Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- FOR -10%, BBWI -8.6%, BKR -4.7%, IBKR -2.2%, JBHT -2%, HOPE -1%, BIIB -1%, ASML -0.9%, ELV -0.7%
Other news:
- VBLT -77.1% (announces top-line data from OVAL Trial)
- RVMD -11.5% (prices offering of 11.5 mln shares of common stock at $20.00 per share)
- INZY -4.8% (announces preliminary data from Phase 1/2 trial of INZ-701)
- OMIC -3.4% (files for $250 mln mixed securities shelf offering)
- GOGL -3% (files mixed securities shelf offering)
- LQDA -2.4% (US patent office rules in its favor)
- QGEN -1% (surpasses 3 mln NGS patient test cases)
- AIR -1% (awarded a Captains of Industry contract with the Defense Logistics Agency)
- MRK -0.9% (reports Phase 3 KEYNOTE-412 Trial did not meet its primary endpoint)
Analyst comments:
- ATRA -4.4% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup)
- ANET -3.9% (downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA Securities)
- FFIV -2.1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities)
- CMI -1.1% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Bernstein)
- EXLS -1.1% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup)
- EQR -1% (downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler)
- ALLY -0.9% (downgraded to In-line from Outperform at Evercore ISI)
Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- OMC +6.8%, NFLX +6.3% (also to acquire animation studio Animal Logic), FULT +4.3%, NBHC +3.4%, HIVE +2.2%, MATX +1.3%, CALM +1.1% (also to pay $0.75/sh dividend as part of variable div policy), ABT +0.6%, CMA +0.5%, NDAQ +0.5%
Other news:
- AEHR +7.3% (receives $12.8 mln in orders from its lead silicon carbide test and burn-in customer)
- BDSX +4.5% (to present data at IASLC 2022 World Conference demonstrating that the VeriStrat Test is predictive of progression free survival and overall survival in patients with low or negative PD-L1 treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors)
- BLTE +3.4% (submits IND application to FDA for LBS-008 Phase 3 clinical trial)
- ROKU +2% (in sympathy with NFLX earnings)
- LSCC +1.5% (collaborates with LG to bring edge AI technology to LG's 2022 premium laptop lineup)
- DIS +1.5% (in sympathy with NFLX earnings)
- PARA +1.4% (in sympathy with NFLX earnings)
- NVAX +1.3% (confirms that CDC Advisory Committee voted unanimously to recommend COVID-19 vaccine; President Biden issues statement on FDA and CDC authorizing Novavax's COVID-?19 vaccine for adults)
- WBD +1.2% (in sympathy with NFLX earnings; also plans to add massive collection of A24 films to HBO Max according to ScreenRant)
- CNM +1% (to acquire Inland Water Works Supply Co) .
Analyst comments:
- CHKP +2.6% (upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA Securities)
- AXTA +1.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets)
- BERY +1.2% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse)
Early premarket gappers
- Gapping up:
- AEHR +7.4%, NFLX +7.1%, OMC +6.9%, BDSX +4.5%, FULT +4.3%, HIVE +4%, NBHC +3.4%, ROKU +3.2%, XOS +2.1%, DIS +2.1%, PARA +2%, WBD +1.8%, MATX +1.8%, LSCC +1.5%, FUBO +1.5%, NVAX +1.3%, TSLA +1.3%, BA +1.2%, VALE +1.1%, QGEN +1%, CNM +1%, CALM +1%, DCP +0.9%, RIO +0.9%, HOPE +0.8%, EA +0.6%
- Gapping down:
- VBLT -79%, FOR -16.3%, RVMD -10.5%, INZY -4.8%, OMIC -3.4%, IBKR -3.1%, LQDA -2%, GOGL -1.4%, AIR -1%, BLTE -0.8%, JBHT -0.6%, ELV -0.5%
Mergers destroy value. Without reform, nothing will change
The M&A playbook of warped incentives, rent extraction and creative accounting is overdue a rewrite
It’s an often-quoted statistic that roughly 70 per cent of mergers fail. McKinsey’s 2010 report, from which that estimate is taken, echoes the consistent conclusion of four decades of academic research: most mergers fail to deliver any improvement in operating profit.
