NY Post : Lyft’s insane fare cuts will make you think twice about Uber

Lyft’s insane fare cuts will make you think twice about Uber
Lyft is spending big again in New York City to beat back Uber.

The ride-hailing app is slashing fares for passengers by 50 percent for all hours between Monday and Friday — and is letting drivers keep 100 percent of the tab.

The exceptionally sweet deals are being offered for a “limited time” and “could last several weeks,” Vipul Patel, Lyft’s general manager for New York City, told The Post.

The discounts are stepped-up versions of what Lyft has offered in the past as it spends heavily — to the tune of $50 million a month nationwide, according to sources — to gain market share against its bigger rival. A Lyft spokeswoman said the new incentives fall “well within” the startup’s existing budget.

“When we bring people on board, they tend to stick around,” Patel said, adding that Lyft’s New York business has surged tenfold over the past 12 months.

Still, Uber’s Big Apple business is more than seven times as large as Lyft’s, according to Slice Intelligence.

Lyft has offered zero-commission driver deals since January, but has required drivers — whom Lyft usually charges a cut of 20 to 25 percent — to rack up 75 rides in a week to win them.

“It’s been a really successful program,” Patel said. “We thought we’d give all drivers a taste of that.”

Eyeing summer hotspots, Lyft also said it’s launching in the Hamptons, Cape Cod and the Jersey Shore in the coming weeks.

>>> Hedge Fund Wisdom Q1 2016 - Consensus Buy, Sell, Increased, Decreased



From: LAURENT CHEKROUN (MAKOR SECURITIES LO) At: May 22 2016 12:39:50
Subject: >>> Hedge Fund Wisdom Q1 2016 - Consensus Buy, Sell, Increased, Decreased
Consensus New Buys:
PayPal (PYPL): Hedge funds like Omega Advisors, Pennant Capital, Coatue Management, and Lone Pine Capital all bought PYPL shares during the first quarter. Now an independent publicly traded company for a few quarters, more funds have had a chance to digest PayPal’s results on a standalone basis. The mobile payments company recently was spun-off from eBay (EBAY). PYPL was featured in the equity analysis section of the Q3 2015 issue of the newsletter if you want to play catch up on the thesis.
Baxalta (BXLT): Funds such as Paulson & Co, Third Point, Farallon Capital, and Lone Pine Capital all disclosed brand new stakes in Baxalta during the quarter. This is a risk arbitrage play as the company received a takeover offer from Shire (SHPG).
Gaming & Leisure Properties (GLPI): Hound Partners, Third Point, JANA Partners, and Omega Advisors all built new stakes in GLPI during Q1. GLPI is basically a real estate company that acquires and leases back gaming properties to casino companies. GLPI recently acquired the real estate assets of Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK). During Q1, shares of Gaming & Leisure surged from $25 to $30 and have since headed even higher to $33.
Facebook (FB): Andreas Halvorsen’s Viking Global bought a massive $2.29 billion stake in the quarter, making it its top position. Other managers that initiated FB positions include the likes of Appaloosa Management and Paulson & Co. The company has really been firing on all cylinders by monetizing mobile, rolling out ads on its Instagram app, and further developing its WhatsApp messaging service and Oculus virtual reality platform. The company has garnered more incremental dollars from advertisers due to its massive audience and targeting.


