Research Calls
- Upgrades:
- 1Life Healthcare (ONEM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG Research; tgt $15
- Adverum Biotech (ADVM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Truist; tgt $4
- Allegiance Bancshares (ABTX) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $43
- Carter Bank & Trust (CARE) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $16
- Cerence (CRNC) upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt lowered to $27
- Endeavor Group (EDR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $25
- EPR Properties (EPR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney
- First Mid-Illinois Bancshares (FMBH) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $45
- Lamar Advertising (LAMR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $108
- Pinnacle Finl (PNFP) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $85
- PPL Corp (PPL) upgraded to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI; tgt $30
- Regions Fincl (RF) upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James; tgt $23
- Skyline Champion (SKY) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush; tgt $70
- Tenaris (TS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies; tgt raised to $46
- Whitestone REIT (WSR) upgraded to Mkt Outperform from Mkt Perform at JMP Securities; tgt $13
- Downgrades:
- Aspen Tech (AZPN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert W. Baird; tgt lowered to $162
- Blend Labs (BLND) downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets
- Boston Beer Co (SAM) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt lowered to $331
- Cambridge Bancorp (CATC) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
- CapStar Financial (CSTR) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
- Consolidated Comms (CNSL) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $5
- First Commonwealth (FCF) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
- Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) downgraded to Peer Perform from Outperform at Wolfe Research
- Guaranty Bancshares (GNTY) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
- Hilltop Holdings (HTH) downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James
- Kellogg (K) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS; tgt lowered to $74
- Kohl's (KSS) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities; tgt lowered to $26
- Live Oak Bancshares (LOB) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
- Otis Worldwide (OTIS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt lowered to $62
- PNC (PNC) downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James
- Rio Tinto (RIO) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg
- Sealed Air (SEE) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities; tgt $67
- Southern Copper (SCCO) downgraded to Underperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research
- Veritex Holdings (VBTX) downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James; tgt lowered to $38
- VTEX (VTEX) downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets
- Others:
- Alector (ALEC) initiated with a Buy at Mizuho; tgt $15
- Athira Pharma (ATHA) initiated with a Buy at Mizuho; tgt $6
- BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI) initiated with a Buy at Mizuho; tgt $19
- Cerevel Therapeutics (CERE) initiated with a Neutral at Mizuho; tgt $30
- CTI BioPharma (CTIC) initiated with an Outperform at Cowen; tgt $10
- Datadog (DDOG) initiated with a Hold at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $120
- Duolingo (DUOL) initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $115
- Elastic (ESTC) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $100
- EVgo Inc. (EVGO) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies; tgt $5.50
- EyePoint Pharmaceuticals (EYPT) initiated with a Buy at Chardan Capital Markets; tgt $21
- GitLab (GTLB) initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $70
- Global Medical REIT (GMRE) initiated with a Mkt Perform at JMP Securities
- Harmony Biosciences (HRMY) initiated with a Buy at Mizuho; tgt $64
- Intra-Cellular Therapies (ITCI) initiated with a Buy at Mizuho; tgt $74
- JFrog (FROG) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $30
- New Relic (NEWR) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $81
- PagerDuty (PD) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $32
- Rover Group (ROVR) initiated with a Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt $5
- Splunk (SPLK) initiated with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $130
- UiPath (PATH) assumed with a Buy at Canaccord Genuity; tgt $25
Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- HELE -6.7%, USNA -5.9% (guides Q2 EPS and revs below consensus; lowers its FY22 outlook), SLP -0.5%
Other news:
- CTMX -29.4% (Phase 2 results for praluzatamab ravtansine)
- NAPA -6% (files mixed securities shelf offering; also selling stockholder to offer 5 mln shares)
- CWT -4.3% (receives approval from commission to acquire assets of HOH Utilities)
- OIS -3.6% (stock offering)
- CRNT -2.3% (Aviat Networks (AVNW) Calls Out Ceragon Networks' Failure to Respond to Acquisition Proposal and Request for Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders)
