Independent research on the U.S. markets, Baptista Research

Baptista Research

Independent research on the U.S. markets

Baptista Research is an independent financial research house focused on the U.S. markets. We provide equity research as well as credit research reports on the top-listed U.S. companies with most of our focus on technology, consumer goods and services, automobiles, industrials, oil and gas, pharma, and healthcare. Our research has served more than 3000 institutional investors including mutual funds, hedge funds, banks, family offices, and various buy-side firms. We operate a research subscription service where institutions, as well as retail investors, can have priority access to all our research. We also have a wide distribution of our research reports across some of the top global financial platforms. Apart from equity research and credit research, we also provide advisory services with respect to mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity/ venture capital fundraising, valuation reports, and investment management services for corporates.
Baptista Research is owned and managed by Ishan Majumdar, an ex-Venture Capitalist/ Investment Banker, a Chartered Accountant, and a Masters’ degree holder in Management from HEC Paris. Ishan has nearly a decade of experience in Mergers and Acquisitions, Leveraged Buyouts (LBOs), Venture Capital Investing, Corporate Strategy, and Valuation in front-office roles at the likes of BNP Paribas CIB, Credit Agricole CIB, Groupe Danone, and TIW Private Equity. He has worked on and closed multiple acquisition deals, leveraged buyouts, and start-up investment transactions.

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul><li>Alliant Energy has begun 2024 with a balance of strategic advancements and challenges, as outlined in their most recent performance and strategy update.</li><li>The company has made notable progress in expanding its renewable energy capacity, particularly in solar power.</li><li>Their completion of a significant 1.1 gigawatts of solar investment in Wisconsin and advances in Iowa's solar projects demonstrate a solid commitment to reducing dependency on non-renewable energy sources.</li></ul>

Alliant Energy has begun 2024 with a balance of strategic advancements and challenges, as outlined in their most recent performance and strategy update.The company has made notable progress in expanding its renewable energy capacity, particularly in solar power.Their completion of a significant 1.1 gigawatts of solar investment in Wisconsin and advances in Iowa's solar projects demonstrate a solid commitment to reducing dependency on non-renewable energy sources.

Alliant Energy Corporation: Initiation of Coverage - What Is Their Core Business Strategy? - Major Drivers

Technical Analyst, Vermilion Research

Joe Jasper

Technical Analyst

Technical and Quantitative Research

Vermilion Research

Vermilion’s objective is to deliver timely, actionable, and unique technical research to professional investors through the application of our various technical indicators.

Our research strategists seek to highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various technical and quantitative indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. Our unique research methodology, centered on relative strength, enables our strategists to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing the universe of actively traded stocks into discrete sectors, then into industry groups. We then apply our technical and quantitative tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sector or group, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. We provide a historical perspective that often reveals, through our long-term charts, how price patterns often repeat themselves over time.

Technical Analysis

<ul>
<li>Indexes continue to violate our key supports as the Russell 2000 (IWM) broke below $208, the S&amp;P 500 broke below 4495, and the equal-weighted Nasdaq 100 (QQEW) broke below $109.</li>
<li>This type of damage paints a bearish picture at the index level, and will take some time to repair.</li>
<li>Now that key supports have been violated, we are monitoring for oversold conditions that could mark a bottom, and it is possible that was yesterday (Jan. 24).</li>
</ul>


Indexes continue to violate our key supports as the Russell 2000 (IWM) broke below $208, the S&amp;P 500 broke below 4495, and the equal-weighted Nasdaq 100 (QQEW) broke below $109.
This type of damage paints a bearish picture at the index level, and will take some time to repair.
Now that key supports have been violated, we are monitoring for oversold conditions that could mark a bottom, and it is possible that was yesterday (Jan. 24).