Consensus Increased Positions
Liberty Global (LBTYA): Paulson & Co, Greenlight Capital, Glenview Capital, Coatue Management, and Berkshire Hathaway all added to their pre-existing positions during Q1. The company is a collection of cable assets across Europe. Liberty recently announced a joint venture with Vodafone (VOD) in the Dutch market that will combine LBTYA’s broadband with VOD’s wireless operations in order to better compete with rivals. Shares of LBTYA have also been under arbitrage pressure as the company recently acquired Cable & Wireless (CWC.LN) to boost its operations in Latin America. (Liberty Gobal also has a separate tracking stock for its Latin American assets with the tickers LILA / LILAK.)
Alphabet (GOOGL): This is the third straight quarter that Alphabet has been accumulated by prominent funds. The only difference this time around is that they favored GOOGL shares versus the GOOG share class they previously had been buying. Coatue Management, Glenview Capital, Lone Pine Capital, and Viking Global all boosted their holdings. New CFO Ruth Porat has taken many ‘Wall Street friendly’ steps in terms of capital allocation and transparency to better help the company show investors just how much its Google cash cow is generating. A reminder: Alphabet is the new name for the holding company that owns Google, YouTube, and all of their other ‘moonshot’ businesses like self-driving cars that are now run as separate entities.
EMC (EMC): This is a risk arbitrage play as privately held Dell submitted a takeover for EMC. Funds such as Greenlight Capital, Farallon Capital, and Baupost Group all boosted their exposure to the name during the quarter. This is a large takeover and EMC also owns VMWare (VMW). If the deal completes, then Dell would control VMW operationally via 87% of voting rights but only own around a 28% interest. The deal is supposed to close before October of this year but first EMC shareholders must vote in June and it must pass various regulatory approvals as well.
Pfizer (PFE): Funds like Paulson & Co, Appaloosa Management, and JANA Partners bought more shares in the open market during Q1. However, it’s hard to know for sure whether they’ll keep them. This is because this was an event-driven and transformational play as PFE and Allergan (AGN) were set to merge. However, the US government implemented rules to discourage tax inversions, which made the PFE/AGN, deal unlikely to go through. As such, the companies went their separate ways.

Consensus Sold Positions
Apple (AAPL): Once upon a time, this stock graced the ‘consensus buy’ list but those days are now long gone and the company finds itself on the other side of the spectrum. Hedge funds that liquidated their AAPL positions include Appaloosa, Coatue, Tiger Management, and Carl Icahn. That last name is probably the most notable as he built a massive stake in the company in 2013 but had become increasingly worried about China and the company’s exposure there which caused him to exit his stake. The company’s first quarter results showed a year-over-year slowdown in revenue for the first time since 2003 as its flagship iPhone product has started to saturate the market.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX): Like Apple, this was once a company that was being heavily accumulated by hedge funds but now finds itself being dumped en masse. Coatue, JANA, Lone Pine, and Viking Global all exited their stakes. To oversimplify: the company was attacked by Hillary Clinton for its drug pricing practices, short sellers flagged its use of specialty pharmacies, and investors began to worry about its massive debt load. Over the course of the past few quarters, VRX has fallen off a cliff, diving from $260 to current levels of $27.
American International Group (AIG): This has been a successful investment for numerous managers, but none more than Bruce Berkowitz’s Fairholme Capital. They built up a stake during the financial crisis but finally sold their last shares of common stock in Q1. As the company has rebounded from the financial brink, other funds that sold out include Glenview, Hound, and JANA.
Williams Companies (WMB) and Energy Transfer (ETE): These two stocks are grouped together because the reason funds were selling is the same. Williams and Energy Transfer were set to merge but the deal has become doubtful as ETE seems to be looking for ways to exit. As oil prices cascaded lower over the past year, so did shares of each. Funds that threw in the towel on WMB include Coatue, JANA, Lone Pine, and Perry Capital. Managers that dumped ETE shares include Coatue, JANA, Perry, and Viking.