- AVNW -1.9% (Aviat Networks (AVNW) Calls Out Ceragon Networks' Failure to Respond to Acquisition Proposal and Request for Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders)
Analyst comments:
- AZPN -0.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Robert Baird)
Gapping up
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- BKE +2% (June comps)
Other news:
- VERU +11.4% (extends momentum from +13% move during regular session)
- ANVS +9.4% (received notice from the FDA that the Phase 3 clinical study in early Parkinson's patients may proceed)
- GME +6.7% (announces 4-for-1 stock split)
- BBBY +6% (interim CEO purchases 50000 shares)
- EGY +5.4% (completes South Tchibala 1HB-ST Well; provides operational update)
- CPG +5.2% (increases dividend)
- ATRA +4.9% (to announce completion of ATA188 Phase 2 EMBOLD Study interim analysis)
- AA +4.5% (Aloft Holdings in talks to acquire Portland Aluminum Smelter from AA according to The Australian)
- SGEN +4.4% (Merck (MRK) M&A talks advancing according to WSJ)
- SPCE +4.3% (chooses BA unit to design and manufacture next generation motherships)
- HITI +3.8% (acquires nine operating retail cannabis stores from Choom Holdings)
- CSIQ +3% (completes sale of two flagship solar farms in Australia)
- IREN +2.4% (Monthly Investor Update for June)
- NVMI +1.9% (announces that a leading analog and mixed-signal device maker recently adopted its VERAFLEX solution)
- HIVE +1.5% (provides June 2022 production update)
- WDFC +1.4% (names new CFO)
- RKLB +1.3% (introduces Responsive Space Program)
- GVA +1.3% (secures $55 mln for improvements to major Alaskan roadway)
- GILT +1.3% (awarded follow-on orders for the expansion of a defense force satellite communication (SATCOM) network in an Asian nation)
- SHEL +1.1% (provides Q2 update)
- ADTN +1.1% (Negotiations begin for domination agreement or a domination and profit and loss transfer agreement between Acorn HoldCo Inc. and ADVA Optical Networking SE)
- LLAP +1.1% (announced the successful deployment of the CAPSTONE spacecraft from a Rocket Lab Lunar Photon into a Lunar Transfer Orbit)
- ALKS +1% (Sarissa Capital affirms 8.55% active stake and previously disclosed annual meeting vote intentions)
Analyst comments:
- ADVM +4.1% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Truist)
- CARE +1.4% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James)
Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger
The US elder statesman draws on his vast experience to profile six world leaders — and dissect what made them effective
Today’s news agenda is dominated by discussions about Vladimir Putin’s war and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s resistance, and the question of whether Joe Biden will keep the western alliance together or Xi Jinping will put pressure on Russia to make peace.
Do individuals matter in shaping the course of events? Henry Kissinger thinks they do, and in his latest book he draws on case studies and his own experience to argue that the individual leader, and his or her statecraft, can sometimes determine history. Of course, it helps if they are surrounded by the best advisers.
Although the ex-president Dwight Eisenhower opposed the author’s appointment as President Nixon’s national security adviser, on the grounds that academics were not fit for high-level decision-making, Kissinger made the transition from Harvard triumphantly. He gained the trust of one of the most insecure and suspicious men ever to sit in the Oval Office and also proved a master of bureaucratic politics, deftly side-lining the State Department and secretary of state William Rogers.
Although Kissinger, now aged 99, has not held office since 1977, he has advised virtually every US president since Nixon. His record and views divide opinion deeply but he is rarely ignored.
In Leadership, he sketches out the life and times of six figures, all of whom he knew personally, from Konrad Adenauer, whom he met on only a few occasions, to Nixon, with whom he was in daily contact before the president resigned over Watergate. Kissinger seems to have found Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore the most congenial. He admires Lee’s achievement in turning a poor little island with a volatile mix of ethnicities into a major economic and financial centre. He appreciates his adroitness as when, for example, Lee avoided controversy over military aid from Israel in the 1960s by blithely describing the Israeli experts as “Mexicans”.
Adenauer’s achievement was to turn a democratic West Germany into the pillar of a strong Europe and a valued partner in Nato. Charles de Gaulle was “ruthless and calculating” — and effective — restoring France as a power after its defeat in the second world war. Kissinger sees the same qualities in Margaret Thatcher, in her determination to transform British society and in her refusal to accept Argentina’s seizure of the Falkland Islands in 1982. Anwar Sadat of Egypt is on the list because he took the brave decision to break with his Arab allies and make peace with Israel.
The book highlights Kissinger’s own achievements, from the extrication of the US from Vietnam, to the opening to China and the shuttle diplomacy that brought, for a time, the promise of peace to the Middle East.
