19.02.2025

BICO Group AB has bought back convertible bonds + Intel in talks about the sale of Altera + Jefferies raises STMicro to 'Buy' with target up to 34 euros + AI and robotics hopes at Meta remain in focus + Exasol with preliminary consolidated figures for 2024

BICO Group AB $BICO (-4,29 %)has repurchased convertible bonds worth SEK 276 million

• On March 19, 2021, BICO Group AB (publ) ("BICO" or the "Company") issued senior unsecured convertible bonds with an aggregate principal amount of SEK 1,500,000,000 (the "Convertible Bonds").
• On February 18, 2025, the Company repurchased Convertible Bonds with an aggregate principal amount of SEK 276,000,000 at a purchase price of 89.4719 percent (excluding accrued but unpaid interest) of the principal amount of the Convertible Bonds.
• The total purchase price for the repurchased convertible bonds thus amounted to SEK 246,942,500 (the "Repurchase").
• After the Repurchase and together with the Convertible Bonds repurchased by BICO on November 22, 2024 (as notified separately), the aggregate principal amount of Convertible Bonds repurchased by BICO amounts to SEK 394,000,000, leaving SEK 1,106,000,000 of Convertible Bonds outstanding.
• The reason for the repurchase was to optimize BICO's capital structure and was made possible by the company's strong liquidity position.
• BICO will continue to monitor the bond market and may repurchase additional convertible bonds in the market from time to time, depending on the company's liquidity needs.
• The repurchase was executed under a safe harbor approach with Carnegie Investment Bank AB (publ) as Dealer Manager.

Intel $INTC (-4,07 %)in discussions regarding the sale of Altera

• Silver Lake is in talks to acquire a majority stake in Intel's Altera division.
• The chipmaker hired advisors last year to find private equity investors willing to build a significant stake in Altera.
• Intel acquired Altera in 2015 for around 17 billion US dollars.
• Intel believes that a share sale could increase the value of Altera and create the conditions for a complete exit.
• Altera has attracted interest from rival chipmakers, but Silver Lake, a US private equity firm, has emerged as Intel's preferred option, according to three people familiar with the matter.

(Financial Times)

Jefferies raises STMicro $STMPA (-1,92 %)to 'Buy' - target up to 34 euros

• The analyst firm Jefferies has upgraded STMicroelectronics from "Hold" to "Buy" and raised its price target from 23 to 34 euros.
• The night is always darkest before the dawn, said analyst Janardan Menon above his buy recommendation on Wednesday.
• He no longer anticipates consensus corrections at the chip group, but expects growth to pick up from the second half of the year.
• The demand cycle for chips for industry and the automotive sector is picking up and deserves a revaluation

AI and robot hopes at Meta $META (-1,11 %)remain in focus

• The prospect of bright business around AI technology has been driving the shares since mid-January - since then they have risen by around 20 percent.
• With AI, Meta has recently provided additional momentum for its important advertising business.
• However, AI is to be used much more widely.
• With a share price of just under 737 US dollars as at Friday's close, Meta now has a market capitalization of almost 1.9 trillion dollars.
• At the end of January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reaffirmed his ambitions in the artificial intelligence (AI) business when publishing his financial figures.
• He expects an "intelligent and personalized AI assistant to reach more than one billion people this year", he said.
• And this is likely to be the company's own Meta AI software.
• The provider of social networks and communication platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp plans to invest "hundreds of billions of dollars" in the expansion of its AI infrastructure over time, Zuckerberg said at the time.
• For this year alone, the company had announced investments of more than 60 billion dollars, primarily for data centers.
• Meta emphasizes that AI is driving the business forward, including through software that advertisers can use to create ads.
• The important business with advertisements that are personalized for individual users is booming. Revenue and profit increased significantly in 2024.
• The increased personalization of AI services is positive because it creates even stronger customer loyalty on the part of users and advertisers.
• The high inflow of funds in the advertising business also enables Meta to continue to bear losses in the billions in the digital worlds business, which is important to Zuckerberg.
• The Reality Labs division, which is primarily known for VR goggles, posted an operating loss of billions in the last quarter.
• In the long term, however, the high investments in the business should pay off.
• As the news agency Bloomberg reported at the end of last week, citing people familiar with the matter, Meta is creating a business unit in the Reality Labs division that will develop AI-driven humanoid robots that can assist people with physical activities.
• According to the report, Metatree is planning to develop its own humanoid robot hardware - initially with a focus on household tasks.
• The bigger goal, however, is to develop the underlying AI, sensors and software for robots.
• These are then to be manufactured and sold by a number of companies. Meta is already talking to robotics companies such as Unitree Robotics and Figure AI about its plans.
• With a price target of 765 dollars, the analysts at Bank of America see only limited upside potential.
• Expert Brent Thill from the investment firm Jefferies sees a little more room up to his target of 810 dollars.

Exasol $EXL (+0,95 %)with preliminary Group figures for 2024

• Positive EBITDA, net income and cash flow for the first time since IPO
• Profit zone sustainably reached: EBITDA rises to EUR 2.0 million and is at the upper end of the forecast (EUR 1.5 to 2.0 million); positive consolidated net income of EUR 0.3 million
• Cash and cash equivalents increase by EUR 1.7 million to EUR 15.0 million and are well above expectations (forecast: EUR 11 to 13 million)
• Annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased by 3.7% to EUR 42.3 million, thus within the forecast range
• Strong growth in strategic focus industries (+19%) confirms focus on on-premise and hybrid solutions
• Forecast for 2025: EBITDA growth of at least 50% to EUR 3 to 4 million and mid-single-digit percentage revenue growth
• Sustained strong growth in the double-digit percentage range in focus sectors

Wednesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

Economic data

08:00 DE: Manufacturing orders on hand and order backlog December

08:00 UK: Consumer prices January

08:00 UK: Producer prices January

10:00 EU: ECB, Eurozone Current Account December

10:00 CH: WTO, General Council Meeting (since 18.02.)

14:30 US: Housing Starts/Permits January

19:00 DE: CDU leader Merz, CDU election campaign event, Vechta

20:00 US: Fed, minutes of the FOMC meeting on January 28/29