S&P500 Becoming a Marionette for MAGA?
25 November 2018
Introduction Trading ideas and strategies are heavily affected by the decision makers’ overall view on the market. One of the main indicators of the US market strength is the S&P500 index, which is praised for its broad scope compared to other indices such as The Dow Jones Industrial Average. Many investors use this index as
Cigna Corporation and Express Scripts: a $67bn deal for their survival in the US healthcare industry
11 March 2018
CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) – market cap as of 09/03/2018: $42.7bn Express Scripts Holding Co (NASDAQ:ESRX) – market cap as of 09/03/2018: $45.7bn Introduction On March 8, 2018, Cigna Corporation announced the acquisition of Express Scripts Holding for a cash and stock consideration of $67bn. The combination of Cigna – a health insurance firm – and
Albertsons and Rite Aid to merge in the latest move to contrast the growing threat posed by online e-commerce
25 February 2018
Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) – market cap as of 23/02/2018: $2.22bn Introduction On the 20th February, Rite Aid Corporation, one of the leading US drugstore chains, entered into a definitive merger agreement with Albertsons Companies, one of the largest American private equity-backed grocery retailers. The deal will result in the creation of a company with a combined enterprise
2017 M&A Review and 2018 Breakthrough: the cases of the Pharma and TMT sectors
18 February 2018
Introduction In January 2018, M&A activity surpassed investors’ expectations. According to a report by law firm Baker McKenzie, global mergers and acquisitions are expected to hit an 18-year record, reaching $3.2 trillion in 2018. To the same extent, cross-border M&A is expected to reach new time highs. In the December 2017, President Trump signed the
The Effects of E-Commerce on Shopping Malls and on the Consumer Retail Sector – a US Case Study
1 October 2017
Introduction This article will focus on the disruptive effects that e-commerce has on both the real estate and consumer retail sector. Subsequently, the paper will address Amazon and Walmart, as the former represents the incumbent driving this transition and the latter represents one of the main players being affected by the advent of online
Amazon completes acquisition of Whole Foods Market for $13.7bn
17 September 2017
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) — market cap as of 15/09/2017: $476.64bn Introduction On June 16, 2017, it was announced that Amazon.com Inc. (“Amazon”) had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Whole Foods Market Inc. (“Whole Foods”), for a total cash consideration of approximately $13.7bn, including net debt. This is the latest deal in a sector that has been consolidating
Amazon of Arabia: Jeff Bezos’ Giant Buys Souq in a Move to Enter the Middle East Market
2 April 2017
Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) — market cap as of 31/03/2017: $423.03bn Introduction On March 28, 2017, American electronic e-commerce and cloud computing company Amazon.com announced its acquisition of Dubai-based Souq.com, in a move that is expected to bring a significant impact on the Middle East’s small but fast-growing e-commerce sector. According to people familiar with the
Disruptive Trends in Tech M&A: The Cases of Microsoft and Snapchat
30 October 2016
Introduction Over the past years, the technology industry experienced an overwhelming volume of M&A activity. The following article aims at outlining the motivations behind this phenomenon and at identifying numerous disrupting factors. Microsoft’s acquisition of the professional social network LinkedIn, as well as Snapchat’s rebranding strategy and potential IPO in 2017 will serve as examples
Market Recap 1-05-2016
1 May 2016
[edmc id= 3872]Download here the Market brief[/edmc] USA Earnings season is over and in the tech sector we observed important market reactions: the most notable one was AAPL 10% depreciation caused by its disappointing results. The hedge fund manager Karl Icahn expressed a bearish view on US stocks for the medium run and closed its
Rollercoaster Ride After the IPO – A Year in Review for Alibaba‘s Stock
10 October 2015
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA); Market cap (as of 09/10/2015):$170.1bn After a year of the biggest IPO in history, Chinese giant Alibaba is yet again in the spotlight, this time for its poor stock performance. After the initial IPO price of $68, it soon jumped to its highest, $119.15. However, later on, Alibaba’s share price
Nasdaq, bubble and beyond
25 April 2015
On Thursday 23rd of April 2015, the NASDAQ Composite surpassed the March 2000 dotcom bubble level of 5048.62, closing at 5056.06. On Friday it has then gained furthermore closing at 5092. Looking at the NASDAQ Composite (the market capitalization weighted index includes almost all the companies listed in the NASDAQ exchange) trend of the last
PayPal finally “cuts the cord”: Icahn’s dream comes true
4 October 2014
eBay Inc, Market Cap (as of 03/10/2014): $67.46bn On September 30, John Danahoe, president and CEO of eBay, revealed the intention to spin-off its payments arm PayPal into a publicly traded company by the end of the next year. The CEO pointed out that, although both companies are already two great businesses and leaders in
Is IBM currently overvalued?
30 November 2013
In the last quarter report, IBM announced revenues for $23.7bn (consensus $24.75bn) EPS at $3.99 (consensus $3.96), a light and shade result that followed a similar quarter (Q2), with a beat on earnings per share ($3,91) and a miss on revenues ($24,9bn) and the weakest quarter of the last years (Q1). The stock in the
Our views on Twitter Share Price
16 November 2013
In our Special Report (http://bsic.it/2013/10/19/bsic-special-report-twitter-ipo/), we analyzed Twitter’s characteristics, comparables and ratios. We valued Twitter shares at approximately 25$, really close to the final offering price (26$). After the IPO, Twitter’s share price dramatically soared to 45$, an unbelievable 72% surge: Analysts seem to agree with our view, and Mr. James Mackintosh, investment editor at
Follow up on last week’s trade idea on cointegration trading
4 May 2013
Last week we suggested to leverage on our quant models to play out the cointegration existing between Apple and Amazon by shorting roughly 2 Amazon stocks for each Apple stock bought. The idea, which benefited from both a fundamental and quantitative edge has returned a profit of roughly 5.5%, assuming a margin of 20% on