Yet despite the weight of evidence, vast and ever-increasing sums are spent on mergers and acquisitions — around $5tn globally in 2021 — and on some measures the number of deals has seen a forty-fold increase in forty years.
Should we expect merger rates to continue rising, accompanied by very high failure rates? Absent changes in the present framework, undoubtedly. The M&A market’s many talented, hard-working, highly skilled, law-abiding, income-maximising participants will continue to promote destructive mergers. It would be surprising if they did not.
There are three interwoven strands in this argument. First, contracts (explicit and implicit) often reward key players in the M&A market — executives and advisers — for deals that result in zero or negative operating gains.
Second, legal and taxation arrangements often enable acquirer executives, as well as shareholders in these cases, to extract economic rent from other stakeholders in deals that yield no operating gains.
Third, accounting rules and practice often offer rich opportunities for acquirers to mislead the market about the prospective operating gains from merger, and to flatter performance measures following merger.
Contracts and incentives
“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome”, said Berkshire Hathaway vice-chair Charlie Munger. Incentives for bidder CEOs were the subject of a 2007 analysis by Jarrad Harford and Kai Li, which concluded that “even in mergers where bidding shareholders are worse off, bidding CEOs are better off three-quarters of the time.” One factor in this is the strong link between CEO salary and firm size. Acquisition of another company is one of the easiest ways to grow.
For example, the $27bn purchase of Refinitiv by London Stock Exchange Group in 2021 immediately tripled the acquirer’s revenue. LSE boss David Schwimmer was “rewarded with a 25 per cent increase in base salary . . . to reflect the LSE’s increased size following the Refinitiv purchase”. Yet in the same month, LSE shares fell 25 per cent on concerns about its ability to extract synergies from the acquisition.
In an attempt to align the interests of executives with shareholders, the last three decades have of course seen increasing use of bonuses linked to measures of performance such as earnings per share. But there are particularly rich opportunities afforded by mergers to game performance-related pay, through morally hazardous borrowing and by tax avoidance and creative accounting, procedures that deliver improved pay and perks for no genuine improvement in the underlying operating performance that matters most for the wider economy.
Rewards to the CEO for increasing firm size are sometimes defended on the general grounds that a bigger organisation is harder to manage. But growing by the particular means of acquiring rivals can often bring the CEO a quieter life. In The Curse of Bigness, author Tim Wu describes how Facebook swallowed up Instagram and WhatsApp when their innovative products presented a challenge.
But don’t the non-executive directors constrain self-serving deals by executives? That’s not how it worked at General Electric, which in the two-decade tenure of Jack Welch was buying businesses at a rate of one a week. A recent book by Thomas Gryta and Tedd Mann gives a flavour of life in the GE boardroom:
One newcomer to the board under Welch was surprised by the CEO’s command of the board room and the sparse debate among the group. Confused by how the meeting transpired, the new director asked a more senior colleague afterward, “What is the role of a GE board member?”
“Applause,” the older director answered.
What about the investment bankers, lawyers, accountants and consultants hired by the acquirer? In practice it is not reasonable to expect professional advisers to caution against a deal they doubt will enhance operating profits, when the executives who hire them (and may hire them again) express no such doubts and are backing it to the hilt. After all, the advisers’ impressive fees are related to closing the deal, not to post-merger operating gains — fees of around $1.5bn in the case of AB InBev’s merger with SABMiller, one which was followed by unimpressive financial performance.
Rentier capitalism
In some cases, mergers that lead to operating losses can still advantage the acquirer’s shareholders. Here, it is other stakeholders who bear the cost, thanks to legal, taxation and central banking arrangements favouring shareholders and executives at the expense of many others: the taxpaying public, creditors, pensioners . . .
Debt-financed acquisitions can magnify the equity-holders’ earnings even where operating profits fall. Of course, more debt means a higher risk of failure. But due to limited liability provisions much of the downside risk associated with slender equity cushions is borne by others — moral hazard in action.
An illustration is provided by Carillion, the former UK construction company. It had been built via a string of acquisitions and relied heavily on debt finance. When it failed, it owed around £2bn to 30,000 suppliers, who would receive little from the liquidators, and some of whom were themselves bankrupted as a result. Fellow casualties included members of the Carillion’s systematically underfunded pension fund.
