Other

Other Market Cap equity research

Explore the most viewed and latest equity research and media content we have for listed companies that don't quite fit our market cap filter.

Other Stocks

Broker research, valuations, & analysis on other stocks

02 Jul 19

Where’s the Value?

Warren Buffett once said that as an investor, it is wise to be ‘fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful’. Fear is not in short supply right now.

Companies: OPM ALU ANCR BLV CONN CRC FDL GATC HAT LEK MMH MCB MWE NXR NTBR NOG PAF PEG RFX SRC TEF TEG TPT VTU WYN XLM

15 Jul 19

Orexo - By leaps and bounds

After a strong Q119, which is seasonally the weakest quarter, Orexo also had a higher bar to beat Q218 due to milestone income making it one of its best ever quarters. Nevertheless, total Q219 revenues rose 0.8% to SEK201.2m. Zubsolv continued to perform well with Q219 sales of SEK184.4m, even against generic film and sublingual tablet competition.

Companies: Orexo

17 Jul 19

ASX Listed Managed Investments Monthly Report

Capital Continues to Flow Into LMIs Through April and May we have seen three more listed managed investment vehicles (LMIs) start trading on the ASX including two fixed income focused listed investment trusts (LITs), Perpetual Credit Income Trust (ASX:PCI) and MCP Wholesale Income Opportunities Trust (ASX:MOT). Refer to our LMI Monthly Update of 18 March 2019 for more details on these LITs. Pengana Private Equity Trust (ASX:PE1) units listed in April after it raised $205m, at the lower end of its $100m to $600m target range. PE1 is a unique offering in that it is the only LMI that will provide exposure to a well-diversified portfolio of global private equity investments. Although the PE1 raising was towards the lower end of expectations we remain comfortable that it will still be able to achieve its objective of building a well-diversified portfolio and maintain our Recommended Plus rating. The listing of PCI and MOT continues the recent trend of fixed income managers tapping the LMI sector for funds. Given the domestic and global low interest rate environment and the potential for further interest rate cuts, it is not hard to see why these offerings are attracting strong demand. These fixed income trusts are offering investors higher yields than available on bank deposits, which are the traditional avenue for retail investors looking for a reliable income stream. However, with rates now so low and even negative factoring in inflation, yield hungry investors have gone in search of yield in alternative fixed income products which were once on the periphery of the retail market and only generally accessed by institutional investors. These products are now being increasingly accessed by retail investors through LMI products and unlisted unit trust structures. However, investors need to be aware that while the underlying assets can produce a higher yield and pay regular, stable income, the risks are higher than traditional bank deposits. Investors should always ensure that they understand the risks associated with any new fixed income offerings and are comfortable including these in their portfolios. These products don’t come with any guarantees, unlike bank deposits, and a significant deterioration in global credit conditions could have an impact on returns. The addition of PCI and MOT takes the total number of fixed income LMIs to six and we are aware of two more offerings in the pipeline, including one from Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager which is planning to launch a listed investment trust later this year. The Partners Group LMI will invest in a portfolio of global debt instruments in a segment of the market that is not generally accessible to retail investors. We will provide more information on the proposed LMIs as it comes to hand. In addition to funds flowing into new LMIs, there have also been a number of secondary market raisings in recent months. In May/ June VGI Partners Global Investments (ASX:VG1) successfully raised $300m via a placement and entitlements offer. VG1 shareholders also stumped up $75m for shares in the Manager as part of an IPO offer for VGI Partners (ASX:VGI). There have also been a number of secondary market raisings by fixed income LMIs with NBI Global Corporate Income Trust (ASX:NBI) raising $476m via entitlement and shortfall offers. This was the maximum under the offer and funds will be invested in accordance with NBI’s strategy to invest in global, high yield, liquid corporate bonds. In June, Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund (ASX:QRI) raised $34.7m via a placement to wholesale investors and in July Gryphon Capital Income Trust (ASX:GCI) announced entitlement and shortfall offers to raise up to $108m. These offers show that the fixed income LMIs are having no trouble finding new assets for their investment portfolios and there is no shortage of investors willing to provide the funds. This sector had a market cap of $3bn at the end of May and with the new offerings yet to come to market and secondary market raisings we expect this to be well over $4bn by the end of 2019. Spotlight on DUI and Rating Upgrade Diversified United Investment (ASX:DUI) is one of the older style internally managed LICs. Listed on the ASX in 1991, the company invests in a portfolio of ASX-listed securities to generate income and capital appreciation over the long-term. Whilst the portfolio is predominantly invested in Australian large caps, up to 5% can be held in small-caps via an allocation to small cap fund managers and up to 20% (currently 15%) can be held in international shares via ETFs and international fund managers. The portfolio has performed well with DUI at the top of our performance table (see above) for LICs with an Australian shares focus. It has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index over 1, 3, 5 & 10-year periods. The outperformance can perhaps partly be attributable to the small international holding, but individual Australian stocks, such as an overweight position in CSL, have played a large part. The portfolio is managed by the Board which meets on a monthly basis to review the portfolio. All four directors have significant market experience. Like the other internally managed LICs, DUI is low cost with a management expense ratio of just 0.12% p.a. The fully franked dividend yield of around 3.5% is a little lower than some other Australian share focused LICs. Given the strong and consistent portfolio performance we are upgrading our rating for DUI from Recommended to Recommended Plus. At the time of writing the shares are trading at a 6.5% discount to pre-tax NTA. We believe this is a good entry point for long-term investors seeking exposure to a well-managed portfolio of Australian shares with some modest international exposure. Bailador has a Good Year Technology focused LIC, Bailador Technology Investments (ASX:BTI) had a good FY2019 with pre-tax NTA per share at 30 June 2019 up 18.2% for the 12 months. The increase in NTA was driven by sizable upwards revaluations in a number of its key portfolio companies including SiteMinder (+30.4%), DocsCorp (+19.3%) and Straker Translations (+25.7%). We shone the spotlight on BTI 12 months ago in our June 2018 Monthly LMI Update when the shares were trading at $0.74. This was after write-downs in a couple of its portfolio companies, including iPRO which was completely written off in 2017. At the time we wrote “Overall, the portfolio now appears to be in relatively good shape and with the underlying portfolio of businesses growing revenue at an annual rate of 35% there appears to be good valuation upside. At current prices we think BTI probably offers good value given the large discount to pre-tax NTA and the potential for valuation uplifts over coming months.” We did remind investors that “private equity style investing is more suited to higher risk, patient investors and that it should form only a relatively small portion of a well-diversified portfolio.” We note that returns from this style of investment can be lumpy and take time to emerge. Investors who acquired BTI at the time have done well with the shares now trading at $1.07. Despite the strong share price performance the shares are still at a discount to the June 2019 pre-tax NTA of $1.31 per share and also the post-tax NTA of $1.21 per share. We will take a closer look at BTI and its prospects in our next Monthly LMI Update. Our rating for BTI is Recommended Plus.