Consensus Decreased Positions
Allergan (AGN): This has been one of the more crowded hedge fund trades in recent memory. Funds such as JANA, Pennant, Omega, Farallon, Blue Ridge, Viking, Third Point, and Paulson all reduced their exposure to the name. This stock could possibly appear on this list next quarter as well considering that the company’s merger with Pfizer (PFE) was recently called off, eliminating the primary catalyst some had invested under. That said, AGN has now shifted from a risk arbitrage stock to a capital deployment optionality story. It should soon close on the massive sale of its generics business to Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA), which will substantially deleverage its balance sheet. AGN has recently announced a $10 billion buyback as well.
Charter Communications (CHTR): Shares of this cable company have steadily risen from $160 to now well over $230 as news hit that the company’s takeover of Time Warner Cable (TWC) has been approved by the FCC and other regulators. Funds that trimmed their stakes in the first quarter include Glenview, Farallon, Coatue, Blue Ridge, and Lone Pine.
TransDigm Group (TDG): This is probably a case of profit taking as this has been a longstanding position for
numerous hedge funds. Just pull up a chart of TDG and you’ll basically see a straight upward march from the bottom left of the chart to the upper right. Funds that took some profits include Hound, Pennant, Maverick, Viking Global, and Lone Pine. This is an aerospace roll-up that’s been executed nicely by CEO Nick Howley though the company is quite levered.
Mastercard (MA): This is likely another case of profit taking given that MA has also been a longstanding holding for many of these managers and shares have been climbing higher ever since its IPO years ago. Blue Ridge, Tiger Global, Berkshire Hathaway, and Lone Pine all reduced their position size in this payment processing company.

>>> Aixtron sale process attracted interest from ASML Holdings, Veeco, other Chi

Aixtron sale process attracted interest from ASML Holdings, Veeco, other Chinese investors 

Aixtron’s [ETR:AIXA] sale process attracted several strategic bidders including ASML Holding [AMS:ASML] and Veeco [NASDAQ:VECO], a person familiar with the situation said.

The German semiconductor company today announced a deal with Chinese investor Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC). A process led by Aixtron’s adviser JP Morgan involved contact with other Chinese companies, the person said.

US rival Veeco was involved in the earlier stages, the person said. Dutch chip-maker ASML Holdings was also involved at various points, this person said.

ASML declined to comment. Veeco could not immediately be reached for comment.

Aixtron decided the EUR 670m FGC deal was its best option, the person said, adding that JP Morgan examined a wide range of strategic options.

In April, bankers pointed to Applied Materials [NASDAQ:AMAT], Tokyo Electron [TYO:8035] and ASML Holding [AMS:ASML] as potential rivals to Chinese interest. As non-direct competitors to Aixtron, they would face fewer antitrust risks than Veeco, this news service reported last month.

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up: XNPT +57.5%, NSPH +27.5%, AIXG +14.1%, MON +7.9%, BZUN +4.7%, SQ +3.3%, SOL +3.3%, NVS +2.3%, ARMH +2.2%, AA +1.8%, RYAAY +1.7%, SPLS +1.5%, QIHU +1.5%, CMCM +1.5%, GPRO +1.3%

Gapping down: AEG -4.5%, SDRL -3.1%, FCX -2.3%, VALE -2%, MT -1.8%, CHK -1.6%, AG -1.5%, RIG -1.4%, RDS.A -1.3%, TEVA -1.3%, SLV -1.1%, BP -1.1%, ABX -1%, BBL -0.9%, GOLD -0.8%, RIO -0.7%, KLXI -0.7%

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: KLXI -0.7%

M&A news: AEG -4.1% (sells the remaining stake of UK Annuity Portfolio to Legal & General)


Select metals/mining stocks trading lower: VALE -3.3%, AG -3.1%, HMY -1.8%, MT -1.6%, GG -1.6%, ABX -1.1%, GOLD -0.8%, SLV -0.6%, BBL -0.5%, RIO -0.5%

Select oil/gas related names showing early weakness: PBR -3.1%, RDS.A -1.5%, RIG -1.4%, BP -1%

Other news: SDRL -3.4% (receives termination notice from Statoil (STO) related to the contract for the West Hercules), FCX -1.6% (Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas files to withdraw IPO), CHK -1.1% (shareholders vote to increase authorized common stock of the Company from 1,000,000,000 shares to 1,500,000,000 shares), TEVA -1.1% (still checking)

Analyst comments: JNPR -1.5% (resumed/downgraded to Market Perform at William Blair) 

