Everest Joins Race to Make mRNA Covid Vaccines for China
Key takeaways: 1、Everest will pay up to $150 million or more to potentially bring an mRNA vaccine being developed by Canada’s Providence Therapeutics to China 2、Deal comes as Beijing appears increasingly receptive to mRNA vaccines, even though Providence’s jabs have yet to be approved in its home Canada market By Richard Barbarossa China may still be without a Covid-19 vaccine based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, generally considered the most effective for preventing infections. But many are racing to bring such vaccines to the country, even as the latest official data shows 1 billion Chinese have now been vaccinated using several homegrown shots based on older technologies. That crowd gained another member last week when cancer and autoimmune disorder drug startup Everest Medici
Solid Earnings, Modest Buyback Fail to Boost Drug Seller 111 Inc
Key takeaways: 1、111’s revenue grew 87% in second quarter, generally outpacing its peers, as it aims to more than double its fulfillment capacity this year 2、Company’s shares now trade around $6.50, well off a $23 high reached in February, as investors worry about regulatory wave for broader tech sector By Mia Shanley With massive revenue growth and market share gains in the bag, online drug seller 111 Inc. (YI.US) has a new focus: earning a profit. The company was talking up that potential in its latest quarterly results, and followed that with a modest share buyback last week in a bid to excite skeptical investors. Founded in 2010, 111 now boasts one of the biggest networks selling to online and brick-and-mortar pharmacies in China, and also operates its own online retail
Key Takeaways: 1、 Waterdrop posted healthy gains in revenue and paying customers in the second quarter, but swung back to an operating loss as sales and marketing costs soared 2、 Company’s shares are down more than 75% since their April IPO due to a combination of widening losses and regulatory concerns By Thomas Zhang Nobody wants to see their investment evaporate more than 75% in just four short months. But unlucky investors in online insurance broker Waterdrop Inc. (NYSE: WDH) are now finding themselves in just such a situation, as the company’s recently listed stock plumbed new all-time lows in the days after it announced its latest quarterly results. The results were a mixed bag that’s typical for such young companies, including strong user and revenue growth and a big
Tuya’s Stock Gets Lift From Share Buyback, FTSE Inclusion
Key points: 1、Tuya’s shares have rallied 25% in the nine trading days since it announced a share buyback, but are still well below their levels prior to a recent unexplained selloff 2、Company posted triple-digit revenue growth in the second quarter, banking on its leading position as operator of a platform for internet of things (IoT) developers By Doug Young There’s nothing like a good share buyback to rescue your stock in times of unexplained turbulence. That appears to be the message, at least in the short-term, from a $200 million share buyback program announced Aug. 30 by Tuya Inc., which is one of the world’s biggest platform as a service (PaaS) company for internet of things (IoT) developers and product makers. After announcing the buyback, the stock reversed its prev
Yuzhou Slims Down Under ed Credit Diet for Property Firms
Key Takeways: 1、Yuzhou Group has breached one of China’s “three red lines” for real estate builders, which will limit its annual debt growth to 10% 2、The borrowing constraint will make it more difficult for the company to refinance maturing debt and develop new projects By Warren Yang For smaller Chinese property developer Yuzhou Group Holdings Co. Ltd. (1628.HK), bulking up its business while trying to slim down debt seems like a difficult task. That’s been problematic for its shareholders, who have been dumping stock for Yuzhou and many of its peers this year. Yuzhou, which was founded in 1994, is among many Chinese real estate developers that expanded massively over the last two decades by issuing debt, a strategy approved by Beijing leaders eager to develop the nation’s prope
Key takeaways: 1、So-Young International devotes much of its second-quarter results trying to ease investor concerns over a potential crackdown on China’s cosmetic surgery industry 2、Company’s revenue rises 37% and profit jumps sharply in latest quarter as business rebounds from year-ago pandemic-induced slowdown By Doug Young The superficial story in the latest results for plastic surgery platform operator So-Young International Inc. (SY.US) was strong growth for top-line revenue and even stronger gains for bottom-line profits in the three months through June. But the much-bigger story was one that has dogged many of China’s fastest-growing emerging sectors since the middle of the year, namely the prospect of a looming regulatory crackdown. The broader series of crackdowns actual
Viva Biotech Revenues Surge on Move Into Contract Drug Making
Key Takeaways: 1、Viva Biotech’s fivefold jump in first-half revenues and move back to profitability come on the back of its acquisition last year of two contract drug makers 2、Company’s shift to contract drug making comes as global pharma firms shift focus to drug development By Richard Barbarossa A couple of recent acquisitions are proving strong tonic for Viva Biotech Holdings (1873.HK), a globally-focused Chinese provider of third-party pharmaceutical services for other drug makers. The company posted a more than fivefold surge in first-half revenues after completing two key purchases that not only added a major new business area but also lifted Viva Biotech back to profitability, according to its latest results posted last week. The company’s shares initially jumped
Key takeaways: • Youdao’s revenue more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier, with all business segments performing strongly • The results came as China cracks down on after-school tutoring services that account for less than half of Youdao’s revenue By Warren Yang Online tutoring services provider Youdao Inc. (DAO.US) is offering a real-life lesson on the virtues of diversification, as many of its peers fall victim to China’s crackdown on extracurricular education for young students. Net revenue at the company, a unit of online gaming giant NetEase, more than doubled to 1.3 billion yuan ($200 million) in the second quarter of 2021 from a year earlier, according to its latest results relea
Key points: 1、Online grocer Dingdong boosted its edge over older rival Missfresh by posting sharply stronger revenue growth in the second quarter 2、The two companies could be well positioned to avoid a recent wave of regulatory scrutiny due to their relatively small size By Mia Shanley In the fierce battle for Chinese grocery shoppers who are rapidly moving online to buy everything from live seafood to fresh flowers, Shanghai-based Dingdong Macai (DDL.US) appears to be edging out its older rival Missfresh (MF.US), based on their maiden quarterly earnings published over the past week. Investors seem increasingly aware of that reality, with Dingdong’s stock faring far better than Missfresh’s since the pair made nearly simultaneous New York IPOs in June. The 4-year-old Din
Kanzhun Shows It’s Down, But Not Out, With First-Ever Profit
Key takeaways: 1、Kanzhun has posted its first-ever quarterly profit, fueled by a 174% jump in revenue 2、Company warns that a cybersecurity review and concurrent freeze on new user signups is affecting its business, and could last through at least the end of September The maiden quarterly earnings report from leading online jobs specialist Kanzhun Ltd. (BZ.US), best known in China for its Boss Zhipin service, contains both good news and bad news. If you’re a “glass-half-full” type of person, you’re probably focused on the good news that showed the 7-year-old company passed a significant milestone in this year’s second-quarter by posting its first-ever profit. But if you’re a “glass-half-empty” type, you probably focused on an ongoing cybersecurity review that has forced the compan