MergerTalk: Natura & Co/Avon Products -"Ding Dong, The Avon Spread Calling"

Lane Research

Douglas Lane

Independent Insight Provider

Lane Research is a boutique fundamental equity research firm focusing on companies that employ a direct to consumer business model. This is an area where we have had extensive experience over the years, going back to the mid-1990s when Amway Asia Pacific, Amway Japan and Nu Skin originally listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We think Direct Selling in particular supports many favorable consumer macro-trends such as leveraging today’s technology to advance social selling and workplace flexibility, and the move towards shopping away from a fixed retail location. Our proprietary financial modeling coupled with our decades of experience and contacts within this unique business model leave us well positioned to provide alpha to investors interested in the space. Lane Research does not have any trading or investment banking operations, fully aligning our objectives with our clients.

Experience includes:

-9 equity analyst awards, including Starmine's #2 stock picker in 2011 for Household Durables & #1 earnings estimator in 2010 for Personal Products, and The Wall Street Journal's #1 stock picker in 2004 & 2006 for Household Products. 

-Financial TV appearances including CNBC and Bloomberg

-Quotes in financial publications such as Wall St Journal, Investors Business Daily and Barron's, and newswires such as Reuters and the Associated Press

-Chartered Financial Analyst since 1992 and member of the CFA Society Boston

-FINRA Series 7, 63, 86 & 87

Equity Bottom-Up

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/4527" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:4527:1">Avon Products (AVP US)</a> 3Q ongoing sales and segment profits were well below expectations as underlying momentum remains weak at the company. However, the company is executing on its restructuring and cost savings initiatives, and we really hadn’t expected any improvement in operating trends for some time as it had just outlined its new strategy back in September.</p>

Avon Products (AVP US) 3Q ongoing sales and segment profits were well below expectations as underlying momentum remains weak at the company. However, the company is executing on its restructuring and cost savings initiatives, and we really hadn’t expected any improvement in operating trends for some time as it had just outlined its new strategy back in September.

Avon Products: Weaker Than Expected Sales and Segment Profits; Momentum Indicators Remain Soft