U.S. Equity Strategy: Index Supports Breaking; Upgrading and Buying Utilities

US Treasury (10 Yr Generic) / Technical Analysis

Charts Highlighted: XLE, RYE, WTI Crude Oil, XLF, XLB, XLI, RCD, EEM, XLU, XLP, AWK, AEE, WMT, PEP, NUE, STLD, X, CMC, SMSMY, SCHN, RYI, TMST, MT, TX, MTL, ETR, FTS, CMS, CNP, LNT, NI, OGE, BKH, NEE, DUK, SO, and AEPCyclical value areas including Financials, Materials, Manufacturing, Transportation, and equal-weighted Discretionary display short-term improvement as interest rates show signs of a potential bottom at 1.13%. This is encouraging, however we are still neutral yet constructive overall. As we noted last week, we need to see the 10-year Treasury yield breach, and hold above, 1.45%, as well as sustained price improvement by small-caps (i.e., IWM above $234.50) before we can declare a new broad-based bull market.

Charts Highlighted: XLE, RYE, WTI Crude Oil, XLF, XLB, XLI, RCD, EEM, XLU, XLP, AWK, AEE, WMT, PEP, NUE, STLD, X, CMC, SMSMY, SCHN, RYI, TMST, MT, TX, MTL, ETR, FTS, CMS, CNP, LNT, NI, OGE, BKH, NEE, DUK, SO, and AEPCyclical value areas including Financials, Materials, Manufacturing, Transportation, and equal-weighted Discretionary display short-term improvement as interest rates show signs of a potential bottom at 1.13%. This is encouraging, however we are still neutral yet constructive overall. As we noted last week, we need to see the 10-year Treasury yield breach, and hold above, 1.45%, as well as sustained price improvement by small-caps (i.e., IWM above $234.50) before we can declare a new broad-based bull market.

10-Year Treasury Yield Below Key Resistance; Buying Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Steel Stocks

We remain cautious as there continues to be several new or persisting negative signals which tell us that upside is likely to be muted from here -- barring improvements. At the same time we are not seeing widespread breakdowns and the major averages are still consolidating within a 1-month horizontal range. As long as this consolidation continues, a neutral outlook is appropriate. In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within health care staffing, silver, and platinum miners, and Electric and Gas utilities.

We remain cautious as there continues to be several new or persisting negative signals which tell us that upside is likely to be muted from here -- barring improvements. At the same time we are not seeing widespread breakdowns and the major averages are still consolidating within a 1-month horizontal range. As long as this consolidation continues, a neutral outlook is appropriate. In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within health care staffing, silver, and platinum miners, and Electric and Gas utilities.

S&P 500 Consolidating Despite Negative Signals

We remain concerned about the prospect for additional weakness for the broad market due to deterioration in several metrics that we often turn to to get a pulse on the market. At the same time, several cyclical areas of the market have bounced off of logical support while RS has been unable to break out to new highs for defensive Sectors. Absent bearish price inflections in the cyclicals and new RS highs for defensive areas of the market, equities are likely to remain in a state of purgatory.  In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Consumer Staples, Health Care, and Utilities.

We remain concerned about the prospect for additional weakness for the broad market due to deterioration in several metrics that we often turn to to get a pulse on the market. At the same time, several cyclical areas of the market have bounced off of logical support while RS has been unable to break out to new highs for defensive Sectors. Absent bearish price inflections in the cyclicals and new RS highs for defensive areas of the market, equities are likely to remain in a state of purgatory.  In today’s report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Consumer Staples, Health Care, and Utilities.

U.S. Equity Strategy: Market Still Susceptible

United States

Avangrid, Inc. operates as an energy services holding company. The Company engages in the regulated energy transmission and distribution business through wind and solar power, as well as natural gas utilities. Avangrid serves customers in the United States.

Evergy, Inc. provides electricity generation, transmission, and distribution services. The Company offers its services in the United States.

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation is a utility holding company.  The Company, through its subsidiary, provides either retail or wholesale electric service to most of the State of Arizona. The Company, through a subsidiary, also is involved in real estate development activities in the western United States.

OGE Energy Corp., through its principal subsidiary Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to wholesale and retail customers in communities in Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The Company, through Enogex Inc., operates natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines, has interests in gas processing plants, and markets electricity.

