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Water Tower Research

Research from Water Tower Research

Water Tower Research is a leading equity research firm that provides research on micro, small and mid cap companies.

Water Tower Research was founded by Wall Street veterans after witnessing a fundamental shift in the investment research industry with the result being a declining knowledge base among investors, a lack of awareness and a shrinking pool of fundamental research being conducted on companies across the small-cap and micro-cap spectrum. The same issues are now increasingly occurring in the mid-cap space. This sea change within the investment community is impacting not only the companies themselves but also current shareholders and potential investors. With significantly less active sell-side sponsorship by Wall Street, a substantial information gap has developed between companies and various constituents in the financial community. The net result is fewer channels for insight and information to flow between companies and investors.

Equity Research Firm

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li>WTR-CMI last week. In a flat to down market last week, with S&amp;P 500 holding steady with 0.1% price change and Russell 2000 losing 0.9% of its value, our proprietary WTR-CMI index of 30 chemicals and material technology companies appreciated 0.5% for the week, led by 8.5% appreciation in ALB, which seemed to pull along other lithium names, including PLL, LAC and LTHM, which all posted 2-4% returns.</li><li>EAF was the index’s laggard, losing 9.4% of its value, possibly due to continued softness in the iron ore and steel production sectors.</li><li>EU relooks at GMO crops. Long a bulwark against expansion of GMO crops, the EU is taking another look at the 2001 rules which were a major obstacle to market penetration by genetically modified seeds that provide better yields, higher nutritional value, and require less water and less pesticides to produce.</li></ul>

WTR-CMI last week. In a flat to down market last week, with S&amp;P 500 holding steady with 0.1% price change and Russell 2000 losing 0.9% of its value, our proprietary WTR-CMI index of 30 chemicals and material technology companies appreciated 0.5% for the week, led by 8.5% appreciation in ALB, which seemed to pull along other lithium names, including PLL, LAC and LTHM, which all posted 2-4% returns.EAF was the index’s laggard, losing 9.4% of its value, possibly due to continued softness in the iron ore and steel production sectors.EU relooks at GMO crops. Long a bulwark against expansion of GMO crops, the EU is taking another look at the 2001 rules which were a major obstacle to market penetration by genetically modified seeds that provide better yields, higher nutritional value, and require less water and less pesticides to produce.

<ul><li>After a strong 1H23, global equities were down this week. The MSCI World Index fell 1.42%, while the S&amp;P 500 dropped 1.06%.</li><li>The decline was driven by strongerthan-expected labor market data and concerns that this may make the Fed less accommodating.</li><li>The Russell 2000 finished the week down 1.32%, while the NASDAQ declined 0.92%.</li></ul>

After a strong 1H23, global equities were down this week. The MSCI World Index fell 1.42%, while the S&amp;P 500 dropped 1.06%.The decline was driven by strongerthan-expected labor market data and concerns that this may make the Fed less accommodating.The Russell 2000 finished the week down 1.32%, while the NASDAQ declined 0.92%.

<ul style="list-style-type: disc;"><li>WTR-CMI last week. In an up-week for the market, our WTR-CMI index of 30 chemical and material technology companies appreciated 4.8%, surpassing both the S&amp;P 500 and Russell 2000 returns of 2.3% and 3.7%, respectively.</li><li>FUL’s 13.2% appreciation led our index, as the company delivered strong margins in 2QFY23 (May- 23) and provided solid EBITDA guidance for the year.</li><li>The stock was also helped by FUL’s announcement of two bolt- on acquisitions, Adhezion Biomedical, a privately held medical adhesives company, and XCHEM International, a UAE specialty adhesives manufacturer with a strong position in MENA. </li></ul>

WTR-CMI last week. In an up-week for the market, our WTR-CMI index of 30 chemical and material technology companies appreciated 4.8%, surpassing both the S&amp;P 500 and Russell 2000 returns of 2.3% and 3.7%, respectively.FUL’s 13.2% appreciation led our index, as the company delivered strong margins in 2QFY23 (May- 23) and provided solid EBITDA guidance for the year.The stock was also helped by FUL’s announcement of two bolt- on acquisitions, Adhezion Biomedical, a privately held medical adhesives company, and XCHEM International, a UAE specialty adhesives manufacturer with a strong position in MENA. 

