>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 24th of February 2020 V2(+)

>>> Up
* Allianz PT Raised to 260 euros at Bankhaus Metzler
* Albioma PT Raised to 35.50 euros at Gilbert Dupont (+)
* Deutsche Boerse PT Raised to 175 euros at Jefferies (+)
* L'Oreal Target Raised to EUR245 From EUR242 by Berenberg
* Poste Italiane Raised to Neutral at BofA
* Rentokil Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT 620 pence
* Sparebank 1 Oestlandet Raised to Hold at Norne Securities (+)
* Sunrise Communications Target Raised to CHF95 From CHF87 by Berenberg
* Swedish Match PT Raised to 675 kronor at Deutsche Bank

>>> Down
* Alstria Office Cut to Hold at M.M. Warburg; PT 20 euros (+)
* Amadeus PT Cut to 80 euros from 90 euros at Deutsche Bank
* Danske Bank Cut to Neutral at Citi; PT 119 kroner
* Handelsbanken Cut to Sell at Citi; PT 101 kronor
* Micro Focus PT Cut to 680 pence from 1,000 pence at Citi
* NMC Health PT Slashed to Street-Low of 500p at Jefferies (+)
* NRC Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 33 kroner
* Randstad Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 60.50 euros
* Sogn Sparebank Cut to Sell at Norne Securities; PT 107 kroner (+)
* TLG Immobilien Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 33 euros
* Verallia Cut to Hold at SocGen; PT 36 euros (+)

>>> Initiation
* Baloise Rated New Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Bonheur Rated New Buy at SEB Equities; PT 240 kroner
* Electrolux Resumed Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Fevertree Drinks Reinstated Buy at Liberum; PT 1,675 pence
* National Express Rated New Hold at Peel Hunt; PT 450 pence
* Sunrise Resumed Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 85 Swiss francs
* Sunrise Reinstated Neutral at UBS; PT 84 Swiss francs
* Syncona Limited Rated New Add at Peel Hunt; PT 286 pence
* Swiss Life Rated New Underweight at Morgan Stanley

>>> Call
* AB Foods’s Primark Outlook Suggests Modest Slowdown, MS Says (+)
* Bunzl to Rebound in ‘20 as Growth Resumes, M&A Accelerates: Citi (+)
* Europe’s Airports Face 3%-4% Earnings Hit From Virus: RBC
* Baloise Preferred to Swiss Life on Earnings Quality, MS Says
* Rentokil’s Premium Valuation Should Be Maintained: Jefferies

>>> TradeGate Pre-MArket Indications

DAX:
  • BASF (BAS TH) -0.9%
  • Henkel (HEN3 TH) -1.1%
  • BMW (BMW TH) -1.1%
  • Deutsche Telekom (DTE TH) -1.4%
  • Daimler (DAI TH) -1.4%
  • Wirecard (WDI TH) -3.3%
  • Siemens (SIE TH) -3.3%
  • Bayer (BAYN TH) -3.3%
  • Deutsche Post (DPW TH) -3.6%
  • Infineon (IFX TH) -3.8%
    • Watch Oil, Miners, Luxury, Airlines as Virus Fears Sink Stocks
MDAX:
  • ThyssenKrupp (TKA TH) -0.9%
  • Commerzbank (CBK TH) -4.9%
  • Software AG (SOW TH) -5.1%
  • Siltronic (WAF TH) -5.4%
  • Puma (PUM TH) -6%
  • Evotec SE (EVT TH) -6.5%
SDAX:
  • Adler Real Estate (ADL TH) -3.8%
  • Dr Hoenle (HNL TH) -5%
  • Aixtron (AIXA TH) -5.2%
  • S&T (GROA TH) -5.3%
  • Zooplus (ZO1 TH) -5.9%

>>> What to look at today - 24th of February 2020

S&P futures drop 1.4% while Nasdaq futures plunge as much as 2.2% after coronavirus cases outside of China rise; MSCI Asia Pacific wipes out all post-holiday gains with 1.1% drop. The dollar resumes rally as Asian EM currencies tumble; NZD, AUD and CAD the worst G-10 majors amid commodities sell-off. Kospi slumps as much as 3.5% as confirmed virus infections in South Korea top 700; won drops to 6-month low. T-note futures 11/32 higher; Aussie 10-year yield eases 2bps to 0.91%. China’s mainland indexes extend recent outperformance, with Shenzhen Composite 1.1% higher while H shares fall 1.7% in Hong Kong. WTI slumps 2.4% near $52.10; gold jumps 1.2% to $1,663/oz. Euro Stoxx 50 futures fall 2.1%, pointing to a steep drop in European shares on Monday amid mounting worries over the number of coronavirus cases outside of China and the potential impact on global growth.