This incentive to make acquisitions unwarranted by operating gains is reinforced by the tax system. In most jurisdictions, corporation taxes are not levied on the portion of profits paid as interest to lenders. This privileged treatment makes it even easier to transform poor operating profits into enhanced surpluses for investors via a debt-financed merger. And the benefit can be particularly valuable in cross-border transactions.
Former tax inspector Richard Brooks writes in The Great Tax Robbery that “a cross-border takeover is to Britain’s tax lawyers and accountants what a well-fed wildebeest with a limp is to a pride of lions.” His examples include Spire Healthcare, acquirer of Bupa hospitals, “wiping out its taxable profits by paying interest offshore at 10 per cent.”
The incentives for unprofitable mergers offered by morally hazardous borrowing and tax subsidies have been yet further reinforced in recent years by the central banks’ manipulation of the debt market, forcing down interest rates. Cheap debt has been described by McKinsey partner Bryce Klempner as the “lifeblood of private equity”. And private equity has of course in recent years been a major force in the M&A market with its business model of buying firms, loading them with debt, and selling them a few years later. The model benefits then not only from imposing downside risk on other stakeholders, but also both from the generous tax treatment of debt finance, and from interest rates being held down by central banks.
To complete the package of benefits, the heads of these private equity firms have in the US and UK enjoyed privileged rates of tax on their personal profits from M&A, known as “carry”. In the words of an FT leader: “The result has been to foster a generation of buyout billionaires who have paid lower tax rates than their cleaners.”
Accounting tricks
Acquiring firms enjoy rich (but perfectly legal) opportunities to deploy creative accounting around mergers — flattering and smoothing reported and forecast profit, securing funding on unduly favourable terms, and masking subsequent declines in underlying performance.
A famous illustration is provided by GE’s spending spree — some 1700 acquisitions between 1980 and 2017 — followed by its decline and dismemberment. Critics have recounted creative accounting devices GE employed such as tweaking the expected future costs of multi-period contracts, fudging the value of inventory, writing down the ‘fair value’ of acquired assets and channel stuffing (bringing forward sales).
Reform?
Governments, regulators and non-executive directors could install a series of measures to eliminate or mitigate these problems in the M&A market. It isn’t as if all this is inevitable — there is much that could be done to make this dysfunctional market much more efficient than it currently is. But under the present framework, there is every reason to suppose the disappointing outcomes of the M&A market will continue unabated.
Once the clues are followed on incentives, rent extraction and creative accounting opportunities, frequent pursuit of unproductive merger turns out not to be mysterious. And key participants in mergers are unlikely to seek to alter the status quo themselves. On the contrary, as Neil Collins writes:
Think of the impact of a “transformational” deal, the thrill of the chase, the media spotlight, the boasting rights, and — of course — the massive pay rises. You will be number one! By the time it all ends in tears, the executives who have laid waste to the shareholders are long departed with their winnings . . .
The authors’ book, The Merger Mystery, is free to download
>>> Up
* Albemarle Raised to Sector Weight at KeyBanc
* Alibaba ADRs Raised to Outperform at Bernstein
* Bavarian Nordic Raised to Outperform at Cowen; PT 433 kroner
* Chevron Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT $167
* Fevertree Drinks Raised to Hold at SocGen; PT 900 pence
* Mediobanca Raised to Buy at Banca Akros (ESN); PT 11 euros (+)
* Saipem Upgraded to Ba3 by Moody’s
* Scout24 SE Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 70 euros
* Tecnicas Reunidas Raised to Outperform at Renta 4; PT 6.50 euros
* Yara Raised to Sector Perform at Scotiabank; PT 490 kroner
>>> Down
* Adevinta Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 85 kroner
* Addiko Cut to Neutral at Citi; PT 11.80 euros
* Apple PT Cut to $180 from $185 at Morgan Stanley
* Autogrill Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 6.33 euros
* Beijer REF Cut to Hold at DNB Markets; PT 158 kronor
* Cint Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 50 kronor
* Direct Line Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 175 pence
* Disney Cut to Hold at CFRA on Risks to Parks and Streaming
