Senior Technology Analyst, Japanese Equities, LightStream Research

Scott Foster

Senior Technology Analyst, Japanese Equities

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Bottom-Up

On January 10, we wrote that demand for semiconductor equipment could exceed SEMI's growth forecast for 2021, that Tokyo Electron's guidance for FY Mar-21 was probably conservative, and that Investors in Tokyo Electron (TEL)... should benefit, even if the shares appear to be overbought. (see<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/tokyo-electron-8035-jp-semiconductor-shortage-points-to-stronger-year-ahead" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:46893" rel="noopener">Tokyo Electron (8035 JP): Semiconductor Shortage Points to Stronger Year Ahead </a> ).  Since then, TEL has raised guidance, Intel and TSMC have announced big new capital spending plans, SEMI has raised its forecast of semiconductor equipment demand, and TEL's share price has risen by 24%. How much more upside is there?The shares are now selling at 34x management's EPS guidance for FY Mar-21 and 31x our estimate for FY Mar-22. These multiples are not high compared with those of other first-rate Japanese  precision manufacturing companies, but they are double what they were two or three years ago. It is tempting to say that valuations are extended in what remains a cyclical industry, but the greater risk to earnings growth, in our estimation, is high and rising depreciation and R&amp;D expenses as the company expands capacity and develops technology for the 2 nanometer node and beyond (See <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/screen-holdings-7735-jp-aiming-at-2nm-process-technology" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:49767" rel="noopener">Screen Holdings (7735 JP): Aiming at 2nm Process Technology</a> ).

On January 10, we wrote that demand for semiconductor equipment could exceed SEMI's growth forecast for 2021, that Tokyo Electron's guidance for FY Mar-21 was probably conservative, and that Investors in Tokyo Electron (TEL)... should benefit, even if the shares appear to be overbought. (seeTokyo Electron (8035 JP): Semiconductor Shortage Points to Stronger Year Ahead  ).  Since then, TEL has raised guidance, Intel and TSMC have announced big new capital spending plans, SEMI has raised its forecast of semiconductor equipment demand, and TEL's share price has risen by 24%. How much more upside is there?The shares are now selling at 34x management's EPS guidance for FY Mar-21 and 31x our estimate for FY Mar-22. These multiples are not high compared with those of other first-rate Japanese  precision manufacturing companies, but they are double what they were two or three years ago. It is tempting to say that valuations are extended in what remains a cyclical industry, but the greater risk to earnings growth, in our estimation, is high and rising depreciation and R&amp;D expenses as the company expands capacity and develops technology for the 2 nanometer node and beyond (See Screen Holdings (7735 JP): Aiming at 2nm Process Technology ).