Companies: AMTRUST FINANCIAL SERVICES Bollore

11 Jul 16

Life Science Sector review

And then worst of all, you never get approval when you say you will. There is nothing that causes investor whiplash more than a sudden announcement of an unsuccessful clinical trial. Whether you are the onedrug wonder on AIM or the multi-drug portfolio NASDAQ darling, the market never takes too kindly to unsavoury news from the FDA on clinical results. But should investors lambast these two scenarios similarly based on poor trial results? The variables are endless but in this example the clear answer is no. Investors who invest in one-drug companies edging ever closer to FDA decision day do not have much cause for complaint as they are rolling the dice. But what of the company with many drug candidates in the clinic? Surely the usual knee-jerk reaction of a mass selloff is not rational when a company has a singular failure amongst a well-developed and advanced portfolio?

Companies: AZN BTG CYAD CIR ETX GSK GTCL GWP INDV SHP VER VRP

09 Mar 17

Suez on the move

Suez acquires GE Water for US$3.2bn. Suez has joined forces with Caisse de Dépôt et de Placement du Québec (CDPQ) which will provide €0.7bn in equity for a 30% stake in the combined GE Water/Suez Industrial Solutions.

Companies: Suez

17 May 17

Details of the capital increase

The c. €750m capital increase (to finance part of the GE Water acquisition, see our Latest dated 9 March) will lead to the issuance of 47,468,354 new shares representing 8.4% of the company’s share capital, with a subscription price of €15.80. The offering is conducted without shareholders’ preferential subscription rights and with a priority subscription period on an irreducible basis granted to existing shareholders: - the company’s existing shareholders (as of 16 May 2017) will be granted a three consecutive trading days priority subscription period, which will run from 17 May 2017 to 19 May 2017 (inclusive); - the public offering in France begins today and will close on 19 May 2017; - the private placement launched on 16 May 2017 at around 17:45 (Paris time) was priced in the evening of the same day. Orders placed in the public offering and private placement will be subject to reduction depending on the results of the priority subscriptions on an irreducible basis in the context of the priority subscription period and final allocations will be communicated once the results are available.

