a GP “if they can get an appointment at all” and said the government’s move was “merely tinkering at edges”.
Beccy Baird, senior fellow at the King’s Fund, said not all pharmacies would be able to offer the additional clinical services and it would “be really frustrating for patients to be bumped from pillar to post, only to end up back at the GP”.
- Fresenius SE (FRE TH) +2.6%
- Fresenius Earnings Beat Estimate as New CEO Simplifies Setup
- Fresenius Medical (FME TH) +1.4%
- Anglo American (NGLB TH) +1.4%
- Watch European Miners as Iron Ore Declines on Chinese Imports
- RWE (RWE TH) +1.4%
- Rio Tinto (RIO1 TH) +1.2%
- Watch European Miners as Iron Ore Declines on Chinese Imports
- Daimler Truck (DTG TH) +1.2%
- Daimler Truck: Daimler Truck continues strong business development in Q1 2023
- BAT (BMT TH) +1.1%
- Nel (D7G TH) +0.8%
- Amplifon (AXNA TH) +0.7%
- Verbund (OEWA TH) +0.6%
- Nemetschek (NEM TH) -0.6%
- Vestas (VWSB TH) -0.6%
- Vestas Raised to Hold at ABG; PT 190 kroner
- Commerzbank (CBK TH) -0.7%
- Kion (KGX TH) -0.7%
- National Grid (NNGF TH) -0.8%
- Prosus (1TY TH) -1%
- K+S (SDF TH) -2.1%
- K+S Cuts FY Ebitda Forecast, Misses Estimates
- Evonik (EVK TH) -2.3%
- Evonik Sees FY Adjusted Ebitda Low End of EU2.1B to EU2.4B
- OCI (OIC TH) -4.4%
- OCI 1Q Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
DAX:
- Fresenius SE (FRE TH) +2.9%
- Fresenius Earnings Beat Estimate as New CEO Simplifies Setup
- Daimler Truck (DTG TH) +1.6%
- Daimler Truck: Daimler Truck continues strong business development in Q1 2023
- RWE (RWE TH) +1.1%
- VW (VOW3 TH) +0.6%
- Rheinmetall (RHM TH) +0.6%
- Commerzbank (CBK TH) -0.7%
MDAX:
- Fresenius Medical (FME TH) +1.4%
- Fresenius Earnings Beat Estimate as New CEO Simplifies Setup (1)
- Wacker Chemie (WCH TH) +0.5%
- Lufthansa (LHA TH) +0.5%
- Hensoldt (HAG TH) -0.6%
- Hensoldt 1Q Revenue Beats Estimates
- Aroundtown (AT1 TH) -0.8%
- Watch Swedish Real Estate Firms as SBB Halts Dividend Payments
- K+S (SDF TH) -2.3%
- K+S Cuts FY Ebitda Forecast, Misses Estimates
- Evonik (EVK TH) -2.5%
- Evonik Sees FY Adjusted Ebitda Low End of EU2.1B to EU2.4B
SDAX:
- PNE AG (PNE3 TH) +1.1%
- PNE AG: PNE AG lays the foundation for a successful year in the first quarter-09. May 2023
- Fielmann (FIE TH) +1.1%
- Fielmann Raised to Buy at Bryan Garnier; PT 54 euros
- Schaeffler (SHA TH) +0.5%
- Schaeffler 1Q Adjusted Ebit Beats Estimates
- Kloeckner (KCO TH) +0.5%
- Shop Apotheke (SAE TH) -0.9%
- Norma (NOEJ TH) -3%
- Norma 1Q Adjusted Ebit Misses Estimates
UBS revamps board as it prepares to complete Credit Suisse deal
Credit Suisse chief executive Ulrich Körner to join UBS’s executive board as part of shake-up
UBS has said Credit Suisse chief executive Ulrich Körner will join its executive board as part of a shake-up ahead of the Swiss bank completing the takeover of its domestic rival.
In a series of appointments announced on Tuesday, UBS also said Todd Tuckner, currently finance chief of its wealth management division, would succeed Sarah Youngwood as chief financial officer.
All existing Credit Suisse executive board members who are also division heads will report to Körner and their respective UBS executive board members, UBS said.
The new appointments will come into effect when the transaction closes, which is expected in a matter of weeks.
The revamp comes as UBS is preparing for a costly integration of Credit Suisse, a deal that combines two systemically important financial institutions in one of the most significant banking deals since the 2007-08 financial crisis.
Körner, who was drafted in as CEO of Credit Suisse last year to help revive the bank’s fortunes, has previously worked at UBS. Körner will be “responsible for ensuring Credit Suisse’s operational continuity and client focus”, UBS said.
UBS chief Sergio Ermotti said on Tuesday the combined group would “solidify and represent the Swiss model for finance around the world, one that is capital-light, less reliant on taking risk and anchored by stability and high-touch service”.