Tokyo Electron (8035 JP): Getting Ahead of Itself

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

On Thursday, the Nikkei came out with an <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/BOJ-to-widen-interest-rate-target-range-to-support-bank-profits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> during the lunch break of equities trading. The headline said "BOJ to widen interest rate target range to support bank profits" and indeed in the article it noted that the BOJ would allow the long end of the curve to fluctuate more widely, creating a slightly steeper curve. This could lead to slightly better bank profits less because of the extra 5bp on the curve but more because of the expectation of forcing borrowers to pay more on an absolute basis. What was MORE important for equity markets was the idea that the BOJ "would also abolish its target for purchasing exchange-traded funds, now 6 trillion yen ($55 billion) per year, and instead vow to make such purchases only in times of market turmoil."The article also suggested that the "Target" would be removed for the ¥90bn of J-REITs they buy as a base case (doubled now to ¥180bn as the ¥6trln was doubled to ¥12trln in the depths of the covid crash of March 2020). This move caused Nikkei to underperform TOPIX on the day. TOPIX actually ended up on the day, and ended above where the market closed the AM session before the article came out. Nikkei fell, and started underperforming TOPIX from that point on. <section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/195/872/original/Screenshot+2021-03-21+at+3.26.17+PM.png?1616311594" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="195872"></figure></section>Nikkei underperformed TOPIX in the AM session on Friday, and when the BOJ announcements came mid-day on Friday, there were additional subtleties involved. The details are <a href="https://www.boj.or.jp/en/announcements/release_2021/rel210319c.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. The presentation with the basic details is <a href="https://www.boj.or.jp/en/announcements/release_2021/k210319b.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.<ul>
<li>The target rates for ETF and REIT buying will be abolished, but the current "Target Rate" of annual buying will become annual maxima (¥12 trillion for ETFs, ¥180bn for J-REITs, with ongoing maximum ownership limits on ETFs in place).</li>
<li>Buying of ETFs and J-REITs will be conducted "as necessary" "in times of market turbulence" and such buying will be done only on TOPIX ETFs.</li>
<li>The "Special Rules for Purchases of ETFs to Support Firms Proactively Investing in Physical and Human Capital" will continue as before with only specific ETFs permitted in this group. The amount of ~¥300bn/year and ¥1.2bn per business day will continue.</li>
</ul>It based the new policy on the Reference <a href="https://www.boj.or.jp/en/announcements/release_2021/k210319c.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">document</a> which backs up the changes in policy is much more interesting reading.  Appendix 5 and Chart 12 are the parts you want to read.The hypotheses and results are described here.<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/195/869/original/Screenshot+2021-03-21+at+3.02.28+PM.png?1616310186" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="195869"></figure></section>There are a couple of other side conclusions but the base understanding is...<div class="content-highlight">When the BOJ steps into the market in size, in times of market turbulence, and when stocks are trading below their medium-term average, it has a greater effect per dollar spent on market-wide risk premia as measured in option premia than buying in normal times, and size matters when looking at the risk premia change on single stocks.  </div><h3>What This Means</h3><ul>
<li>When the BOJ steps into the market in size, in times of market turbulence, and when stocks are trading below their medium-term average, it has a greater effect per dollar spent on market-wide risk premia as measured in option premia than buying in normal times, and size matters when looking at the risk premia change on single stocks.  </li>
<li>Expect the BOJ to follow the concept of its study (Appendix 5 again).</li>
<li>Expect the BOJ to pay greater attention to futures activity. </li>
</ul><h3>What This Does NOT Mean</h3><ul><li>It does NOT mean the BOJ will be selling any ETFs.</li></ul><hr>It is worthwhile taking a look at WHY the market reacted the way it did on Thursday and Friday afternoon, and it is worthwhile looking at what the BOJ ETF buying might look like going forward. So we do so below the fold.Note: This is part 1 of the analysis of potential future BOJ ETF Buying. Part II looks at the difference in single stock makeup.