Companies: Suez

27 Feb 19

FY18: back on track as expected

Suez released FY18 results. Sales reached €17,331m (+9.8% and +3.6% organic), EBITDA €2,768m (+7.4%, +3.4% organic), EBIT €1,335m (+10.2%, +7.5% organic), net income €335m (+13.4%). Free cash flow reached €1,023m and net debt at year-end was €8,954m (vs. €8,470m a year ago). The dividend proposed is €0.65 (unchanged). In terms of outlook, the group expects organic growth of +2-3% topline for FY19 and +4-5% at EBIT level, +7-8% for FCF and a net debt/EBITDA ratio of c.3x (3.2x currently), with the ambition to lower it until FY20. Also, the soon-to-leave CEO, Mr. Chaussade, will be appointed as Chairman, as expected, when Mr. Camus replaces him in May (see our comment dated 21 December 2018).

Companies: Suez

28 Mar 19

Litigation, litigation, litigation

Within this note we look to build upon our existing legal sector coverage of Anexo*, Gordon Dadds*, Gateley, Knights, Keystone, Rosenblatt and NAHL to include the litigation funders Burford Capital, Manolete Partners and Litigation Capital Management.

Companies: ANX BUR IMF JIL LIT MANO RBGP

23 Apr 19

Come back in 2020!

Profit warning due to postponed growth momentum Umicore seems to be between a rock and a hard place as the overall automotive industry (combustion and electrical mobility) deteriorated since demand for both types of power train has come down, especially in China and Europe. Management’s clarification of the FY guidance is a confession of lower profitability on a recurring level as midpoint guidance is below 2018 recurring EBIT.

Companies: Umicore

26 Apr 19

A positive Q1 19 and Argentine past woes resolved

Suez reported solid Q1 19 revenues of €4,210m (+3.7% organic growth vs +1.7% in Q1 18), mainly driven by WTS (+8.5%) and R&R Europe (+4.7%). EBIT saw a +3.3% increase, reaching €293m thanks to strong activity in the International division, particularly in China and Australia. Net debt remained relatively stable (lfl) at €9,031m (3.26x EBITDA) versus €8,954m in 2018. A resolution was finally reached on the Buenos Aires concession dispute, resulting in the collection of a €220m settlement from the Argentine government.

Companies: Suez

29 May 19

Fostering the supply

Umicore has extended and broadened the ‘path’ from the cobalt mine to battery materials with the supply agreement of the essential transitional metal cobalt, which we value very positively.

Companies: Umicore

12 Jul 19

Again good passenger growth at nearly all airports

The number of passengers is the all important determinant that drives an airport’s revenue and profits. In addition, passengers flying inter-continental are shopping disproportionately at airports and thus drive retail revenue. Both numbers showed an acceleration in the month of June.

Companies: Fraport AG Frankfurt Arprt Svcs Wrldwde

12 Jul 19

The first Nordic operator to sell a 5G phone to a customer

Q2 revenues were still down by nearly 2% yoy, as in the previous quarter. Although the EBITDA was quite correct (+2.8% yoy) and that 5G should allow slightly better figures in H2, the group seems fully priced. It already offers a 4.3% dividend yield, which is the lowest in its sector in Europe. Stock down by 3% at the opening.

Companies: ELISA OYJ

15 Jul 19

Imugene - In-licensing deal for CF33 oncolytic virus

Imugene has agreed to acquire a worldwide exclusive licence for a highly potent, chimeric oncolytic poxvirus known as CF33. The company proposes to progress CF33 into a Phase I safety study in 2020, including a cohort treated with CF33 in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor. This strategy is similar to that pursued by Viralytics, which was acquired by Merck for A$502m in 2018 after conducting studies of its Cavatak oncolytic virus in combination with Merck’s checkpoint inhibitor, Keytruda. The CF33 acquisition strengthens Imugene’s immunooncology pipeline, which is currently focused on B-cell vaccines. As the CF33 deal is a related party transaction and therefore contingent on shareholder approval, we maintain our published valuation of A$159m or 4.4 cents per share.

