Smartkarma Daily Briefs

• Hon Hai shares have hit a new all-time high and have just risen past our target price of NT$155, surging after investors flocked to Hon Hai on AI news.
• Hon Hai showcased two key technologies at Nvidia’s GTC conference last week: Nvidia-based AI servers with liquid cooling systems and an AI autonomous driving controller using Nvidia’s Orin X processor.
• Hon Hai’s sharp rally appears to have partly been caused by a short squeeze; While we like the long-term fundamentals and increased TP to NT$170, Hon Hai appears near-term overbought.

• Bharti Hexacom is looking to raise up to US$513m in its upcoming India IPO.
• Bharti Hexacom (BH) is a communications solutions provider offering consumer mobile services, fixed-line telephone and broadband services to customers in the Rajasthan and the North East telecommunication circles in India.
• We have looked at the company’s past performance in our earlier notes. In this note, we talk about valutions.

• Bharti Hexacom (6597372Z IN), a 70% owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel (BHARTI IN), aims to raise up to US$513 million at an IPO price range of Rs542-570 per share.
• We previously discussed the IPO in Bharti Hexacom IPO: The Bull Case and Bharti Hexacom IPO: The Bear Case. 
• Our valuation analysis suggests that the IPO price range is unattractive. Therefore, we would not participate in the IPO.

• Ibotta, a cashback rewards platform provider, files to list IPO on NYSE. The Denver-based technology company was backed by VC investors, GGV Capital, Walmart and Koch Disruptive Technologies.
• Ibotta is a trusted and well-known brand in the cashback space in the United States, and means “I-bought-a”. The company is led by its Founder & CEO, Bryan Leach.
• Considering Ibotta’s strong and profitable growth, low penetration of the addressable market opportunity, and potential international expansion, they should have a successful IPO.

• The electronic financial transactions industry is expanding, with a focus on personalization, the gig economy, and fraud prevention
• Mastercard is well positioned to benefit from the shift away from cash and towards digital payments
• Magellan’s portfolio manager Alyssa DeMarco discusses Mastercard’s growth and innovation with Devin Core, highlighting the company’s evolution over the past decade and its strategic focus on diversification and global expansion

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• Genesys Intl Corp (GENE IN) or (GICL) is engaged in Geospatial services.
• The balance sheet of the company is surrounded by impairments; in the last few years, the company has impaired a major chunk of its intangibles, investments, goodwill and advances
• Other forensic insights include doubts on revenue recognition, struggle with the cash flows and earnings quality, recon issues and treatment of few line items

• Astera Labs, an overvalued fabless semiconductor company, has completed its IPO and raised ~$565M of net proceeds in the offering. The IPO was priced at $36/share.
• Astera Labs shares jumped 70%+ in their first trading day and finished session at $62.03. The stock peaked at $95.21 on Tuesday and fell ~21% over the next 2 days.
• According to their prospectus, ~5.9M shares of Astera Labs will be available for sale following the public release of earnings for 1Q’24, which I expect to be announced in April.

• The looming threat of a business ban on TikTok in the United States is driving millions of users and advertisers to seek alternatives to the popular short video platform, presenting a significant opportunity for rivals such as YouTube and Meta.

• Data released by Sensor Tower in March indicates that, over the past 90 days, nearly 94% of TikTok users in the U.S. have begun using Alphabet’s YouTube.

• Additionally, 80% of TikTok users have shifted their attention to Instagram, 68% to Facebook, and 55% to Snapchat.

• U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology Inc. expects deeper cooperation with the Chinese government as Beijing ramps up efforts to boost foreign investment, its CEO said at a forum in the capital Monday.
• Speaking at the China Development Forum, Sanjay Mehrotra hailed the recent release by the State Council of a 24-point plan designed to promote high-level opening-up and attract foreign investment as the latest show of China’s determination to improve its business environment for foreign companies.
• Micron cannot grow its business in China without government support, Mehrotra added, while reaffirming the company’s commitment to expand its business in the world’s second-largest economy, where it has a presence in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Xi’an.

• 50% mobile market share with scope to improve shareholder returns – Okinawa Cellular is the operating company for parent KDDI’s (9433) mobile and FTTH brands in Japan’s southernmost prefecture, with a dominant 50% mobile carrier market share.
• The company benefits from the parent’s centralized R&D initiatives limiting its costs, and economies of scale through the joint procurement of handsets.
• With sector-leading operating margins and a strong track record of free cash flow generation, management actively allocates capital to shareholder returns, resulting in an estimated total shareholder payout ratio of 127.8% for FY3/24.