Research Calls
- Upgrades:
- Aspen Aerogels (ASPN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at The Benchmark Company; tgt $14
- Azul S.A. (AZUL) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS
- Brookfield Corp. (BN) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse; tgt $41
- Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) upgraded to Peer Perform from Underperform at Wolfe Research
- Conagra (CAG) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank; tgt $35
- Coinbase Global (COIN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at US Tiger; tgt raised to $200
- Dow (DOW) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank; tgt $60
- EastGroup (EGP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Mizuho; tgt raised to $185
- Enphase Energy (ENPH) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $225
- Glencore Intl plc (GLNCY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
- GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (GOL) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS
- Kimberly-Clark (KMB) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank; tgt raised to $123
- Kroger (KR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Northcoast; tgt $60
- Live Nation (LYV) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Northcoast; tgt $85
- LyondellBasell (LYB) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank; tgt $100
- Meta Platforms (META) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Edward Jones
- New York Community (NYCB) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Keefe Bruyette; tgt raised to $11
- New York Community (NYCB) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush
- NRG Energy (NRG) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities; tgt raised to $36
- PepsiCo (PEP) upgraded to Mkt Perform from Underperform at Bernstein
- Portillo's (PTLO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel; tgt $24
- PowerSchool (PWSC) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $22
- Sonoco Products (SON) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Seaport Research Partners; tgt $65
- Thales (THLEF) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
- The Beauty Health Company (SKIN) upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Exane BNP Paribas
- U.S. Steel (X) upgraded to Peer Perform from Underperform at Wolfe Research
- U.S. Bancorp (USB) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird; tgt $52
- UBS AG (UBS) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities
- Unum Group (UNM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $50
- V.F. Corp (VFC) upgraded to Buy from Sell at Williams Trading; tgt $27
- Verisk Analytics (VRSK) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Redburn
- WestRock (WRK) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $32
- Youdao (DAO) upgraded to Outperform from Hold at Daiwa Securities; tgt raised to $9.50
- Downgrades:
- Cyxtera Technologies (CYXT) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at TD Cowen; tgt lowered to $1
- Eni S.p.A. (E) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg
- Lifecore Biomedical (LFCR) downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Stephens; tgt lowered to $2
- UBS AG (UBS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale; tgt $18.86
- UBS AG (OBS) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Oddo BHF
- Others:
- CareCloud (CCLD) initiated with a Buy at EF Hutton; tgt $8.50
- Carnival (CCL) named short-term buy idea at Deutsche Bank
- Dell (DELL) initiated with a Buy at Goldman; tgt $43
- ESAB Corp. (ESAB) initiated with a Neutral at BofA Securities; tgt $63
- Ferguson plc (FERG) initiated with an Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt $150
- Genius Sports (GENI) initiated with a Buy at BTIG Research; tgt $6
- Genius Sports (GENI) initiated with a Mkt Outperform at JMP Securities; tgt $7
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman; tgt $15
- Home Bancorp (HBCP) initiated with a Mkt Perform at Raymond James
- Hostess Brands (TWNK) initiated with a Neutral at UBS; tgt $26
- HP Inc. (HPQ) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman; tgt $26
- Lion Electric (LEV) initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital Markets; tgt $2
- Prologis (PLD) initiated with a Buy at Mizuho; tgt $140
- Roper (ROP) initiated with a Buy at Truist; tgt $510
- TreeHouse Foods (THS) initiated with a Buy at UBS; tgt $60
Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- PDD -13.6%, TTCF -7.4% (guidance), WHD -0.9% (guidance), DSEY -0.8%
Other news:
- CS -58.3% (Credit Suisse to be acquired by UBS)
- FRC -20.6% (plans to sell shares privately, according to NY Times; Downgraded at S&P To 'B+' Despite Support Received; Rating Remains On CreditWatch Negative)
- BBBY -16% (to hold a special meeting of shareholders to seek approval for a reverse stock split)
- UBS -3.7% (Credit Suisse to be acquired by UBS)
- LADR -2.1% (files mixed securities shelf offering)
- ZYME -1.9% (Zymeworks and Daiichi Sankyo terminate collaboration, enter into license agreement)
- SMMT -1.8% (files for 19,720,291 share common stock offering by selling shareholders)
- CENX -1.6% (files for $350 mln mixed securities shelf offering)
- COLD -1% (files mixed securities shelf offering)
Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- DNMR +1.9% (guidance), FL +1.2%
Other news:
- NYCB +30.7% (acquires certain assets and assumes certain liabilities of Signature Bridge Bank From the FDIC)
- KRTX +14.5% (results from phase 3 emergent-3 Trial of KarXT in schizophrenia)
- PACW +13.9% (provides end of end of week update)
- ARQT +3.3% (Presents Late-Breaking Data from the INTEGUMENT Phase 3 Trials in Atopic Dermatitis at American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting)
- ABR +3.1% (approves share repurchase authorization up to $50 mln)
- ARWR +2.9% (announces the U.S. FDA has granted Fast Track designation to ARO-APOC3 for reducing triglycerides in adult patients with familial chylomicronemia syndrome)
- EVEX +2.8% (to delay 10-K filing)
- BANF +2.8% (postive Barron's article)
- DYN +2% (Announces Presentations on its DM1 and DMD Programs at the 2023 Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinical & Scientific Conference)
- TALO +1.8% (announces $100 million share repurchase authorization)
- FYBR +1.2% (Ares Mgmt discloses 250000 share purchase on Mar 15 and 81208 share purchase on Mar 16)
- EXEL +1.1% (authorized the repurchase of up to $550 mln of the company's common stock before the end of 2023)
- EFXT +1% (provides succession plan for CFO)
- AG +1% (renews share repurchase program)
Analyst comments:
- ASPN +5.7% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at The Benchmark Company)
- BN +0.9% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse)
- META +0.5% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Edward Jones)
Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- NYCB +13.6%, PACW +5.7%, ABR +4.1%, BANF +2.8%, EFXT +1%, RKLB +0.8%
- Gapping down:
- CS -58.6%, FRC -19.3%, PDD -14.1%, BBBY -13.6%, TTCF -5.2%, UBS -4.7%, LADR -2.1%, SMMT -1.8%, EVEX -1.7%, CENX -1.6%, COLD -1%, DSEY -1%, NVTA -0.8%
Evergrande releases restructuring timeline
Chinese property developer moves closer to agreement with international investors
Chinese property developer Evergrande has released a new timeline for its delayed restructuring process, as it moves closer to an agreement with international investors that were hit by the group’s failure.