* Eutelsat Cut to Add at AlphaValue/Baader
* Komplett Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 20 kroner
* Lagercrantz Cut to Hold at ABG; PT 105 kronor
* Moonpig Cut to Hold at Numis; PT 210 pence
* Quilter Cut to Neutral at Citi; PT 105 pence
* REN Cut to Underperform at RBC; PT 2.40 euros
* Schibsted PT Cut to 280 kroner from 405 kroner at Morgan Stanley
* UMG Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 16.10 euros
>>> Initiation
* Amundi Rated New Buy at Goldman; PT 65 euros
* Abrdn plc Rated New Neutral at Goldman; PT 180 pence
* Cazoo Group Rated New Sell at Berenberg; PT 49 cents
* DWS Rated New Neutral at Goldman; PT 29 euros
* Elis Rated New Buy at Bryan Garnier; PT 23 euros
* Haleon Rated New Underweight at JPMorgan; PT 280 pence
* Haleon ADRs Rated New Buy at Spin-Off Research; PT $9
* Hypoport Rated New Underperform at Exane; PT 162 euros
* Intercos Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 16.50 euros
* Man Group Rated New Buy at Goldman; PT 315 pence
* Pandora Rated New Hold at Jefferies; PT 470 kroner
* Schroders Rated New Sell at Goldman; PT 2,530 pence
>>> Call
* Adevinta Cut, Scout24 Raised as MS Rejigs Classifieds Picks
* Barry Callebaut Growth Overshadowed By Salmonella Case: Vontobel (+)
* Bavarian Nordic Upgraded on Monkeypox Vaccine Stockpiling: Cowen
* BillerudKorsnas Bottom Line Beat Highlights Momentum, Citi Says
* Elis Rated New Buy at Bryan Garnier on Low Valuation, Outlook (+)
* Georg Fischer 1H Results Beat, on Track to Reach Targets: Baader (+)
* Intercos Sits in ‘Sweetspot’ Within Beauty, New Buy at Berenberg
* Jefferies Downgrades Cint, Cuts Software PTs on Weaker Momentum
* Pandora Shares Not as Cheap as They Look, New Hold at Jefferies
* Quilter Downgraded to Neutral at Citi on Limited Optionality
* REN Cut at RBC as Inflation Vulnerability Offsets Better Returns
How FTX plans to reshape the US futures market with crypto tech
Exchange is seeking regulatory approval for products that render margin calls obsolete
FTX is seeking to shake up the sprawling US derivatives market, marking the biggest intervention to date by a crypto group in to the heart of traditional finance.
The three-year-old exchange, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, is seeking approval from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission to offer customers bitcoin futures — contracts that allow users to bet on the price of the world’s most actively traded digital token.
The proposed process would strip out the brokers that for the past 40 years have acted as intermediaries between customers and the exchanges where deals are done. America accounts for a big slice of the global futures market where 29bn contracts were traded last year, meaning if FTX’s plans are approved, its effects could be wide-ranging.
Rather than brokers asking customers to stump up extra cash, known as margin, when trades go bad, the exchange would automatically monitor the market, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and debit client balances accordingly.
This rewrites the mechanics of futures trading and if it sticks, it could apply also to everyone who trades in futures markets, from farmers locking in prices for corn to hedge funds betting on oil prices.
Automatic liquidations vs margin calls
At the heart of the existing system and FTX’s proposal is leverage. Futures traders typically only put down a small fraction of the overall value of their position, something that magnifies potential gains and losses. The chips that market participants place on the table are know as “margin”. Margin is critical in leveraged trading because it ensures that if a bet turns sour, the participant on the other side of the trade can be made whole.
A key difference between the system that is in place and the FTX proposal is the approach to margin. Under the current framework, when a bet falls too deeply underwater, a broker will ask a trader to stump up additional funds to back the trade, known as a “margin call”, by a certain deadline. If the trader meets the margin call, their trade remains opens, otherwise the broker will begin unwinding their positions and taking back the margin used to make the trade.
On crypto exchanges such as FTX and Binance — global platforms that are broadly unregulated — margin requirements on products such as bitcoin futures are constantly updated. Traders deal directly with the exchange rather than through a broker.
Crypto platforms automatically begin unwinding positions if a user’s margin falls below a pre-determined level. Typically a user will receive an alert if their account is in danger — but given the volatility of digital assets, these kinds of forced liquidation events can leave traders wiped out extremely quickly.
