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>The broad equity market has been on an absolute tear since we discussed in our 10/31/23 Compass how risk/reward favored buyers as key supports were being tested on SPX/QQQ/IWM</li>
<li>Furthermore, we discussed in our 11/7/23 Compass our belief that this was more than just another counter-trend rally, and that it is likely the start of a significant year-end rally.</li>
<li>Bullish developments have only continued; among them includes 3.5-month downtrend reversals on the S&amp;P 500 and QQQ. We expect more upside into year-end and beyond.</li>
</ul>


The broad equity market has been on an absolute tear since we discussed in our 10/31/23 Compass how risk/reward favored buyers as key supports were being tested on SPX/QQQ/IWM
Furthermore, we discussed in our 11/7/23 Compass our belief that this was more than just another counter-trend rally, and that it is likely the start of a significant year-end rally.
Bullish developments have only continued; among them includes 3.5-month downtrend reversals on the S&amp;P 500 and QQQ. We expect more upside into year-end and beyond.


Year-End Rally to Continue?; Riding the Trend Higher; Buys in Education Services and Retailers

<ul>
<li>In last week's Compass (July 26) we discussed positive signals that we believe suggested the lows for this bear market may have already been established, or that downside is limited.</li>
<li>We continue to see more evidence that supports this claim; as a result, we are upgrading our outlook to neutral.</li>
<li>The SPX is reversing topside its 4-month downtrend, and the Russell 2000 (IWM), Russell Micro-Caps (IWC), and Russell 2000Growth (IWO) are each reversing topside their 9-month downtrends; the bottom's in.</li>
</ul>


In last week's Compass (July 26) we discussed positive signals that we believe suggested the lows for this bear market may have already been established, or that downside is limited.
We continue to see more evidence that supports this claim; as a result, we are upgrading our outlook to neutral.
The SPX is reversing topside its 4-month downtrend, and the Russell 2000 (IWM), Russell Micro-Caps (IWC), and Russell 2000Growth (IWO) are each reversing topside their 9-month downtrends; the bottom's in.


S&P 500 Reverses 4-Month Downtrend; Upgrading Consumer Discretionary to Market Weight

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst, Obex Capital Research

Aaron Gabin

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research Analyst

TMT & Consumer Independent Equity Research

Obex Capital Research

“Obex” is Latin for Barriers to Entry. Obex Capital Management’s investment philosophy is driven by an intense focus on which business model’s Barriers to Entry are able to withstand the ever increasing competitive disruption in the TMT and Consumer Sectors.

Equity Bottom-Up

Summary: Coursera, an online education platform will see its business model decelerate faster than expected. While the TAM trajectory of online education has clearly inflected higher due to the pandemic, we think  the Coursera’s growth trajectory is being mismodeled based on 2020’s surge in signups. Coursera’s profitability is dependent on scaling its enterprise and degree customer bases. While the demand for upskilling employees is real, intense competition from LinkedIn, Pluralsight, and others may crimp growth and gross margins segment, while a lack of leverage with its content suppliers (university partners), plus edX’s open source alternative  weaken revenue sharing over time. A lack of tangible evidence of Coursera’s skills-based credentialing translating to jobs will result in underwhelming consumer growth and lack of pricing power. Downside risks around regulation and competitive incursion by tech platforms paired with an obscene valuation make a compelling short case. Base Case Valuation: $33                                  Bull Case: $57                                 Bear Case: $20<div class="content-highlight">Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.</div>

Summary: Coursera, an online education platform will see its business model decelerate faster than expected. While the TAM trajectory of online education has clearly inflected higher due to the pandemic, we think  the Coursera’s growth trajectory is being mismodeled based on 2020’s surge in signups. Coursera’s profitability is dependent on scaling its enterprise and degree customer bases. While the demand for upskilling employees is real, intense competition from LinkedIn, Pluralsight, and others may crimp growth and gross margins segment, while a lack of leverage with its content suppliers (university partners), plus edX’s open source alternative  weaken revenue sharing over time. A lack of tangible evidence of Coursera’s skills-based credentialing translating to jobs will result in underwhelming consumer growth and lack of pricing power. Downside risks around regulation and competitive incursion by tech platforms paired with an obscene valuation make a compelling short case. Base Case Valuation: $33                                  Bull Case: $57                                 Bear Case: $20Obex’s fundamental research process is focused on secular change in the TMT and Consumer sectors. We seek to differentiate between fundamental business analysis and security analysis. Before deciding if a security’s pricing and positioning merit a long or short position, we analyze the four pillars of business fundamentals (Secular Factors, TAM, Competitive Advantage, Business Model) in order to determine if this is a “good” or “not so good” opportunity.

IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Event-Driven

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/1099" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:1099:1">Navitas Ltd (NVT AU)</a>, an Australian-listed education company, entered into a binding agreement to be acquired by the BGH Consortium. As a reminder on 15 January 2019, the BGH Consortium bid against itself by offering a revised proposal of A$5.825 cash per share, 6% higher than its previous rejected offer.<div class="content-highlight">Navitas’ board have unanimously recommended the scheme. We believe that BGH Consortium’s proposal is attractive and shareholders should accept the offer.</div>

Navitas Ltd (NVT AU), an Australian-listed education company, entered into a binding agreement to be acquired by the BGH Consortium. As a reminder on 15 January 2019, the BGH Consortium bid against itself by offering a revised proposal of A$5.825 cash per share, 6% higher than its previous rejected offer.Navitas’ board have unanimously recommended the scheme. We believe that BGH Consortium’s proposal is attractive and shareholders should accept the offer.

Navitas (NVT AU): BGH Heads Towards Its First Major Acquisition

This market is still fighting an uphill battle following the S&amp;P 500's breakdown below its 200-day moving average - a level that is now acting as formidable resistance. Our outlook remains extremely cautious due to overhead supply and the additional themes highlighted within this report.  There are a few bright spots, also in today's report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within the Communications and Consumer Discretionary Sectors.

This market is still fighting an uphill battle following the S&amp;P 500's breakdown below its 200-day moving average - a level that is now acting as formidable resistance. Our outlook remains extremely cautious due to overhead supply and the additional themes highlighted within this report.  There are a few bright spots, also in today's report we highlight attractive Groups and stocks within the Communications and Consumer Discretionary Sectors.

U.S. Equity Update: Internals Deteriorating, Banks & Semis Have Broken Down.

United States

Grand Canyon Education, Inc. provides online post secondary education services. The Company offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in disciplines of education, business, and healthcare.

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Grand Canyon Education (LOPE US)

Year-End Rally to Continue?; Riding the Trend Higher; Buys in Education Services and Retailers

10/31/23 we discussed how risk/reward favored buyers as key $SPX $QQQ $IWM supports were being tested. 11/7/23 we argued it was MORE than just...

Vermilion Research

S&P 500 Reverses 4-Month Downtrend; Upgrading Consumer Discretionary to Market Weight

We continue to see more evidence suggesting the lows are in; as a result, we are upgrading our outlook to neutral. 4-month downtrend reversal for...

Vermilion Research

Coursera: Back to School

Coursera, an online education platform will see its business model decelerate faster than expected. Downside risks around regulation and...

Aaron Gabin

Navitas (NVT AU): BGH Heads Towards Its First Major Acquisition

Navitas Ltd (NVT AU), an Australian-listed education company, entered into a binding agreement to be acquired by the BGH Consortium. As a reminder...

Arun George

U.S. Equity Update: Internals Deteriorating, Banks & Semis Have Broken Down.

This market is still fighting an uphill battle following the S&P 500's breakdown below its 200-day moving average - a level that is now acting...

Vermilion Research

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