Companies: Imugene

16 Jul 19

Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) - IMMUNOTHERAPY PLATFORM

Full Report can be accessed on www.independentresearch.com.au IMU BOOSTS IMMUNOTHERAPY PLATFORM WITH THE ACQUISITION OF ONCOLYTIC VIRUS CF33 Imugene Limited (ASX: IMU) is a clinical stage biotechnology company seeking to develop a range of novel immunotherapies to enhance the efficacy of cancer treatments. The company has announced its intention to acquire the exclusive licence to the oncolytic virus CF33 to add to the existing platform which targets the development of B cell peptide vaccines. KEY POINTS Acquisition of Oncolytic Virus CF33: IMU has annonunced the acquisition of Vaxinia Pty Ltd (Vaxinia) and the exclusive licence to the oncolytic virus CF33 from the City of Hope Cancer Centre (COH) in Los Angeles, subject to shareholder approval. CF33 is currently in the pre-clinical phase of development with IMU seeking to commence Phase I trials in 1H’2020. Under the terms of the licence agreement, IMU will acquire the exclusive rights to develop and commercialise CF33, for which it has agreed to pay COH licence fees comprising an upfront fee, annual maintenance fees which are creditable against future royalty payments, performance based consideration linked to the achievement of certain milestones and commercial outcomes, net sales based royalty payments, and sublicencing fees. IMU will also acquire 100% of the shares of Vaxinia. IMU will pay Vaxinia shareholders an upfront cash payment of $462,500 and $1.619m fully paid ordinary IMU shares based on the 7-day VWAP of the share price prior to announcing the deal. The shareholders of Vaxinia will also be eligible for additional share based payments based on the achievement of performance related milestones. The acquisition of CF33 has the potential to add significant value to the company with interest from big pharma being driven by research that highlights the therapeutic benefit of oncolytic viruses when combined with other immunotherapies. HER-Vaxx Commences Phase II Clinical Trials: The company has commenced a Phase II study of HER-Vaxx targeting patients with HER2-positive metastatic gastric cancer. The study will measure the response of 68 participants who will be randomised into two groups: 1) HER-Vaxx in combination with standard chemotherapy, and; 2) standard chemotherapy alone. The results from the Phase II study are due to be complete in 2020 and will provide a greater insight as to the efficacy of HER-Vaxx in cancer treatments. In early July, the company presented the 266 day results of the continued treatment of subjects from the Phase Ib that were given the highest dose of treatment at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference. Whilst only a small sample, the results presented were positive and provide a level of optimism for the Phase II trials. PD1-Vaxx to Commence Phase I Clinical Trial: The company is seeking to commence a Phase I clinical trial for PD1-Vaxx in 2020 after encouraging results from the pre-clinical studies. PD1-Vaxx seeks to produce an alternative to the existing commercialised monoclonal antibody immune checkpoint inhibitors. The trial will focus on patients with lung cancer. The company will seek to progress to a Phase II trial in the event the results from the Phase I trial are favourable. Partnering Opportunities: The immunotherapy market is currently experiencing significant growth with the use of immunotherapies becoming an important addition to the standard of care in oncology. The successful trials of IMU’s therapies will provide significant potential partnering opportunities. The opportunities are increased through the potential use of IMU’s treatments in combination with existing commercialised immunotherapies to potentially improve response rates without increasing toxicity. Investment View: IMU is a speculative investment with the ability to generate value for shareholders primarily dependent on the success of the clinical trials and the ability of the company to sell/licence its products to big pharma. The company will be seeking to generate interest from big pharma for its three leading candidates - HER-Vaxx, PD1-Vaxx and CF33 (if the acquisition is approved by shareholders). The company has suffiicient capital for the upfront acquisition costs and announced clinical trials, however, in the event the company does not generate interest in a timely fashion the company will likely have to raise capital which may dilute existing shareholder positions. The acquisition of CF33 would provide the potential for significant value add with a number of deals being done at the early stage of clinical development of oncolytic viruses. One notable deal was the acquisition of Viralytics Limited (ASX: VLA) by Merck & Co. Inc., for a total consideration of AUD$502m ($1.75 per share). This represented a 160% premium to the one month weighted average share price of VLA. This deal is of particular note given the Executive Chairman Paul Hopper was the Chairman of VLA. While we believe there to be significant upside potential from an investment in IMU, there remains significant risks.