Unlike crypto, which trades nonstop, most traditional futures such as those tracking commodities close at the weekend. However, since most trade effectively all the time during business days, some smaller market participants have said they worry about getting wiped out during off hours under the FTX proposal. A margin call, in contrast, provides some breathing room to meet funding requirements.
Case study: May 2021 crypto ‘flash crash’
Automatic liquidations are already in extensive use in the crypto industry, where $1.3tn worth of bitcoin futures trading took place last month alone. Traders can be wiped out extremely quickly during times of market tumult, with more leverage increasing the speed at which a user is forcibly liquidated.
The case study below is based on a “flash crash” about a year ago that wrongfooted many leveraged bitcoin traders. The trader in this illustration has taken out a 100-times leveraged position on Binance by putting down $2,500 on a trade notionally worth $250,000. When the market starts to tumble, they need to kick in more and more money to avoid being liquidated despite prices rapidly rebounding.
The brief tumble, which took place in May 2021, left many retail traders with steep losses. However, because of automatic liquidations, typically market participants can only lose as much as they bet on the trade as opposed to running up a debt.
The debate
The FTX plan has kicked off a fierce debate in the US since the CFTC opened a consultation in March.
Those in favour of the FTX proposal believe it is the next evolution of the market, as technology inevitably advances on markets like it has the rest of society. It fosters competition, democratises futures trading and just as importantly, protects smaller investors from racking up debts they cannot afford, which has sometimes led to tragic consequences, proponents say.
On the other side of the debate are those who say the traditional system provides a vital “breathing space” for important decisions to be taken and time to find extra cash. A farmer, for example, would not have to worry about sudden market moves liquidating positions he had opened to hedge against fluctuations in the prices of commodities. Customers would not have to put up more funds than are necessary, just to give them peace of mind. The intermediaries at the heart of the system, the exchanges and brokers, would be able to use human judgment to smooth out potential issues in volatile times.
The CFTC is examining every step of the chain to understand how it will work and the consequences, so it is taking its time. A decision may not come this year. It is possible it will permit both models. But as investors explore bitcoin futures, it may face more proposals.
- Uniper (UN01 TH) +8.4%
- German Government Is Said to Near State-Led Bailout of Uniper
- Fortum (FOT TH) +4.4%
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) +2.4%
- Scout24 SE (G24 TH) +2.1%
- Adevinta Cut, Scout24 Raised as MS Rejigs Classifieds Picks
- Alfa Laval (AA9 TH) +1.5%
- Alfa Laval 2Q Orders Beats Estimates
- AstraZeneca (ZEG TH) +1.5%
- TUI (TUI1 TH) +1.5%
- VW (VOW3 TH) +1.4%
- BASF (BAS TH) +1.4%
- Amundi (ANI TH) +1.3%
- Hermes (HMI TH) -0.9%
- TAG Immobilien (TEG TH) -1%
- STMicroelectronics (SGM TH) -1.1%
- Watch European Chip Stocks as ASML Cuts Full-Year Sales Forecast
- Nordic Semiconductor (N0S TH) -1.2%
- Rational (RAA TH) -1.4%
- UMG (0VD TH) -1.4%
- Haleon (H6D0 TH) -1.7%
- Antofagasta (FG1 TH) -2.3%
- Antofagasta Cuts FY Copper Production Forecast
- ASML (ASME TH) -3%
- ASML Cuts Sales Forecast Amid Continued Testing Delays
- BE Semiconductor (BSI TH) -3.6%
- Watch European Chip Stocks as ASML Cuts Full-Year Sales Forecast
DAX:
- VW (VOW3 TH) +1.5%
- Daimler Truck (DTG TH) +1.3%
