Daily Brief United States: Crude Oil, PetroTal, Ethereum, Xperi, VAALCO Energy, Inter Parfums, Rani Therapeutics Holdings , Abercrombie & Fitch Co Cl A, Valvoline , WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings and more

• US commercial crude oil inventory fell by 1.36 million barrels for the week ending on 3/May, after rising by 7.3 million barrels the week before.
• EIA increased its global liquid fuels production for 2024 and 2025 by 110,000 bpd and 40,000 bpd, respectively.
• EIA forecasts OPEC’s spare production capacity around 4 million bpd through 2025.

• PetroTal is acquiring Block 131 onshore Peru including the Los Angeles field from CEPSA for US$5 mm.
• The field produces ~900 boe/d from 4 existing wells and holds 4.9 mmbbl of 40-45 deg API oil 2P reserves.
• We estimate that 3 new wells (at ~US$12 mm per well) could increase production to 2-3 mbbl/d.

• On March 13, nearly two months ago, Ethereum implemented its most significant upgrade in the past 20 months, marking a notable development since the Ethereum Merge on September 15, 2022.
• Known as Dencun or Cancun-Deneb, this upgrade introduced the highly anticipated Proto-Danksharding feature, designed to significantly improve the scalability of Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions, also known as rollups.
• This enhancement has allowed rollups to drastically reduce transaction costs by approximately five to 10 times, while also stabilizing their cost fluctuations.

• XPER made further progress on product placement in the first quarter contributing to expecting revenue acceleration heading into the second half of 2024.
• XPER reported first quarter results that included the announcement of a new Japanese TV brand that would begin using TiVo in a line of its TVs
• Over the last couple of quarters XPER has announced several wins for its connected car and media platform segments. These wins have developed into revenue for XPER

• 1Q24 WI production was 21,807 boe/d, in line with our expectations.
• VAALCO held ~US$113 mm in cash at the end of March, which is also in line.
• With the completion of the acquisition of Svenska, the company now expects to produce 23.6-26.5 mboe/d in FY24.

• IPAR reported first quarter results detailing how consumer demand for fragrances has yet to wane even in a difficult to compare period
• In a change of strategy than prior years, IPAR is spending more in the early parts of the year to build awareness for its lineup of products 
• With one quarter past, we believe Lacoste and Roberto Cavalli are additive to the investment story and not the year’s only topic

• Rani is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company developing the ingestible robotic RaniPill (RP) that enables oral delivery of biologics & other large molecules.
• Its pipeline features clinical assets RT-102 (teriparatide for osteoporosis) & RT-111 (ustekinumab for psoriasis).
• Both programs have completed Ph1 trials characterizing safety tolerability & pharmaco-kinetics.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating, raising our pice target to $25 (from $14), and upping our projections for a.k.a. Brands after the company registered better-than-expected revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for 1Q24 and raised 2024 guidance, driven by strong domestic results, as all the company’s concepts continue to gain market share in the United States via new stores, expanding digital marketplace relationships and the “test and repeat” method driving newness and fashion excitement.
• Further, we believe the Australian operations, especially Culture Kings, are setting up for a 2H24 turn, with leaner inventories and better product mix.
• As such, even after raising our projections, we believe upside remains in 2H24 and 2025 and are confident raising our price target to $25 and reiterating our Buy rating on AKA.

• Valvoline is the largest pure-play operator in the oil change industry, trading at around 16 times estimated FY25 EPS
• The company plans to accelerate unit growth from 140 to 250 openings per year over the next five years
• Valvoline has a focus on driving incremental ticket growth and strong competition in the market, positioning it for success with a solid foundation from its long history in the industry

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.

• WillScot Mobile Mini has completed significant acquisitions to strengthen its leadership position in modular office and mobile storage industries.
• The company believes in seizing no-brainer opportunities for acquisitions despite warnings from renowned investors like Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger.
• WillScot Mobile Mini focuses on strategic advantages, organic growth, high returns on investment, and disciplined valuation methodologies to create long-term shareholder value.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.