Yet for the most part, he chooses not to answer the charges that he was too willing to sacrifice principles and people for reasons of state. He refers to America’s refusal in 1971 to condemn the brutal attempts by Pakistan’s military dictatorship to suppress the independence movement in what was then East Pakistan. But he says any measures would have done little more than communicate American disapproval. “They would”, he adds, “also diminish American leverage and threaten the nascent opening to China — for which Pakistan was our principal intermediary.”
For Kissinger, good leaders have a deep appreciation of the past and an ability to imagine possible futures. Some leaders are prophets who, Kissinger says, see the present “less from the perspective of the possible than from a vision of the imperative”. The other type, the statesmen, manage change yet are conservatives in the older sense of preserving what is the core of their society. Since Kissinger puts Robespierre and Lenin in the former camp and Metternich and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the latter, it is not hard to see where his sympathies lie.
When it comes to his own country and its role in the world, Kissinger recognises its power and its capacity to provide order and balance — both of which he ranks highly — but he despairs of its inconsistency. He also mistrusts what he sees as an American “idiosyncratic” faith that universal peace can be achieved, and shares the view, which he ascribes to Nixon, that peace is “a state of fragile and fluid equilibrium among the great powers . . . ”
He ends on a pessimistic note. It is not clear where good and effective leadership is to come from. Democratic elites appear detached from their own societies and unwilling to take responsibility for the world’s problems. The global order, he warns, is being shaken by the “unravelling of entire regions” and “the intensifying antagonism of great powers with conflicting claims of legitimacy”. Elder statesman is an overused term but Kissinger is the genuine article, and worth listening to — even if you choose to disagree with him.
Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger
The US elder statesman draws on his vast experience to profile six world leaders — and dissect what made them effective
Today’s news agenda is dominated by discussions about Vladimir Putin’s war and Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s resistance, and the question of whether Joe Biden will keep the western alliance together or Xi Jinping will put pressure on Russia to make peace.
Do individuals matter in shaping the course of events? Henry Kissinger thinks they do, and in his latest book he draws on case studies and his own experience to argue that the individual leader, and his or her statecraft, can sometimes determine history. Of course, it helps if they are surrounded by the best advisers.
Although the ex-president Dwight Eisenhower opposed the author’s appointment as President Nixon’s national security adviser, on the grounds that academics were not fit for high-level decision-making, Kissinger made the transition from Harvard triumphantly. He gained the trust of one of the most insecure and suspicious men ever to sit in the Oval Office and also proved a master of bureaucratic politics, deftly side-lining the State Department and secretary of state William Rogers.
Although Kissinger, now aged 99, has not held office since 1977, he has advised virtually every US president since Nixon. His record and views divide opinion deeply but he is rarely ignored.
In Leadership, he sketches out the life and times of six figures, all of whom he knew personally, from Konrad Adenauer, whom he met on only a few occasions, to Nixon, with whom he was in daily contact before the president resigned over Watergate. Kissinger seems to have found Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore the most congenial. He admires Lee’s achievement in turning a poor little island with a volatile mix of ethnicities into a major economic and financial centre. He appreciates his adroitness as when, for example, Lee avoided controversy over military aid from Israel in the 1960s by blithely describing the Israeli experts as “Mexicans”.
Adenauer’s achievement was to turn a democratic West Germany into the pillar of a strong Europe and a valued partner in Nato. Charles de Gaulle was “ruthless and calculating” — and effective — restoring France as a power after its defeat in the second world war. Kissinger sees the same qualities in Margaret Thatcher, in her determination to transform British society and in her refusal to accept Argentina’s seizure of the Falkland Islands in 1982. Anwar Sadat of Egypt is on the list because he took the brave decision to break with his Arab allies and make peace with Israel.
The book highlights Kissinger’s own achievements, from the extrication of the US from Vietnam, to the opening to China and the shuttle diplomacy that brought, for a time, the promise of peace to the Middle East.
Yet for the most part, he chooses not to answer the charges that he was too willing to sacrifice principles and people for reasons of state. He refers to America’s refusal in 1971 to condemn the brutal attempts by Pakistan’s military dictatorship to suppress the independence movement in what was then East Pakistan. But he says any measures would have done little more than communicate American disapproval. “They would”, he adds, “also diminish American leverage and threaten the nascent opening to China — for which Pakistan was our principal intermediary.”
