Daily Brief United States: NVIDIA Corp, Qualcomm Inc, iShares Russell 2000 ETF, Intuit Inc, Ingersoll Rand , Immix Biopharma Inc, Estee Lauder Companies Cl A, Mondelez International, Albemarle Corp, SolarEdge Technologies Inc and more

• First of all, Nvidia is a great business with many applications and infrastructure across many industries and one can even say an AI hardware leader down the road. 
• Overall, a big business with a wide moat in a great secular sector, hence a name that very likely will be here 10-20-30 years down the road.
• Semiconductors in general have been a top sector lately given AI advancements like the ChatGPT breakthrough, and the overall combo of high demand & supply issues.

• Qualcomm’s fiscal Q2 results were decent with revenues above expectations and earnings in line with the analyst consensus estimates.
• It is considered a fair result given the difficult macroeconomic climate and widespread decline in the semiconductor industry.
• During the quarter, there was significant use of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon digital chassis across major OEMs and Tier 1 clients in automotive.

• Since January 2023 we have anticipated 4165-4200 would cap upside on the S&P 500 for 2023, but that a rally to 4300-4325 is also possible; this remains our view.
• So far there has not been much traction above 4200. Obvious problem is weak breadth, but this does not have to end badly if large-caps pause, and capital disperses elsewhere
• To that end, we’re watching the Russell 2000 (IWM) which is testing 2.5-month resistance at $180; a break above resistance would signal improving breadth and would be a positive development

• The IRS would offer a free tax filing option is unlikely to have a material impact on TurboTax.
• The company is taking the right steps to differentiate its service offerings which creates significant pricing power.
• The recent news that the IRS would Offer a free filing option was unlikely to be a material effect on Turbo tax.

• It was a successful Q1 for Ingersoll Rand as the company delivered an all-around beat with double-digit adjusted EBITDA and EPS growth with strong free cash flow generation.
• Their organic growth initiatives leveraged mega sustainability trends, digitization, and quality of life using their tool, DGX within IRX, to capture above-market growth.
• With new acquisitions, they are focused on cost improvement and maintaining focus on growth, accelerating organic growth across three levers.

Following recent updates regarding Immix’s CAR-T therapy (NXC-201) and Q123 results, we have adjusted our financial estimates. Quarterly R&D expenses of $1.3m were lower than expected, largely due to lower clinical development costs. Roughly 48% of these expenses were related to quarterly payments made to the licensors of Nexcella’s (Immix’s majority-owned, 94%, subsidiary) CAR-T therapy, NXC-201. Based on the quarterly R&D spend run rate, we have revised our FY23 R&D expenses to $6.1m, down from $11.7m previously. The resulting operating loss of $10.9m is down from $15.8m previously. Immix ended the quarter with a net-cash position of $11.5m and raised a further $2.5m post quarter end through the company’s ATM facility, which we anticipate will provide an operating cash runway into Q224, a slight extension from Q423 previously. Our valuation of Immix has been adjusted due to the higher pro-forma cash position of $14m, rolling our model forward and our revised R&D estimates. We value Immix at $83.3m or $5.5 per share (previously $77.1m or $5.5/share).

• Estee Lauder had a mixed quarter.
• Its organic net sales fell by 8% but its retail sales growth outpaced organic sales growth in numerous areas resulting in the company surpassing the revenue expectations of analysts.
• Encouragingly, retail sales performance in global travel retail is far ahead of organic sales results.

• Mondelez International had a successful first quarter, with strong double-digit top-line growth driven by effective pricing and volume expansion.
• Mondelez’s momentum was evident across its entire business, with strong organic net revenue growth and adjusted gross profit dollar growth resulting in an all-around beat.
• Mondelez’s brand investments, portfolio reshaping initiatives, and talented workforce position the company for continued growth.

• Albemarle had a mixed Q1, with net sales below market expectations though EBITDA was up nearly four times to $1.6 billion resulting in an earnings beat.
• Albemarle selected a site for their U.S.
• Mega-Flex lithium processing facility in Richburg, South Carolina, and announced restructuring their MARBL joint venture in Australia.

• It was a successful first quarter for SolarEdge Technologies, reporting an all-around beat.
• Solar business revenues grew 49% year-over-year, driven mainly by sustainable revenues in Europe and the Rest of the World.
• The European residential market continued strong as the company ramped shipments of 3-phase residential inverters, backup inverters, and 3-phase residential batteries.