Nikkei -0.39% Hang Seng -1.48% CSI -0.45% Shnaghai -0.34% Shenzen +0.85%

Eur$ 1.0821 CNY 7.0314 CNH 7.0392 JPY 111.57 KRW 1218 (+9) GBP 1.2942 CHF 0.9806

WTI 52.16 -2% GOLD 1662.85 +1.5% BTC 9756 +1%

Dow -1.38% S&P -1.39% Nasdaq -1.79% EuroStoxx -1.87% FTSE -1.29% Dax -1.82%

Macro :
- Virus Outbreak Exposes $46 Billion Rift in China’s Tech Industry
- ‘Massive Risk’ Drives ESG Deadline at $108 Billion Finnish Funds
- PBOC Deputy Governor Doesn’t Foresee Large Yuan Movement
- Iran Has Fifth Death; South Korea Is Battleground: Virus Update
- EU Staples on the Mend After Reset Expectations, Lower Valuation
- Aso Says Virus Could Have Severe Impact on the Global Economy
- CVC to Finalize 300M-Pound Deal to Buy Six Nations Stake: FT

Keep an eye on :
- ABF LN : AB Foods Says Performance is in Line With Expectations
- ADP FP : Europe’s Airports Face 3%-4% Earnings Hit From Virus: RBC
- AF FP : FT : Air France-KLM boss covers first leg of long-haul recovery, After pacifying unions Ben Smith is looking to revamp the fleet and tackle profit margins - https://on.ft.com/2STvR8s
- ALM SM : Almirall Full Year Normalized Net Income Beats Highest Estimate
- AAL LN : World’s Biggest Manganese Mine Readies for Cyclone in Australia
- ARCAD NA : Arcadis Continues Pact With Georgia Department of Transportation
- ATL IM : Atlantia Investors Should Complain Over CEO Interview: Buffagni
- BALN SW : Baloise Preferred to Swiss Life on Earnings Quality, MS Says
- BARC LN : Barclays CEO Staley Expects to Leave by End of 2021: FT
- BAYN GY : Bayer Traders Expect More Earnings-Day Swings; Peugeot See Less
- BMW GY : Mys Group Clinches Bid for BMW China's Auto Parts Packaging
- BKG LN : *Berkeley Group to Return GBP1B to Hldrs Over Next Two Years
- BRK/A US : Cash-Rich Berkshire Embraces the Idea of Life After Buffett
- BSGR NA : B&S Group Full Year Ebitda Misses Lowest Estimate
- CSP LN : Countrywide, LSL Property Discussing £500 Mln Merger: Sky
- CCAP GY : Corestate to Name Georg Allendorf as Chairman
- DSV DC : DSV Warns It May Have to Cut up to 4,000 Jobs, Dow Jones Says
- GMAB DC : Genmab Sees Potential U.S. Approval for Ofatumumab in June 2020
- ISN SW : Intershop Full Year Net Income CHF71.0 Mln
- JMT PL : Jeronimo Martins Plans to Enter Romania Within 2-3 Yrs: Puls
- CURK GY : Medical Supplier Curasan Files for Insolvency Proceedings (micro cap)
- MMB FP : Former French President Sarkozy May Join Lagardere Board: Figaro
- LUN DC : FDA Approves Lundbeck’s Vyepti, Preventive Migraine Treatment
- NESN SW : Nestle Is Open to More Creative M&A Deals, Bahadur Says
- NOVN SW : Novartis Reports FDA, EMA Filing Acceptance of Ofatumumab
- UG FP : Renault, PSA's Coronavirus Exposure Puts Sales, Profits at Risk
- PNL NA : PostNL Sees 2020 Normalized Ebit EU110 Mln To EU130 Mln
- 1913 HK : Prada Brings In Star Designer Raf Simons to Shake Up Look - -2.28% in HK, I think better that sector in Europe - Italy is one of the big country of production for all luxury brands. so double effect.
- RNO FP : FT : Luca de Meo: ‘Cultural sponge’ takes ‘job from hell’ at Renault - https://on.ft.com/2HPs99a
- RNO FP : Renault, PSA's Coronavirus Exposure Puts Sales, Profits at Risk
- SAF FP : Helicopter engines unit to invest ~€50M in Tarnos (France) to modernize helicopter engines plant - press - Primary objective is to reduce the duration of the repair cycle by 30%.
- SAN SM : Chairman Botin: Not seeking acquisitions in Spain or Portugal - Spanish press Europe clearly needs bigger banks
- LNSX GY : Hyundai Capital Bank to Make EU18/Share Offer for Sixt Leasing
- TKA GY : RAG Foundation Aims For Minority Stake in Thyssenkrupp Unit: FAZ
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia, Vodafone Sell Tower Unit Stake, Repubblica Says
- UCG IM : UniCredit Says CEO Jean-Pierre Mustier Will Remain at Bank
- UCG IM : UniCredit: No Staff Member Confirmed as Being Infected by Virus
- VOD LN : Telecom Italia, Vodafone Sell Tower Unit Stake, Repubblica Says
- VOW3 GY : Volkswagen Says ‘It’s Now or Never’ for Break-Even in LatAm
- WALLB SS : Wallenstam becomes joint owner in Colive (becoming a 25-percent joint owner in Colive through a new issue. Colive is one of Swedens first operators of co-living housing through so-called co-living hubs.)