Eversource Energy is a public utility holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, provides retail electric service to customers in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and western Massachusetts.  Eversource Energy also distributes natural gas throughout Connecticut.

PPL Corporation is an energy and utility holding company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, generates electricity from power plants in the northeastern and western United States, and markets wholesale and retail energy primarily in the northeastern and western portions of the United States, and delivers electricity in Pennsylvania and the United Kingdom.

IDACORP, Inc is the holding company for Idaho Power Company, an electric utility and IDACORP Energy, an energy marketing company.  Idaho Power generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electric energy in southern Idaho, eastern Oregon, and northern Nevada.  IDACORP Energy maintains electricity and natural gas marketing operations.

FirstEnergy Corp. is a public utility holding company. The Company's subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, exploration and production of oil and natural gas, transmission and marketing of natural gas, and energy management and other energy-related services.

Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company that is primarily focused on electric power production and retail electric distribution operations. The Company delivers electricity to utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy also owns and operates nuclear plants in the northern United States

Portland General Electric Company is an electric utility involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in Oregon.  The Company also participates in the wholesale market by purchasing and selling electricity and natural gas to utilities and energy marketers.

Portland General Electric Company (POR US)

CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI) operates as a real assets investment company. The Company invests in energy, transportation, water, and electricity generation sectors. CKI serves customers worldwide.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP owns and operates infrastructure assets. The Company operates utilities, transport, energy, and communications infrastructure assets in North and South America, Australia, and Europe.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP US)

Power Assets Holdings Limited invests in power generation, transmission and distribution as well as gas distribution. The Company has investments in Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand and Thailand.

The Kansai Electric Power Company, Incorporated generates electricity from hydroelectric, thermal, geothermal, and nuclear power sources.  The Company distributes electricity to Osaka and the surrounding Kansai area.  Kansai Electric also constructs and maintains electrical power facilities.

Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale SpA transmits electricity over the high-voltage and extra-high voltage grid in Italy.  Through subsidiaries, the Company owns a substantial share of the national electricity transmission grid.

Terna - Rete Elettrica Nazionale (TRN IM)

Fortum Oyj provides a full range of energy related products and services. The Company's activities cover the generation, distribution, and sale of electricity and heat and steam, as well as the operation of power plants and energy-related services. Fortum operates worldwide but mainly in Northern Europe.

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A. (Eletrobras) generates, transmits, and markets electricity through regional companies in Brazil.  The Company plans, finances, coordinates, and supervises expansion projects for its subsidiaries.

Adani Transmission Limited provides utility services. The Company offers electricity generation, transmission, and distribution services. Adani Transmission conducts its business globally.

Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras-Sp Adr (EBR US)

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to South Korea for a variety of uses. The Company also builds and operates hydro-power, thermal-power, and nuclear power units in South Korea.

Alliant Energy Corporation provides public-utility service to customers in the Midwest.  The Company's utility subsidiaries serve electric, natural gas, and water customers in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

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Alliant Energy (LNT US)

Alliant Energy Corporation: Initiation of Coverage - What Is Their Core Business Strategy? - Major Drivers

Alliant Energy has begun 2024 with a balance of strategic advancements and challenges, as outlined in their most recent performance and strategy...

Baptista Research

U.S. Equity Strategy: Index Supports Breaking; Upgrading and Buying Utilities

Indexes continue to violate our key supports on the Russell 2000 (IWM), the S&P 500, and the equal-weighted Nasdaq 100 (QQEW). Most opportunities...

Vermilion Research

10-Year Treasury Yield Below Key Resistance; Buying Utilities, Consumer Staples, and Steel Stocks

Cyclical value areas are improving, but so are defensives. In order to get more bullish, we need to see the 10-year Treasury yield break above...

Vermilion Research

S&P 500 Consolidating Despite Negative Signals

We remain cautious as there continues to be several new or persisting negative signals which tell us that upside is likely to be muted from here --...

Vermilion Research

U.S. Equity Strategy: Market Still Susceptible

We remain concerned about the prospect for additional weakness for the broad market due to deterioration in several metrics that we often turn to...

Vermilion Research

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