For Kissinger, good leaders have a deep appreciation of the past and an ability to imagine possible futures. Some leaders are prophets who, Kissinger says, see the present “less from the perspective of the possible than from a vision of the imperative”. The other type, the statesmen, manage change yet are conservatives in the older sense of preserving what is the core of their society. Since Kissinger puts Robespierre and Lenin in the former camp and Metternich and Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the latter, it is not hard to see where his sympathies lie.
When it comes to his own country and its role in the world, Kissinger recognises its power and its capacity to provide order and balance — both of which he ranks highly — but he despairs of its inconsistency. He also mistrusts what he sees as an American “idiosyncratic” faith that universal peace can be achieved, and shares the view, which he ascribes to Nixon, that peace is “a state of fragile and fluid equilibrium among the great powers . . . ”
He ends on a pessimistic note. It is not clear where good and effective leadership is to come from. Democratic elites appear detached from their own societies and unwilling to take responsibility for the world’s problems. The global order, he warns, is being shaken by the “unravelling of entire regions” and “the intensifying antagonism of great powers with conflicting claims of legitimacy”. Elder statesman is an overused term but Kissinger is the genuine article, and worth listening to — even if you choose to disagree with him.
Private equity platform doubles assets under management
Moonfare aims to open up the asset class to a wider group of investors
Private equity platform Moonfare has topped €2bn in assets under management as the asset class, historically reserved for the ultra-wealthy, has become more open to everyday investors, raising new opportunities and risks.
The Berlin-based company on Thursday said the amount of money it manages for clients has doubled in less than a year. The company provides individual investors with access to a portfolio of buyout funds, which traditionally have been limited to backers who could pledge millions of dollars.
Although Moonfare can only sell its services to “sophisticated investors”, as defined by regulators, and has a minimum investment threshold of £50,000 in the UK, its growth is a signal of the appetite for private equity among a wider group of investors looking to diversify their portfolios by adding new elements beyond stocks and bonds.
Do-it-yourself investors in the UK can also gain some exposure to private equity strategies through investment trusts or by buying shares in listed private equity houses such as Blackstone and KKR.
Steffen Pauls, Moonfare founder and chief executive, said adding private equity to portfolios boosted both diversification and returns.
“A professional investor on average allocates 25 per cent of their assets to the asset class. An individual investor on average allocates 3 per cent. We want to change this,” he said. “The problem is that 98 per cent of all people cannot invest, because the entry level for large players is $10mn and above.”
“The typical investor for us is a lawyer, a consultant or a director at an investment bank,” he added. Moonfare also partners with banks and wealth managers who can advise their clients on whether it’s suitable to invest.
Venturing into new asset classes brings new risks for retail investors to consider. One secret to private equity’s reputation for high returns is that money invested with buyout managers is locked up, typically for a term of 10 years.
Moonfare, which is backed by investors including Fidelity International, provides two opportunities each year for customers who need their cash back sooner to sell their stakes in an internal marketplace. The company says most customers who need to exit are able to sell, but this is not guaranteed.
“It is a long-term investment that is by its nature illiquid,” said Pauls. So investors need to think about whether they can afford to pledge their money for up to 10 years.
Another factor for investors to consider is the need to select the right manager. Private equity has a reputation for excellent returns, but not all groups have turned in a stellar performance.
Research from State Street last year showed that the top quartile of global buyouts returned a handsome 20 per cent on an annualised basis over the previous 10 years. But the sector’s bottom quartile has limped along, with returns close to zero, while still taking the industry’s notoriously high fees.
Industry figures have also warned that poor managers may have had an easier time eking out some returns in recent years as ultra-low interest rates and economic growth created favourable conditions.
“Every fool in the industry has made 2x or more in the last 10 years,” said Pauls, who previously worked at private equity heavyweight KKR. “The overflow of money, low interest rates, rising valuations, economic growth — we have all of us been in honeymoon times.”
Moonfare has redoubled its due diligence on the managers it selects for its portfolios, as the industry braces for tougher times ahead. Tighter central bank monetary policy and increasing risk of an economic downturn could expose poor private equity managers.
“Now is the time, the most in the past 10 years, where the selection of the right managers really counts for your future success,” Pauls said.