Mat-Chem Notes For the Week Ended June 30, 2023

<ul>
<li>WTR-CMI last week. In a week when the broad market index (Russell 2000) declined 3.6%, our WTR-CMI index of 30 chemicals and materials technology companies modestly outperformed, dropping 2.3%.</li>
<li>This nonetheless trailed the large-cap S&amp;P 500 index, which lost only 1.8% of its value during the week.</li>
<li>Benefiting from improved investor sentiment on possibly higher summer sales of insecticides, improving automotive and construction markets, and lower raw material costs that we discussed last week, ag-chem and coatings companies led the performance of our index.</li>
</ul>


WTR-CMI last week. In a week when the broad market index (Russell 2000) declined 3.6%, our WTR-CMI index of 30 chemicals and materials technology companies modestly outperformed, dropping 2.3%.
This nonetheless trailed the large-cap S&amp;P 500 index, which lost only 1.8% of its value during the week.
Benefiting from improved investor sentiment on possibly higher summer sales of insecticides, improving automotive and construction markets, and lower raw material costs that we discussed last week, ag-chem and coatings companies led the performance of our index.


Industry Report - Chemicals & Materials Technology

<ul><li>The WTR Sustainable Index underperformed the broader market, falling 2.2% W/W versus the S&amp;P 500 Index (down 1.4%) and the Nasdaq Composite Index (down 1.4%), but outperformed the Russell 2000 Index (down 2.9%).</li><li>Advanced Transportation Solutions (74.4% of the index) contributed to the index’s underperformance, falling 2.2%, while Energy Technology (6.5% of the index) was down 5.9% and Industrial Climate and Ag Technology was down 1.1%. </li><li>Valuation: Based on forward 12-month consensus estimates, the current P/E ratio of the WTR Sustainable index is 24.5x versus 20.3x for the S&amp;P 500.</li></ul>

The WTR Sustainable Index underperformed the broader market, falling 2.2% W/W versus the S&amp;P 500 Index (down 1.4%) and the Nasdaq Composite Index (down 1.4%), but outperformed the Russell 2000 Index (down 2.9%).Advanced Transportation Solutions (74.4% of the index) contributed to the index’s underperformance, falling 2.2%, while Energy Technology (6.5% of the index) was down 5.9% and Industrial Climate and Ag Technology was down 1.1%. Valuation: Based on forward 12-month consensus estimates, the current P/E ratio of the WTR Sustainable index is 24.5x versus 20.3x for the S&amp;P 500.

Weekly Sustainable Investing Surveyor Week Ended June 23, 2023

United States

The S&P 500® is widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities and serves as the foundation for a wide range of investment products. The index includes 500 leading companies and captures approximately 80% coverage of available market capitalization.

S&P 500 INDEX (SPX INDEX)

Mat Chem Notes Week Ending July 9, 2023

EAF was the index’s laggard, losing 9.4% of its value, possibly due to continued softness in the iron ore and steel production sectors.

Water Tower Research

Industry Report - Cannabis

The decline was driven by strongerthan-expected labor market data and concerns that this may make the Fed less accommodating. The Russell 2000...

Water Tower Research

Mat-Chem Notes For the Week Ended June 30, 2023

FUL’s 13.2% appreciation led our index, as the company delivered strong margins in 2QFY23 (May- 23) and provided solid EBITDA guidance for the year.

Water Tower Research

Industry Report - Chemicals & Materials Technology

In a week when the broad market index (Russell 2000) declined 3.6%, our WTR-CMI index of 30 chemicals and materials technology companies modestly...

Water Tower Research

Weekly Sustainable Investing Surveyor Week Ended June 23, 2023

The WTR Sustainable Index underperformed the broader market, falling 2.2% W/W versus the S&P 500 Index (down 1.4%) and the Nasdaq Composite Index...

Water Tower Research