- BASF (BAS TH) +1.3%
- BASF Gives Final OK for Construction of Zhanjiang Verbund Site
- Porsche SE (PAH3 TH) +1%
- Vonovia (VNA TH) +1%
- Infineon (IFX TH) -0.4%
- Watch European Chip Stocks as ASML Cuts Full-Year Sales Forecast
MDAX:
- Uniper (UN01 TH) +9.6%
- German Government Is Said to Near State-Led Bailout of Uniper
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) +2.7%
- Jungheinrich (JUN3 TH) +2.1%
- Aixtron (AIXA TH) +1.5%
- Commerzbank (CBK TH) +1.4%
SDAX:
- About You (YOU TH) +2.4%
- Adler Group (ADJ TH) +1.8%
- Deutsche PBB (PBB TH) +1.2%
- PNE AG (PNE3 TH) +1.1%
- Heidelberger Druck (HDD TH) +1%
- Jenoptik (JEN TH) -1.1%
Stocks extended a rally in Asia Wednesday amid a dip in the dollar and speculation that the worst of this year’s equity rout may be over. A gauge of Asian equities added 1.5%, lifted by Japan and Hong Kong, after the S&P 500’s biggest jump since June. US futures pushed higher, encouraged by a late Netflix Inc. surge on a smaller-than-expected subscriber loss. Chinese share gains were more muted given property-sector and Covid challenges. Traders were also digesting a report that Beijing is preparing to hand down a fine of more than $1 billion to Didi Global Inc. before wrapping up a year-long probe into the ride-hailing giant. A dollar gauge has shed about 1% this week, underscoring waning haven demand for the greenback and a brighter mood in markets. Treasuries held a decline that’s taken the 10-year yield back above 3%. The euro hovered around a two-week high against the dollar on the possibility of a bigger-than-expected European Central Bank interest-rate hike Thursday. Speculation that company earnings will hold up and that the Federal Reserve will avoid very aggressive monetary tightening appears to be giving investors some comfort. In Europe, Gazprom PJSC is poised to restart gas exports through its Nord Stream pipeline to Europe on Thursday at reduced capacity, as the continent braces for shortages amid the war in Ukraine. Elsewhere, crude oil slipped below $104 a barrel. Bitcoin hovered above $23,000 after climbing out of a one-month-old trading range. US After Hours NFLX +8.2% jumps as net adds better than expected, other streaming names also higher; OMC +7.1% also up big on earnings
Nikkei +2.55% Hang Seng +1.46% CSI +0.02% Shanghai +0.46% Shenzen +0.27%
Eur$ 1.0243 CNH 6.7490 CNY 6.7463 JPY 138.10 GBP 1.2025 CHF 0.9683 RUB 56.50 TRY 17.5443 WTI$ 103.53 -0.66% Gold 1,712.22 +0.03% BTC 23,426 +0.53% ETH 1,560.65 +0.08%
S&P +0.41% Nasdaq +0.35% EuroStoxx +0.08% FTSE +0.49% Dax +0.32% SMI +0.16%
Macro :
- *EU CONSIDERS 15% REDUCTION IN NATURAL GAS DEMAND FOR AUG-MARCH
- China’s Loan Boycott Spreads to Property Industry Suppliers
- JPMorgan Could Move 1,000 UK Staff to Paris or Frankfurt: Echos
- Italian Stocks Could Be Active as Political Turmoil Rattles On
Keep an eye on :
- AIR FP : *AIRBUS CEO SAYS SUPPLY CHAIN CRISIS WILL LAST UNTIL 2023: FT
- AKZA NA : Akzo Nobel 2Q Adjusted Operating Income Misses Estimates (1)
- ALFA SS : Alfa Laval 2Q Orders Beats Estimates
- ALSN SW : Also Maintains FY Ebitda Forecast
- ASML NA : ASML Cuts Sales Growth Forecast Amid Continued Testing Delays
- ATL IM : Atlantia to Consider Mutually Agreed Exit of CEO Bertazzo
- BARN SW : Barry Callebaut 9M Sales CHF6.1B Vs. CHF5.35B Y/y
- BAS GY : BASF Gives Final OK for Construction of Zhanjiang Verbund Site
- BHG SS : BHG Group 2Q Sales Beats Estimates
- BILL SS : BillerudKorsnas 2Q Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- CA FP : Carrefour to Sell 60% Stake in Taiwan Unit at EU2B Ent. Value
- ACA FP : Credit Agricole Deputy General Manager Jacques Ripoll to Leave
- DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga : German DFL May Get EU3b-EU4b from Sale of Media Rights Stake: HB