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: SOL +9.8%, BZUN +4.7%, RYAAY +1.9%

M&A news: XNPT +57.7% (to be acquired by Arbor Pharma for $7.03/share), REXI +47.8% (to be acquired by C-III Capital Partners for $9.78/share ), NSPH +26.7% (Luminex increases purchase offer to acquire Nanosphere to $1.70/share from $1.35/share), ACTS +21.7% (receives prelim non-binding going private proposal from its former CEO to purchase Co for $2.00 per ADS), AIXG +14.1% (receives takeover offer from Fujian Grand Chip valued at EUR670 mln), MON +9.2% (Bayer (BAYRY) proposes to acquire Monsanto for $122 per share in cash), ONCS +4.8% (agrees to sell to a single healthcare dedicated institutional fund ~5.5 mln common shares at a price of $1.815/share), TLRD +4.2% (George Zimmer might be involved in purchasing back Men's Warehouse, according to NY Post)

Other news: RLYP +4.9% (reports new positive analyses of studies with Veltassa), VSLR +4.4% (closes tax equity investment fund with a new investor, with an aggregate funding commitment of $75 mln), NVS +2.3% (given strong Class I recommendation for Entresto in both US and EU heart failure guidelines), SGYP +1.5% (presents additional Phase 3 plecanatide data), GPRO +1.1% (still checking), BA +0.9% (order for one hundred 737 MAX 200's with VietJet Aviation, valued at ~$11.3 bln), MYL +0.7% (announces the U.S. launch of Doxycycline Hyclate Delayed-Release Tablets)

Analyst comments: OLED +4.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman), SQ +3.3% (upgraded to Buy from Outperform at Credit Agricole), SPLS +2.7% (upgraded to Buy at BofA/Merrill), ATI +2% (upgraded to Buy at BofA/Merrill), P +1.9% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley & Co), AA +1.4% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), RDUS +1.2% (initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $55) 

(BarCap) European Aerospace & Defence : Post Q1 thoughts for the next 3Qs

Post Q1 thoughts for the next 3Qs

Now that we are through the Q1 earnings season, we have taken some time to reflect on what we have learned but more importantly what we expect for the remainder of the year for each of the 12 European A&D names we cover. In short, we believe that the next few quarters will be some of the most interesting we’ve seen in quite some time as the Civil aero ‘cycle’ debate will continue to rage at the exact same time as operational ramp-up risks are peaking. Then there is the proposed rights issue at Cobham; a potential management change at BAE; the c.100% H2 EBIT weighting at Rolls; and media reports on M&A at Safran to name but a few items of interest. We believe it’s a great time to look at the sector and see good value to be had on both the short and long sides. Increasingly, the value appears to be moving to the mid-cap names of Meggitt, Cobham and GKN, but Safran remains our Top Pick on a 12-month view. We retain our UW ratings on Rolls Royce, BAE Systems and Chemring. And we adjust our price targets on Chemring, Qinetiq and Ultra Electronics.

* Airbus (OW; PT: €75): The long-term multi-year earnings ramp-up is still valid, but shortterm pressures could weigh on performance until investors gain confidence that risks are subsiding. Orders, the A320neo industrialization and A350 ramp-up should remain in sharp focus through 3Q16.

* BAE (UW; PT: 400p): The annual divi servicing cost is £0.7bn vs. the -£0.1bn of net capex with internally funded R&D at <1% of sales. Given that the company is residing on the wrong side of credit metric thresholds at both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s this appears unsustainable and unsupportive of consensus forecasts at this point in the ‘cycle’.

* Chemring (UW: PT: 120p): Despite its improved balance sheet after its rights issue, Chemring’s current valuation does not yet adequately reflect ongoing risks, in our view, at FY16E EV/EBITA of 10.1x and P/E of 12.6x with significant dependence on 2H16.