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 24th of February 20

>>> Up
* Allianz PT Raised to 260 euros at Bankhaus Metzler
* L'Oreal Target Raised to EUR245 From EUR242 by Berenberg
* Poste Italiane Raised to Neutral at BofA
* Rentokil Raised to Buy at Jefferies; PT 620 pence
* Sunrise Communications Target Raised to CHF95 From CHF87 by Berenberg
* Swedish Match PT Raised to 675 kronor at Deutsche Bank

>>> Down
* Amadeus PT Cut to 80 euros from 90 euros at Deutsche Bank
* Danske Bank Cut to Neutral at Citi; PT 119 kroner
* Handelsbanken Cut to Sell at Citi; PT 101 kronor
* Micro Focus PT Cut to 680 pence from 1,000 pence at Citi
* NRC Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 33 kroner
* Randstad Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 60.50 euros
* TLG Immobilien Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 33 euros

>>> Initiation
* Baloise Rated New Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Bonheur Rated New Buy at SEB Equities; PT 240 kroner
* Electrolux Resumed Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley
* Fevertree Drinks Reinstated Buy at Liberum; PT 1,675 pence
* National Express Rated New Hold at Peel Hunt; PT 450 pence
* Sunrise Resumed Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 85 Swiss francs
* Sunrise Reinstated Neutral at UBS; PT 84 Swiss francs
* Syncona Limited Rated New Add at Peel Hunt; PT 286 pence
* Swiss Life Rated New Underweight at Morgan Stanley

>>> Call
* Europe’s Airports Face 3%-4% Earnings Hit From Virus: RBC
* Baloise Preferred to Swiss Life on Earnings Quality, MS Says
* Rentokil’s Premium Valuation Should Be Maintained: Jefferies

WSJ : The Take-No-Prisoners Rivalries in Online Luxury Fashion

The Take-No-Prisoners Rivalries in Online Luxury Fashion
Here’s how online-only fashion retailers such as Moda Operandi try to outshine competitors and woo customers who favor experiences over things

While Issa Rae and other celebrities were watching the Proenza Schouler show at New York Fashion Week this month, Lisa Aiken, an executive at online retailer Moda Operandi, already was thinking about getting her hands on the jewelry on the runway—and dangling it before her customers in a matter of days.

Ms. Aiken, Moda Operandi’s womenswear fashion and buying director, wanted to be the first retailer to have the chunky aluminum coil necklaces, and lobbied Proenza Schouler’s account executive Alexandra Cook for them at the Monday night show.

However, it wasn’t clear whether Proenza Schouler planned to produce the jewelry and sell it—or just use it in the show. But Ms. Aiken pressed Ms. Cook hard and the fashion house came through. The gold and silver necklaces from the Monday night show were online Friday—for $990 apiece—exclusively from Moda Operandi, along with much of Proenza Schouler’s Fall 2020 runway collection. Ms. Aiken’s lobbying and the subsequent three-day sprint from runway to online sale—which included a seven-hour photo shoot in Brooklyn that ended at 3 a.m.—demonstrates the lengths to which high-end online retailers will go to get an edge on the competition.