- EZJ LN : EasyJet Founder Plans to Vote in Favor of Airbus Order: FT
- GF SW : Georg Fischer 1H Ebit Beats Estimates
- HYL BB : Hyloris Announces Positive Results in Phase 1 Study of HY-004
- MGGT LN : UK’s Kwarteng Clears Meggitt Acquisition by Parker-Hannifin
- MTC LN : Mothercare may Leave Russia, Vedomosti Reports
- CFR SW : Activist Bluebell Wants Ex-Bulgari CEO on Richemont Board
- STM FP : Stephen Nellis: Plans for @GlobalFoundries $5.7 billion fab with STMicro in France came together in just six months because
- TELIA SS : Telia 2Q Net Sales Meets Estimates
- UN01 GY : German Government Is Said to Near State-Led Bailout of Uniper
- UN01 GY : Uniper Supervisory Board Holds Special Meeting on Gas Crisis: RP
- VALN SW : Valora 1H Ebit CHF8.1M Vs. CHF7.4M Y/y (1)
- DG FP : Vinci Airports 2Q Traffic Sees 3.4x Increase Y/Y
- VIRP FP : Virbac 2Q Organic Revenue at Constant FX +7.8%
- VOW GY : VW Puts US CEO in Charge of Revived Scout Pickup, SUV Brand
- VOW GY : VW’s Affordable Brands Will Become More Similar Under the Hood
- VOW GY : Indonesia to Sign EV Investment Pact With Volkswagen This Year
- WBD IM : Webuild’s US Unit Wins $223m Highway Contract in Florida
>>> Up
* Albemarle Raised to Sector Weight at KeyBanc
* Alibaba ADRs Raised to Outperform at Bernstein
* Bavarian Nordic Raised to Outperform at Cowen; PT 433 kroner
* Chevron Raised to Buy at HSBC; PT $167
* Fevertree Drinks Raised to Hold at SocGen; PT 900 pence
* Saipem Upgraded to Ba3 by Moody’s
* Scout24 SE Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 70 euros
* Tecnicas Reunidas Raised to Outperform at Renta 4; PT 6.50 euros
* Yara Raised to Sector Perform at Scotiabank; PT 490 kroner
>>> Down
* Adevinta Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 85 kroner
* Addiko Cut to Neutral at Citi; PT 11.80 euros
* Apple PT Cut to $180 from $185 at Morgan Stanley
* Autogrill Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 6.33 euros
* Beijer REF Cut to Hold at DNB Markets; PT 158 kronor
* Cint Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 50 kronor
* Direct Line Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 175 pence
* Disney Cut to Hold at CFRA on Risks to Parks and Streaming
* Eutelsat Cut to Add at AlphaValue/Baader
* Komplett Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 20 kroner
* Lagercrantz Cut to Hold at ABG; PT 105 kronor
* Moonpig Cut to Hold at Numis; PT 210 pence
* Quilter Cut to Neutral at Citi; PT 105 pence
* REN Cut to Underperform at RBC; PT 2.40 euros
* Schibsted PT Cut to 280 kroner from 405 kroner at Morgan Stanley
* UMG Cut to Reduce at HSBC; PT 16.10 euros
>>> Initiation
* Amundi Rated New Buy at Goldman; PT 65 euros
* Abrdn plc Rated New Neutral at Goldman; PT 180 pence
* Cazoo Group Rated New Sell at Berenberg; PT 49 cents
* DWS Rated New Neutral at Goldman; PT 29 euros
* Elis Rated New Buy at Bryan Garnier; PT 23 euros
* Haleon Rated New Underweight at JPMorgan; PT 280 pence
* Haleon ADRs Rated New Buy at Spin-Off Research; PT $9
* Hypoport Rated New Underperform at Exane; PT 162 euros
* Intercos Rated New Buy at Berenberg; PT 16.50 euros
* Man Group Rated New Buy at Goldman; PT 315 pence
* Pandora Rated New Hold at Jefferies; PT 470 kroner
* Schroders Rated New Sell at Goldman; PT 2,530 pence
>>> Call
* Adevinta Cut, Scout24 Raised as MS Rejigs Classifieds Picks
* Bavarian Nordic Upgraded on Monkeypox Vaccine Stockpiling: Cowen
* Intercos Sits in ‘Sweetspot’ Within Beauty, New Buy at Berenberg
* Jefferies Downgrades Cint, Cuts Software PTs on Weaker Momentum
* Pandora Shares Not as Cheap as They Look, New Hold at Jefferies
* Quilter Downgraded to Neutral at Citi on Limited Optionality
* REN Cut at RBC as Inflation Vulnerability Offsets Better Returns