Companies: Imugene

17 Jul 19

Executive interview - Tinexta

08 May 19

Bitesize briefing - Mytilineos

25 Jun 19

Executive interview - Alkane Resources

24 Apr 19

Executive Interview - VolitionRx

07 Dec 18

Executive Interview - Crealogix

12 Apr 19

Executive interview - Selvita

30 May 18

Executive interview - Banca Sistema

08 Apr 19

Executive interview - Claranova

23 May 17

Capital Network's James Dolman on Midpoint Holdings Ltd

26 Mar 19

Healthcare - Rebate reform could be just what the doctor ordered

Premium

29 Nov 16

Executive Interview - Canacol

21 Mar 19

Executive interview - Actinogen Medical

27 Apr 15

Executive Interview - Caledonia Mining

20 Mar 19

Bitesize briefing - UmweltBank

17 Jul 19

Bitesize briefing - Technicolor

Latest Content

Wartsila Oyj

Bad times continue

Subdued order-intake continues for Wärtsilä in Q2 FY19, as both the businesses are facing near-term demand uncertainties. No wonder, management has downgraded its FY19 outlook from ‘solid’ to ‘soft’. We do not see any short-term respite for the company, and will revise our financial estimates downwards.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

Novartis

Another stellar quarter

Novartis reported a strong performance in Q2 with struggling Sandoz (+3% vs -2% on Q1 19) coming as a positive surprise. The innovative pharma business also continued to grow at a healthy pace, driven by the new drugs. Pricing relief stood out in all the businesses, with a bigger impact at Sandoz. FX had a negative impact of 4ppts. The good trajectory continued on the profitability side as well, prompting another outlook upgrade.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

Gecina

Some cracks around the City of Paris, but the latter is safe

Confirming market information, the Offices segment of the City of Paris signed another good half, including a slight yield compression of 14bp. The trend weakened clearly in La Défense where we can worry about the coming over-supply and was negative in both the 1st and 2nd rings around Paris (rental values are now in negative territory).

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

BioPorto

BioPorto Diagnostics - Paediatric AKI application pulled, Q4 resubmission

In July 2019 BioPorto announced that the FDA had requested additional information for The NGAL Test’s 510(k) application for paediatric acute kidney injury (AKI), although few other details were disclosed. Unfortunately, the existing clinical data set does not include the requested information, so the company will need to withdraw its current application and collect additional samples, which carries additional risk (probability of success lowered to 50% from 60%). The company forecasts that it will be able to refile an application in Q419 if sample collection goes smoothly.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

Software

Weak DBP

Software AG released a mixed set of results. Q2 revenue and profit were in line with the street’s expectations, which is very good news, while the DBP 2019 outlook was reduced. With both a new CEO and strategy announced in FY18 (Helix), upside is likely but it will take time.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

FORTUM OYJ

Encouraging Q2 figures

After weak Q1 figures, Fortum released a solid set of results for Q2, beating our estimates and the market’s expectations. Results increased in all divisions and higher achieved prices and good hydro and nuclear volumes were the two major growth contributors. Thanks to strong cash flow generation, the group was able to reduce its debt ratio and to reiterate its ambitions to strengthen its balance sheet.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

KONE Corporation

H1 19: narrowing of the guidance, Europe wage inflation a hot issue

Key information from this earnings release are: the narrowing of the guidance range; Chinese developments stable to positive; and the increase in Europe wage inflation, which in our opinion is becoming a threat. Hence, we will keep our €1,200m EBIT forecast for FY19 unchanged, as it lies almost inbetween the low and high end of the guidance range. We will keep our recommendation unchanged, as well as our forecasts, which implies an almost unchanged target price.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

SSAB

Q2 19: down a tick more than expected

SSAB’s Q2 results were decent, albeit lower than expectations Iron-ore prices and a weakening European demand were the key factors The Q3 outlook is rather cautious Valuation ratios look rather cheap, but investors will be happy to wait until visibility improves

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

Publicis Groupe

Weak organic net revenue growth

Organic net revenue growth was disappointing in Q2 19 (+0.1%). Publicis continued to be affected by the attrition of revenue in traditional advertising in the US. The short-term outlook is less favourable so that organic net revenue should be stable in 2019 (vs +0.8% at least previously). Conversely, the operating margin improvement, excluding the Epsilon-related transaction cost, was of good quality in H1 19 (15% of net revenue, +0.6pt) thanks to significant cost savings partly reinvested in the business transformation.

View

19 Jul 19
-
-

Volvo

Q2 19 was another superb quarter

Volvo’s revenue and earnings are generated with trucks (63% and 64% in H1 19, respectively) and construction equipment (22% and 28%). These highly cyclical businesses have continued doing very well in Q2, but trucks have started to see falling order inflow as have buses.

View