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 Capital Markets

<ul><li>This is our first report on Match Group, one of the global market leaders in online dating with a massive app portfolio that includes nearly 50 brands.</li><li>Match Group has delivered a string of good results and has been among the few companies that has benefitted from the Covid-19 pandemic with a sharp rise in paying users that resorted to online dating during the lockdowns.</li><li>Match Group’s financial results are showing visible improvement in revenues per paying user and as well as the number of paid users across most of its platforms resulting in improving profitability and free cash flow generation.</li></ul>

This is our first report on Match Group, one of the global market leaders in online dating with a massive app portfolio that includes nearly 50 brands.Match Group has delivered a string of good results and has been among the few companies that has benefitted from the Covid-19 pandemic with a sharp rise in paying users that resorted to online dating during the lockdowns.Match Group’s financial results are showing visible improvement in revenues per paying user and as well as the number of paid users across most of its platforms resulting in improving profitability and free cash flow generation.

Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

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

While the battle for payment systems between Epic and Apple will continue with Epic filing an appeal, the rather mild ruling against Apple has some interesting implications, as do the responses of both companies to the ruling. In the context of regulatory upheaval in the key gaming space in China and a slew of regulatory moves in other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, there is plenty worth mulling as new winners and losers could emerge.

While the battle for payment systems between Epic and Apple will continue with Epic filing an appeal, the rather mild ruling against Apple has some interesting implications, as do the responses of both companies to the ruling. In the context of regulatory upheaval in the key gaming space in China and a slew of regulatory moves in other Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, there is plenty worth mulling as new winners and losers could emerge.

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.

Apple's quasi loss in the Epic lawsuit regarding app store take rates makes us all the more bullish on one of our favorite longs...Match Group. And also more bullish on Roblox (another long recommendation) and ATVI (less a beneficiary, but still a good entry point. We think Spotify and Netflix's benefits are overstated. Spotify has run too much on the news, and we think its potentially another good short entry point.

Apple's quasi loss in the Epic lawsuit regarding app store take rates makes us all the more bullish on one of our favorite longs...Match Group. And also more bullish on Roblox (another long recommendation) and ATVI (less a beneficiary, but still a good entry point. We think Spotify and Netflix's benefits are overstated. Spotify has run too much on the news, and we think its potentially another good short entry point.

Apple's App Store Price Cut Beneficiaries

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One, Periscope Analytics

Brian Freitas

Pan-Asia Index Rebalances/ Events/ Delta One

Event-Driven

On Friday post market close, S&amp;P Dow Jones announced the results of the September review for the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/s-p-500" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22886:1" rel="noopener">S&amp;P 500 (SPX INDEX)</a> that will be effective after the close of trading on 17 September.There are 3 inclusion -  <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/match-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25903:1" rel="noopener">Match Group Inc (MTCH US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ceridian-hcm-holding-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27122:1" rel="noopener">Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (CDAY US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/brown-brown-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19532:1" rel="noopener">Brown &amp; Brown (BRO US)</a>, while the exclusions are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/unum-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2521:1" rel="noopener">Unum Group (UNM US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/national-oilwell-varco-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3046:1" rel="noopener">National Oilwell Varco (NOV US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/perrigo-co-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:869:1" rel="noopener">Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO US)</a>.There are inclusions/exclusions to the S&amp;P MidCap 400 and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 as well.The stocks with the largest impact from passive buying are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/match-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25903:1" rel="noopener">Match Group Inc (MTCH US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/tandem-diabetes-care-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20893:1" rel="noopener">Tandem Diabetes Care (TNDM US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/brown-brown-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19532:1" rel="noopener">Brown &amp; Brown (BRO US)</a>, UniqureNV (QURE US) and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ceridian-hcm-holding-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27122:1" rel="noopener">Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (CDAY US)</a>.The stocks with the largest impact from passive selling are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/united-insurance-holdings-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19222:1" rel="noopener">United Insurance Holdings (UIHC US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/team-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:6811:1" rel="noopener">Team Inc (TISI US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/unum-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:2521:1" rel="noopener">Unum Group (UNM US)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/perrigo-co-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:869:1" rel="noopener">Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO US)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/national-oilwell-varco-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3046:1" rel="noopener">National Oilwell Varco (NOV US)</a>.There are a lot of other stocks that will have a lot to buy/sell from passive funds due to changes in the number of shares and free float and due to funding flows.