* Cobham (OW; PT: 210p): The recent announcement of the £500m rights issue offers a compelling opportunity. Post the dilution, the shares trade FY17 c9.8x P/E, c.7x EV/EBITDA or c1.2x EV/Sales for a 16% margin business with a sustainable >6% dividend yield, 10% FCF yield and at this point without the once burdened balance sheet.

* Meggitt (OW; PT: 410p): Of most interest at Q1 was the 7% organic growth in Civil AM (the highest margin part of the group), supporting our structural thesis over the medium term while its valuation also looks attractive (10.7x FY17E P/E, 4% dividend yield).

* Rolls Royce (UW; PT: 400p): We are struggling to reconcile the new guide for c£0m of EBIT in H1 given the company capitalises the losses on the sale of Civil OE equipment. This implies notable losses outside of new engine sales across the group. Perhaps Marine and Power Systems are particularly loss making in H1 and/or perhaps our well documented concerns around the profitability of TotalCare Aftermarket are valid.

* Safran (OW; PT: €78, DCF based): For those looking for a long-term value investment, Safran remains the most compelling name in our coverage by some distance.

>>> Street PRe-Market Indications

RBC PRE-MARKET INDICATIONS:
AEGON +2% 3B annuity sale to Legals
AIXTRON +15% receives 6 EURO share offer from Grand Chip Investment
BAYER -2% offers to buy Monsanto for $122/share in cash
BATS/IMP -1% AXA announcement that the insurer will stop investing in tobacco
FIAT -2% allegations of illegal software usage to cheat emissions tests
M&S -1% shareholder urge retailer to sell under-used stores
MITIE +1% profit ahead est, revenue small miss, outlook remains positive
NOVARTIS +1% Entresto given Class 1 recommendation in both EU & US.
RANSTAD +1% to acquire Obiettivo Lavoro, enterprise value of 102.5M EUROS
RYANAIR 0% profits down 1.24B EUROS vs 1.25B EUROS consensus
SKY +1% in partnership talks to engage in O2 bid battle

JPM:
APPLE SUPPLY Reports re: Apple requesting supply chain for 72-78m units. +5%
BARCLAYS FT reports SA Public Investment Corp may take BGA stake. +1%
BAYER Offers to buy Monsanto for $122/shr in cash. -1%
LEGAL & GEN LGEN acquiring £3bn of annuitites from Aegon. +1%
MINERS Commods retrace, Asia weak - led by iron ore (-6%) -3%
NOVARTIS Positive recommendation in the US for Entresto. +2%
RYANAIR FY16 NI slight miss, FY17 guidance implies fare downside. -1%
TOBACCO'S AXA announce they are to sell Tobacco holding. -0.5%
ZALANDO Will now distribute part of Top Shop franchise in UK. +2%


ML:
AIXTRON - Gets EU 6.00/shr offer from Fujian Grand Chip Investment.......+20%
L&G - Buys £3bn annuity portfolio from Aegon & completion of US trans...+1-2%
DIALOG - Apple requesting 10% more units of iPhone 7 than mkt expected....+1%
ARM - Apple requesting 10% more units of iPhone 7 than mkt expected.......+1%
RANDSTAD - Small acquisition of privately owned staffer Obiettivo Lavoro..+1%
NORDEX - Beat. EBITDA €59m v €53m cons & EBITDA margin ahead at 9.3%......+1%
UNICREDIT - CEO may resign as early as Tuesday according to La Stampa.....+1%
SUBSEA - Wind farm contract is over $1bn in value, worth c.15% of backlog.+1%
BT - Chairman Michael Rake set to step down in 2017; Sunday Times & FT....u/c
BILFINGER - May announce the sale of its building & real estate division..u/c
NOKIA - To cut c.1000 jobs in Finland after completing union talks; DPA...u/c
SKY - In partnership talks with PE groups engaged in £9B O2 bid battle....u/c
NORDEA - Sees additional costs of cEUR 200m/yr from resolution fund.....-0.5%
UK MINERS - Copper -0.26%, Iron Ore -1% with BHP OZ -2.4%, RIO OZ -2.1%...-1%
MITIE - Inline on P&L, cash a bit light. EBITA £128.9m v £128m cons.......-1%
RYANAIR - Profit aft tax -70bps v cons, cautious (as expected) outlook..-1-2%