Online-only luxury retailers such as Moda Operandi, Net-a-Porter and Farfetch make up more than 40% of online luxury sales, said Federica Levato, a partner at consulting firm Bain & Co. In the increasingly competitive realm, the sites are trying to distinguish themselves by promoting exclusive merchandise and being the first to offer it to customers online. They are also aiming to specialize. “Having a distinct point of view is something that can create a unique customer base,” Ms. Levato said.

Like all high-end fashion retailers, Moda Operandi has to persuade shoppers who value experiences over things to pay three or four figures for a dress or a bag. Retailers also are grappling with a glut of merchandise, sustainability concerns, and consumers turning to secondhand shopping or pouncing on discount sales of designer goods.

Online sales of personal luxury goods rose 22% in 2019 to an estimated $35.9 billion from $29.5 billion in 2018, according to Bain. Online sales are expected to represent 25% of total spending on personal luxury goods world-wide in 2025, up from 12% in 2019.

Moda Operandi was founded in 2010 by Lauren Santo Domingo, a former editor at Vogue, and Aslaug Magnusdottir, an alum of Gilt Groupe, a designer discount-sale site. Their seed money came from friends and relatives; the company since has raised $345 million in financing from venture capital and private equity firms.

To stand out from the competition, Moda Operandi offers many items months before they appear on rival sites, through exclusive deals with designers. The site showcases entire collections—not just some items, like other retailers—and sells them at full price. Such arrangements appeal to designers, who are spared discounting. Those customers like pre-ordering clothes just days after they appear on the runway—a shift from the usual retail calendar in which collections typically don’t arrive in stores until at least six months after shows.

The site sells runway collections through digital trunk shows, which consist of runway shots, photographs and descriptions of items that shoppers can scroll through. Traditional trunk shows, a mainstay of high-end boutiques and some department stores, are exclusive, in-person affairs where customers can preview and order items months before the general public.

Ms. Aiken, who joined Moda Operandi in November 2018 after seven years at Net-a-Porter, described the retailer’s customer as “very fashion forward. She wants [the clothes] to be special but she doesn’t want to feel like something’s wearing her versus the other way around.” The company said trunk show shoppers spend, on average, $2,000 per order.

Patti McGuire, a 66-year-old former hospital co-owner in Anchorage, Ala., became a Moda Operandi trunk-show shopper in late 2016, after spotting a Brandon Maxwell outfit in a magazine. Ms. McGuire, who also was a model and television reporter, attends many charity galas. Moda Operandi’s trunk shows introduce her to newer designers like Mr. Maxwell, Gabriela Hearst and Peter Do, who was born in Vietnam and is based in Brooklyn.

Pre-ordering, Ms. McGuire says, lets her keep pace with stylish women in fashion capitals such as New York or Paris. The early access “does make you feel like you’re part of the gang,” she said, referring to fashion insiders who are the first to wear new looks.

Sales associated with trunk shows represent two-thirds of total revenue, according to Moda Operandi, which declined to provide revenue figures. Deborah Nicodemus, who stepped down as chief executive in 2018, predicted in 2016 that revenue would reach about $165 million in 2017.

Ms. Aiken and her team decide whom to feature in trunk shows. She discovers up-and-coming brands by scouring Instagram or following tips from colleagues. During the month of fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris, Ms. Aiken hits 101 shows, snapping pictures with a Leica digital camera, and blitzes through 100 showroom appointments. The frenzy concludes with Paris Fashion Week, which runs Feb. 24 through March 3.

After the recent Monday night Proenza Schouler show where Ms. Aiken spotted the necklaces, she and members of her team identified pieces to highlight on social media and their site. To prepare the digital trunk show, they headed to Proenza Schouler’s Manhattan showroom on Wednesday. Ms. Aiken and her colleagues jotted notes on orders and examined clothes, jewelry, bags and shoes. They also selected a number of items that weren’t on the runway—known as “commercial” styles—for the trunk show. Sales of the commercial pieces help Moda Operandi decide what kinds of styles to offer outside trunk shows.

About eight hours later, a van carrying the Proenza Schouler collection arrived at a 30,000-square-foot warehouse studio in Brooklyn. Moda Operandi staff unpacked and prepped each item, more than 50 pieces in all, for a photo shoot that stretched into the wee hours. On Thursday they retouched pictures and worked into the night preparing the trunk show’s web page. Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on Friday, the show went live. A week in, the company said, sales are ahead of their expectations, thanks in part to brisk demand for Proenza Schouler’s thigh-high boots in faux leather, going for $975 a pair.