>>> Up
* AO World Raised to Buy at Numis; PT 60 pence
* Great Portland Raised to Buy at Numis; PT 830 pence (+)
* GREENYARD RAISED TO BUY VS HOLD AT BERENBERG, PT EU13.7
* Orkla Raised to Buy at Nordea; PT 93 kroner (+)
* Platzer Raised to Hold at Handelsbanken
* Tenaris Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT 20 euros
* Tenaris ADRs Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT $46
* Trainline PT Raised to 532 pence from 424 pence at Peel Hunt
>>> Down
* ADVA Optical Cut to Hold at M.M. Warburg; PT 16.50 euros (+)
* ArcelorMittal Cut to Neutral at Grupo Santander; PT 29.90 euros
* AT&S Cut to Sell at Berenberg on Oversupply, Capex Concerns
* ING Slaski Cut to Hold at Biuro Maklerskie mBanku
* Rio Tinto Cut to Sell at Berenberg; PT 4,200 pence
* Salzgitter Cut to Hold at Jefferies; PT 23 euros
* Segro Cut to Underperform at Exane; PT 800 pence
* UCB Cut to Sell at Citi; PT 74 euros
* Warsaw Stock Exchange Cut to Neutral at Citi (+)
>>> Initiation
* ASR Nederland Rated New Buy at ING; PT 47 euros
* Hannover Re Reinstated Outperform at RBC; PT 170 euros
* Munich Re Reinstated Sector Perform at RBC; PT 245 euros
* Sareum Holdings Rated New Buy at Peel Hunt; PT 304 pence
* Scor Reinstated Outperform at RBC; PT 26 euros
* Swiss Re Reinstated Sector Perform at RBC; PT 80 Swiss francs
>>> Call
* Essentra Delivers ‘Very Robust’ Update, No Surprises: Jefferies (+)
* Tenaris Raised on OCTG Steel Exposure, Salzgitter Cut: Jefferies
- ASMI (AVS TH) +3.4%
- Watch European, US Chip Stocks as Samsung Beats Expectations
- BE Semiconductor (BSI TH) +2.4%
- Equinor (DNQ TH) +2.4%
- Lufthansa (LHA TH) +2.2%
- German Logistics Mogul Becomes Lufthansa’s Biggest Shareholder
- Glencore (8GC TH) +2.2%
- Infineon (IFX TH) +2%
- Shell (R6C0 TH) +2%
- AstraZeneca (ZEG TH) +2%
- IO Cancer Drugs Tap $117 Billion Market, Merck’s Keytruda Leads
- NatWest (RYS1 TH) +2%
- Unilever (UNVB TH) -0.2%
- Siemens Gamesa (GTQ1 TH) -0.3%
- Clean, Versatile Hydrogen Emerges as Key Decarbonization Vector
- Rockwool (R90 TH) -0.5%
- EDF (E2F TH) -1.9%
- Electricite de France Chief Levy to Step Down, Le Figaro Reports
- UCB (UNC TH) -2.6%
- UCB Gets Only Sell Rating as Citi Sees Risks Skewed to Downside
DAX:
- Porsche SE (PAH3 TH) +2.3%
- Deutsche Bank (DBK TH) +2.1%
- Daimler Truck (DTG TH) +2%
- Infineon (IFX TH) +2%
- Watch European, US Chip Stocks as Samsung Beats Expectations
- Mercedes (MBG TH) +1.7%
- Deutsche Post (DPW TH) +0.9%
- Vonovia (VNA TH) +0.9%
MDAX:
- Lufthansa (LHA TH) +2.4%
- German Logistics Mogul Becomes Lufthansa’s Biggest Shareholder
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) +2.4%
- Uniper (UN01 TH) +1.9%
- Rheinmetall (RHM TH) +1.7%
- Aroundtown (AT1 TH) +1.7%
- Evotec SE (EVT TH) +1%
SDAX:
- Schaeffler (SHA TH) +2.8%
- Indus Holding (INH TH) +2.1%
- Deutz (DEZ TH) +1.9%
- flatexDEGIRO (FTK TH) +1.3%
- AUTO1 (AG1 TH) +1.3%
- Carvana Slumps After Davy Cuts Earnings Estimates, Target (1)
- Suedzucker (SZU TH) +0.3%
- Suedzucker 1Q Sugar Unit Revenue Beats Estimates
- About You (YOU TH) +0.1%
- About You Maintains FY Adjusted Ebitda Loss Forecast
- Salzgitter (SZG TH) +0.1%
- Tenaris Raised on OCTG Steel Exposure, Salzgitter Cut: Jefferies