Evergrande’s default in 2021 sparked a crisis in China’s property sector that has contributed to slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. Property sales fell 4 per cent year on year in January and February, though the pace of contraction improved after Beijing unveiled support measures.
Evergrande, which had liabilities of $300bn, relied on more than $20bn of international borrowing to fund its expansion but kept investors in the dark for long periods following its failure to repay its debts. It repeatedly missed its own self-imposed deadlines to outline restructuring plans.
At a Hong Kong court hearing on Monday, which was part of a $110mn lawsuit brought by an investor in June last year to wind up the company, the developer said it would release a term sheet on Wednesday.
Evergrande said it expected to sign an agreement with creditors by the end of the month, adding that the restructuring would probably be effective from October.
The government ushered in a deleveraging campaign in 2020, known as the three red lines, which aimed to curtail developer borrowing after decades of urbanisation-fuelled growth. However, the policy put significant financial pressure on the developers.
After a wave of initial defaults in 2021, which put the spotlight on China’s heavily leveraged real estate industry, Beijing has mainly focused on completing stalled construction projects across the country.
Evergrande investors have typically focused on the country’s offshore assets, including its listed subsidiaries in Hong Kong, but have frequently been frustrated by a lack of progress from a company that is overwhelmingly focused on mainland real estate projects.
Evergrande’s lawyer said during the court hearing that the company was planning to release its restructuring terms as early as Wednesday as the basis for offshore debt restructuring. The court set July 31 for the next hearing of a winding-up petition.
Other defaulted Chinese developers, including Fantasia, have recently published their own restructuring proposals. Beijing late last year unveiled new credit lines through the state banking system, but they were only made available to developers that were deemed to be “high quality”. Some of those developers have returned to bond markets to raise more debt.
Evergrande has yet to release its financial statements for the past two years and trading in its shares has been suspended for about a year. Global accounting firm PwC had resigned as its auditor earlier this year over different views on financial statements, the company announced in January.
- Nibe (NJB TH) +1.3%
- Nibe Says No Longer Looking at Buying Fujitsu General Limited
- Vodafone (VODI TH) +1.2%
- European Telecoms Pinch Spending to Reverse 2022 Cash-Flow Pain
- Eurofins Scientific (ESF0 TH) +0.6%
- Telefonica (TNE5 TH) -3.2%
- Santander (BSD2 TH) -3.4%
- Bank Stocks to Fall as Credit Suisse Sale Fails to Calm Nerves
- Watch European Banks After UBS Agrees to Buy Credit Suisse
- Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) -3.6%
- SocGen (SGE TH) -3.6%
- Credit Agricole (XCA TH) -3.9%
- BNP Paribas (BNP TH) -4.3%
- BBVA (BOY TH) -4.4%
- Commerzbank (CBK TH) -4.5%
- Erste (EBO TH) -4.9%
- ABN Amro (AB2 TH) -5.8%
DAX:
- VW (VOW3 TH) -0.5%
- Henkel (HEN3 TH) -0.5%
- BMW (BMW TH) -2%
- Munich Re (MUV2 TH) -2%
- Airbus (AIR TH) -2.2%
- Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) -3.9%
- Bank Stocks to Fall as Credit Suisse Sale Fails to Calm Nerves
- Commerzbank (CBK TH) -5.3%
- Bank Stocks to Fall as Credit Suisse Sale Fails to Calm Nerves
MDAX:
- Evotec SE (EVT TH) +0.5%
- Arrowstreet Cap Limited Partner Takes 0.51% Short in Evotec SE
- Duerr (DUE TH) -2.3%
- Aixtron (AIXA TH) -2.6%
- TeamViewer (TMV TH) -2.8%
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) -3%
- Hensoldt (HAG TH) -4.5%
- Hensoldt Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 32 euros
SDAX:
- DIC Asset (DIC TH) +1%
- Hamborner REIT (HABA TH) +0.7%
- Grand City Properties (GYC TH) +0.5%
- Kloeckner (KCO TH) +0.5%
- SFC Energy (F3C TH) +0.5%
- flatexDEGIRO (FTK TH) -2.5%
- Deutsche PBB (PBB TH) -2.7%
- SAF-Holland SE (SFQ TH) -2.9%
- Heidelberger Druck (HDD TH) -3.6%
- Varta (VAR1 TH) -4.2%
- Varta to Raise up to EU50 Million in Capital Increase
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