On Thursday, the Nikkei came out with an article during the lunch break of equities trading. The headline said "BOJ to widen interest rate target range to support bank profits" and indeed in the article it noted that the BOJ would allow the long end of the curve to fluctuate more widely, creating a slightly steeper curve. This could lead to slightly better bank profits less because of the extra 5bp on the curve but more because of the expectation of forcing borrowers to pay more on an absolute basis. What was MORE important for equity markets was the idea that the BOJ "would also abolish its target for purchasing exchange-traded funds, now 6 trillion yen ($55 billion) per year, and instead vow to make such purchases only in times of market turmoil."The article also suggested that the "Target" would be removed for the ¥90bn of J-REITs they buy as a base case (doubled now to ¥180bn as the ¥6trln was doubled to ¥12trln in the depths of the covid crash of March 2020). This move caused Nikkei to underperform TOPIX on the day. TOPIX actually ended up on the day, and ended above where the market closed the AM session before the article came out. Nikkei fell, and started underperforming TOPIX from that point on. Nikkei underperformed TOPIX in the AM session on Friday, and when the BOJ announcements came mid-day on Friday, there were additional subtleties involved. The details are here. The presentation with the basic details is here.
The target rates for ETF and REIT buying will be abolished, but the current "Target Rate" of annual buying will become annual maxima (¥12 trillion for ETFs, ¥180bn for J-REITs, with ongoing maximum ownership limits on ETFs in place).
Buying of ETFs and J-REITs will be conducted "as necessary" "in times of market turbulence" and such buying will be done only on TOPIX ETFs.
The "Special Rules for Purchases of ETFs to Support Firms Proactively Investing in Physical and Human Capital" will continue as before with only specific ETFs permitted in this group. The amount of ~¥300bn/year and ¥1.2bn per business day will continue.
It based the new policy on the Reference document which backs up the changes in policy is much more interesting reading.  Appendix 5 and Chart 12 are the parts you want to read.The hypotheses and results are described here.There are a couple of other side conclusions but the base understanding is...When the BOJ steps into the market in size, in times of market turbulence, and when stocks are trading below their medium-term average, it has a greater effect per dollar spent on market-wide risk premia as measured in option premia than buying in normal times, and size matters when looking at the risk premia change on single stocks.  What This Means
When the BOJ steps into the market in size, in times of market turbulence, and when stocks are trading below their medium-term average, it has a greater effect per dollar spent on market-wide risk premia as measured in option premia than buying in normal times, and size matters when looking at the risk premia change on single stocks.  
Expect the BOJ to follow the concept of its study (Appendix 5 again).
Expect the BOJ to pay greater attention to futures activity. 
What This Does NOT MeanIt does NOT mean the BOJ will be selling any ETFs.It is worthwhile taking a look at WHY the market reacted the way it did on Thursday and Friday afternoon, and it is worthwhile looking at what the BOJ ETF buying might look like going forward. So we do so below the fold.Note: This is part 1 of the analysis of potential future BOJ ETF Buying. Part II looks at the difference in single stock makeup. 

Quantifying the BOJ Change in ETF Policy: Assessing Future ETF Buying Methodology

Equity Analyst, LightStream Research

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Equity Analyst

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/olympus-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:356:1" rel="noopener">Olympus Corp (7733 JP)</a>  reported its 3QFY03/2021 results on Friday (12th February) after market which saw revenues and operating profit increasing on a YoY basis, after seeing declines during the last three quarters due to the Covid-19 pandemic.During 2QFY03/21, the company’s revenues grew 2.1% YoY while OP increased by 19.3% YoY. The reported revenues beat consensus estimates by 6.4%, and the OP for the quarter beat consensus estimates by a massive 68%. The strong earnings for the quarter were driven by Olympus’ mainstay Endoscopic Solutions Division (ESD) which helped offset minor declines in revenue from other two segments.All three segments have seen strong recovery in revenues during the last quarter of 2020.<figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/188/423/original/image_62209000621613158008996.png?1613158012" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="188423"></figure><div class="content-caption">Source: Company Disclosures, January to December 2020</div>We discuss the details below.

Olympus Corp (7733 JP)  reported its 3QFY03/2021 results on Friday (12th February) after market which saw revenues and operating profit increasing on a YoY basis, after seeing declines during the last three quarters due to the Covid-19 pandemic.During 2QFY03/21, the company’s revenues grew 2.1% YoY while OP increased by 19.3% YoY. The reported revenues beat consensus estimates by 6.4%, and the OP for the quarter beat consensus estimates by a massive 68%. The strong earnings for the quarter were driven by Olympus’ mainstay Endoscopic Solutions Division (ESD) which helped offset minor declines in revenue from other two segments.All three segments have seen strong recovery in revenues during the last quarter of 2020.Source: Company Disclosures, January to December 2020We discuss the details below.