On Friday post market close, S&amp;P Dow Jones announced the results of the September review for the S&amp;P 500 (SPX INDEX) that will be effective after the close of trading on 17 September.There are 3 inclusion -  Match Group Inc (MTCH US), Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (CDAY US) and Brown &amp; Brown (BRO US), while the exclusions are Unum Group (UNM US), National Oilwell Varco (NOV US) and Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO US).There are inclusions/exclusions to the S&amp;P MidCap 400 and the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 as well.The stocks with the largest impact from passive buying are Match Group Inc (MTCH US), Tandem Diabetes Care (TNDM US), Brown &amp; Brown (BRO US), UniqureNV (QURE US) and Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (CDAY US).The stocks with the largest impact from passive selling are United Insurance Holdings (UIHC US), Team Inc (TISI US), Unum Group (UNM US), Perrigo Co Plc (PRGO US) and National Oilwell Varco (NOV US).There are a lot of other stocks that will have a lot to buy/sell from passive funds due to changes in the number of shares and free float and due to funding flows.

S&P500 Index Rebalance: Swiping Right on Match

We think Match’s stock pulled back on the quarter due to lower relative guidance on the recently acquired Hyperconnect business and a lower EBITDA guidance than expected, given that Google has pushed out pending algorithm changes to next year (removing a marketing cost headwind). But there is an ongoing lawsuit regarding Tinder’s valuation brought by its founder Sean Rad, where Rad accuses IAC and Match of suppressing Tinder’s valuation. There are an extra $15M in legal costs here. Bottomline…this is an irrelevant figure and not worthy of the big selloff post earnings. We think the key drivers of this stock are Tinder and increasingly Hinge and these are as strong as ever.Part of the reason we remain bullish on Match is that inevitably, the pandemic will get under control…and people will return to wanting to meet people…but the delta variant has definitely thrown a monkey wrench into the timing of Match’s inevitable resurgence. Good opportunity to add on this earnings pullback. As we have said over the past few quarters...Match is rarity in midcap internet properties – a wildly profitable platform quasi-monopolist which trades for a rightfully high EBITDA multiple and offers few entry points – much like Adobe in software. This is a good entry point.<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>

We think Match’s stock pulled back on the quarter due to lower relative guidance on the recently acquired Hyperconnect business and a lower EBITDA guidance than expected, given that Google has pushed out pending algorithm changes to next year (removing a marketing cost headwind). But there is an ongoing lawsuit regarding Tinder’s valuation brought by its founder Sean Rad, where Rad accuses IAC and Match of suppressing Tinder’s valuation. There are an extra $15M in legal costs here. Bottomline…this is an irrelevant figure and not worthy of the big selloff post earnings. We think the key drivers of this stock are Tinder and increasingly Hinge and these are as strong as ever.Part of the reason we remain bullish on Match is that inevitably, the pandemic will get under control…and people will return to wanting to meet people…but the delta variant has definitely thrown a monkey wrench into the timing of Match’s inevitable resurgence. Good opportunity to add on this earnings pullback. As we have said over the past few quarters...Match is rarity in midcap internet properties – a wildly profitable platform quasi-monopolist which trades for a rightfully high EBITDA multiple and offers few entry points – much like Adobe in software. This is a good entry point.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.

Match 2Q21 Earnings: Still Waiting on the Resurgence

United States

Match Group, Inc. is a dating service provider. The Company offers diverse portfolio of apps and services which enables connections across the spectrum of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, and backgrounds. Match Group serves customers worldwide.

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Match Group (MTCH US)

Match Group Inc - Investment Thesis

This is our first report on Match Group, one of the global market leaders in online dating with a massive app portfolio that includes nearly 50...

Baptista Research

Not an Epic Ruling Against Apple

We examine developments in Epic's legal battle with Apple to identify potential long-term implications and winners and losers.

Mio Kato

Apple's App Store Price Cut Beneficiaries

Apple's quasi loss in the Epic lawsuit regarding app store take rates makes us all the more bullish on one of our favorite longs...Match Group.

Aaron Gabin

S&P500 Index Rebalance: Swiping Right on Match

There are 3 changes to the S&P500 that will be implemented at the close on 17 Sep. There are changes to the S&P400 & S&P600 as well. There will be...

Brian Freitas

Match 2Q21 Earnings: Still Waiting on the Resurgence

We remain bullish on Match because inevitably, the pandemic will get under control…but the delta variant impacted the timing of Match’s inevitable...

Aaron Gabin

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