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 cloud-based cybersecurity solutions provider, Qualys.</li><li>The company reported continued revenue growth acceleration in the last quarter and cash flow generation as it drives a focused investment strategy for go-to-market scale and innovation.</li><li>The management has recently unveiled Qualys VMDR (Vulnerability, Management, Detection, Response) 2.0 with Automated Remediation Workflows and TruRisk scores.</li></ul>

This is our first report on cloud-based cybersecurity solutions provider, Qualys.The company reported continued revenue growth acceleration in the last quarter and cash flow generation as it drives a focused investment strategy for go-to-market scale and innovation.The management has recently unveiled Qualys VMDR (Vulnerability, Management, Detection, Response) 2.0 with Automated Remediation Workflows and TruRisk scores.

Qualys Inc: Initiation of Coverage – Qualys VMDR 2.0 & Other Drivers

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

<ul>
<li>Suppose we grouped S1 and Taiwan Secom with the Physical/Integrated Security weighting and then applied the Cybersecurity weighing to Ahnlab and CyberOne. <strong>We would have 11.40x, substantially lower than 14.85x</strong>.</li>
<li>SK Shieldus' sales were ₩1.55T, an increase of ₩0.22T (16.8%) from the previous year. But<strong> 65% of last year's sales increase was derived from the internal deals with SK Group</strong>.</li>
<li>How the company and the bankers will respond to those mentioned above two controversial aspects will be the most crucial point in determining the success or failure of this IPO.</li>
</ul>


Suppose we grouped S1 and Taiwan Secom with the Physical/Integrated Security weighting and then applied the Cybersecurity weighing to Ahnlab and CyberOne. We would have 11.40x, substantially lower than 14.85x.
SK Shieldus' sales were ₩1.55T, an increase of ₩0.22T (16.8%) from the previous year. But 65% of last year's sales increase was derived from the internal deals with SK Group.
How the company and the bankers will respond to those mentioned above two controversial aspects will be the most crucial point in determining the success or failure of this IPO.


SK Shieldus Controversies: Excessive Valuations & Suspicious Surge in Internal Sales

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.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sk-shieldus-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:35799:1" rel="noopener">SK Shieldus (ABFHIZ KS)</a> is a leading South Korean security provider. It is seeking a KRX IPO to raise up to US$0.9 billion. </li>
<li>The primary change in the updated prospectus is the syndicate's valuation methodology which results in a 10% lower value per share. The IPO price range of KRW31,000-38,800 is unchanged.</li>
<li>Sentiment on IPOs remains poor. For investors willing to look at IPOs, our valuation analysis suggests that the IPO price range remains reasonable.  </li>
</ul>



SK Shieldus (ABFHIZ KS) is a leading South Korean security provider. It is seeking a KRX IPO to raise up to US$0.9 billion. 
The primary change in the updated prospectus is the syndicate's valuation methodology which results in a 10% lower value per share. The IPO price range of KRW31,000-38,800 is unchanged.
Sentiment on IPOs remains poor. For investors willing to look at IPOs, our valuation analysis suggests that the IPO price range remains reasonable.  


SK Shieldus IPO: The Syndicate's Revised Methodology

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

<ul>
<li>SK Shieldus (SKS) aims to raise around US$800m via issuing a mix of primary and secondary shares in its Korea IPO.</li>
<li>SKS is the security subsidiary of SK Square. It provides security services across four main categories: information security/Cybersecurity, convergence security, physical security, and Safety &amp; Care.</li>
<li>In this note, we undertake a peer comparison for its two largest verticals.</li>
</ul>


SK Shieldus (SKS) aims to raise around US$800m via issuing a mix of primary and secondary shares in its Korea IPO.
SKS is the security subsidiary of SK Square. It provides security services across four main categories: information security/Cybersecurity, convergence security, physical security, and Safety &amp; Care.
In this note, we undertake a peer comparison for its two largest verticals.


SK Shieldus IPO - Peer Comparison - Better Top Line Growth, Worse Margin Decline

<ul>
<li>S1 Corp is more giant in sales and ranks first in the local on-site security market, so it is tough to understand why SK Shieldus should receive a higher valuation. </li>
<li>If the growth story is sexier, the story may be different. Still, many investors will have doubts about whether SK Shieldus' growth story is convincingly explained in the IPO prospectus.</li>
<li>Even the lower end of the indicative price band is likely to be downwardly corrected in the post-IPO price-finding. Hence, I do not recommend an aggressive approach to this IPO.</li>
</ul>


S1 Corp is more giant in sales and ranks first in the local on-site security market, so it is tough to understand why SK Shieldus should receive a higher valuation. 
If the growth story is sexier, the story may be different. Still, many investors will have doubts about whether SK Shieldus' growth story is convincingly explained in the IPO prospectus.
Even the lower end of the indicative price band is likely to be downwardly corrected in the post-IPO price-finding. Hence, I do not recommend an aggressive approach to this IPO.


SK Shieldus IPO: Offering Details, Valuation Issues, & Index Fast Entry

United States

Qualys, Inc. provides information technology security risk and compliance management solutions. The Company offers products for vulnerability management, policy compliance, web application scanning, malware detection, and associated security products. Qualys conducts business in the United States.

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Qualys Inc (QLYS US)

Qualys Inc: Initiation of Coverage – Qualys VMDR 2.0 & Other Drivers

This is our first report on cloud-based cybersecurity solutions provider, Qualys. The company reported continued revenue growth acceleration in...

Baptista Research

SK Shieldus Controversies: Excessive Valuations & Suspicious Surge in Internal Sales

This post investigates two controversial aspects found in SK Shieldus' revised IPO prospectus as the bookbuilding is currently in progress.

Sanghyun Park

SK Shieldus IPO: The Syndicate's Revised Methodology

The primary change in the updated prospectus is the syndicate's valuation methodology which results in a 10% lower value per share. The unchanged...

Arun George

SK Shieldus IPO - Peer Comparison - Better Top Line Growth, Worse Margin Decline

SK Shieldus (SKS) aims to raise around US$800m via issuing a mix of primary and secondary shares in its Korea IPO. In this note, we undertake a...

Sumeet Singh

SK Shieldus IPO: Offering Details, Valuation Issues, & Index Fast Entry

This post offers the terms of the SK Shieldus IPO and discusses valuation issues that many investors will likely find quite controversial.

Sanghyun Park

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