Olympus 3Q Earnings Beat Consensus; Upward Revision to Full-Year Guidance

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hoya-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8990:1" rel="noopener">Hoya Corp (7741 JP)</a> reported 3QFY03/21 results on Thursday (28th January) which saw revenues growing at a marginal 0.3% YoY while operating profits increased at a stellar 20.4% YoY during the quarter. The reported revenues and OP beat consensus estimates by 1.3% and 9.8% respectively.With the pandemic outbreak, Hoya’s revenues and operating profit declined YoY for three consecutive quarters, and YoY improvement in December quarter shows that the earnings are recovering. We discuss the details below.

Hoya Corp (7741 JP) reported 3QFY03/21 results on Thursday (28th January) which saw revenues growing at a marginal 0.3% YoY while operating profits increased at a stellar 20.4% YoY during the quarter. The reported revenues and OP beat consensus estimates by 1.3% and 9.8% respectively.With the pandemic outbreak, Hoya’s revenues and operating profit declined YoY for three consecutive quarters, and YoY improvement in December quarter shows that the earnings are recovering. We discuss the details below.

Hoya 3Q Results: Earnings Beat Consensus and Point to Recovery Ahead

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hoya-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8990:1" rel="noopener">Hoya Corp (7741 JP)</a>  reported its 2QFY03/2021 results on Tuesday (27th October) which saw both revenues and operating profits declining YoY by 9% and 4% respectively. The reported revenue was 1% higher than consensus estimates while OP beat consensus estimates by a large margin of 15.4%.The reported revenue was 3.4% higher than the company’s own guidance which called for revenues of JPY135.7bn for 2QFY03/2021. The company’s earnings were impacted for a third quarter due to the Covid-19 outbreak, 2QFY03/2021 results show that the severity of the virus outbreak has declined.Hoya also announced a JPY4bn share buyback which will run from 28th October to 20th January 2021.

Hoya Corp (7741 JP)  reported its 2QFY03/2021 results on Tuesday (27th October) which saw both revenues and operating profits declining YoY by 9% and 4% respectively. The reported revenue was 1% higher than consensus estimates while OP beat consensus estimates by a large margin of 15.4%.The reported revenue was 3.4% higher than the company’s own guidance which called for revenues of JPY135.7bn for 2QFY03/2021. The company’s earnings were impacted for a third quarter due to the Covid-19 outbreak, 2QFY03/2021 results show that the severity of the virus outbreak has declined.Hoya also announced a JPY4bn share buyback which will run from 28th October to 20th January 2021.

Hoya 2Q Results: Earnings Decline Ameliorates and There Is a Small Buyback

Japan

Hoya Corp manufactures electro-optics products such as mask blanks for semiconductors, photomasks for LCD panels, optical glasses, glass memory disks for HDDs, medical flexible endoscopes, eyeglasses, and contact lenses. The Company also provides information system architecture.

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Hoya Corp (7741 JP)

Tokyo Electron (8035 JP): Getting Ahead of Itself

The shared are up 33% so far this year, discounting record semiconductor capital spending and an upward revision to guidance. Peak earnings...

Scott Foster

Quantifying the BOJ Change in ETF Policy: Assessing Future ETF Buying Methodology

The BOJ has announced a change in ETF Buying Program Parameters. The study/review they did is required reading to understand how they might buy...

Travis Lundy

Olympus 3Q Earnings Beat Consensus; Upward Revision to Full-Year Guidance

Olympus reported its 3QFY03/2021 results on Friday which saw revenues and operating profit increasing on a YoY basis, after seeing declines during...

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Hoya 3Q Results: Earnings Beat Consensus and Point to Recovery Ahead

Hoya reported 3QFY03/21 results on Thursday (28th January) which saw revenues growing at a marginal 0.3% YoY while operating profits increased at a...

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

Hoya 2Q Results: Earnings Decline Ameliorates and There Is a Small Buyback

Hoya reported its 3QFY03/2021 results on Tuesday (27th Oct) which saw both revenues and operating profits declining YoY by 9% and 4% respectively....

Shifara Samsudeen, ACMA, CGMA

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