CS
AIXTRON +20% Gets €6/share offer from Fujian Grand Chip Invest
AEGON +1% L&G bought £3b annuity portfolio
AMS +1% Apple asks suppliers to prep for 72-8m new iphone7
BAYER R Offers to Buy Monsanato (CS RESTRICTED)
BILFINGER M/P May announce sale of building & real estate services
DIALOG SEMI +1% Apple asks suppliers to prep for 72-8m new iphone7
ICAP -2% CS downgrade to Neutral
IMG +1% Apple asks suppliers to pre for 72-8m new iphone7
MINERS -1/2% Brent -70bps,Iron Ore fut -1%, Rebar -4%
MITIE +2% No's ok; operating profit 128.9m vs cons 128m
NOVARTIS +1/2% Entresto (heart disease) receives class 1 recomm}
NORDEX +1% No's better EBITDA 59m vs cons 52
RYANAIR -1/2% Outlook small light - see FY 5% miss @ mid-point
SSE -1/2% To build £2.6b wind farm but d/g away
TELIT COMMS +1/2% Software licence agreement announced
UNICREDIT +1% More press on imminent management change
ZUMTOBEL +2/3 Positive read across from Aixtron offer

Shore
MITIE - rev -1.8% £2.2m,PBT +133%,order book strong,82% budgeted revs secured+1%
RYANAIR - rev +16%,profit +43%,2% better booked for summer but at lower fares-2%
CERILLION - revs +11% £6.9m,new orders +50%,PBT +19%,sees FY inline.........UNCH
4D PHARMA - IBS treatment achieved trial objectives.........................UNCH
LEGAL&GENERAL - Bought £3b Annuity portfolio from Aegon......................+1%
TISSUE REGENIX - Confident to deliver in line with forecasts 2017...........UNCH
TRIBAL - Views for 2016 and beyong remains unchanged........................UNCH
GVC - signs 10-yr platform licence deal with Betfred.........................+2%
AUREUS - targets recommencement of ops at New Liberty within next 2 weeks..+tive

MF
*BAYER-Offers to buy Monsanto $122/shr in cash vs cls 101.52........-2.5% 
*RYANAIR-Net 1.24b(1.28),Rev 6.54b(6.55),FY17 Net below Cons........+1% 
*ILIAD/SKY-May consider creating 4th Italian Operator - FT..........+1% 
*ENEL-Euro power prices low for 2-3yrs,others will shut plants......U/C 
*TELEFONICA-Puts Audiovisual Services Unit up for sale-Press........+0.25% 
*NORDEA-Sees add costs of €200m a yr,due 2 subsidiary merger........-0.5% 
*UNICREDIT-CEO GFhizzoni may resign as early as 24th May - Sole.....+1% 
*AIRBUS-Boeing wins $11.3b order for 737 Max planes from Vietjet....-0.5% 
*BILFINGER-To announce Building & Construction sale in days-Welt....U/C 
*CS-CEO of IWM confident will reach div tgt within 2yrs(CHF2.1b)....U/C 
*BAER-CEO says Kairos IPO will happen within 1yr says Sole..........U/C 
*AIXTRON-Grand Chip Invs offers €6 a share vs clse €4.787...........+19% 
*THYSSEN-Wilbur Ross said 2 be on Tata Steel bid shortlist..........-0.25% *RENAULT/PEUGEOT-In talks with Proton on stratgic pact - Edge.......U/C 
*CARLSBERG-Needs house in order before mulling larger buys-FD.......+0.5% 
*NOVARTIS-Entresto given strong Class I reco in both US and EU......+1%