Ex-JPMorgan Analyst Builds a 51%-a-Year Quant Powerhouse in Taiwan
UC Capital, Liu's proprietary trading firm, shot to sudden prominence last October when it revealed itself as the buyer of the baseball that marked Shohei Ohtani's historic feat of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season. The $4.39 million purchase, and the secretive company's coming out of the shadows, were both carefully calculated moves.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China's Feihe issues profit warning
China-based infant-formula maker Feihe has issued another profit warning ahead of the official issuance of its first-half results in August. In a stock-exchange filing, the Hong Kong listed company said revenue could be down as much as 10% in the six months to 30 June, while net profit could be down as much as 47% from the same period a year earlier. Feihe put forward a revenue range of 9.1bn yuan ($1.2bn) to 9.3bn yuan for the period, compared to the reported figure of 10.1bn yuan in the corresponding six months. Net profit, meanwhile, was flagged at 1bn yuan to 1.2bn yuan, down from the actual 1.9bn yuan a year earlier. Feihe attributed the expected declines to several factors, including 'childbirth subsidies' to consumers, a decrease in government grants, and an 'impairment provision' for whole milk powder products. It also cited inventory adjustments to ensure product freshness as a contributing factor to the anticipated declines. However, the company projects a 'low single-digit increase' in revenue for the full year 2025 compared to the prior year, with inventory adjustments expected to be completed by the third quarter. It plans to release its half-yearly results by the end of August. The company also announced a share buyback plan, allocating at least 1bn yuan from existing cash reserves to repurchase shares for 'subsequent sales' or employee incentives. The board said total dividends for FY 2025 will be 'no less than' 2bn yuan, despite the anticipated 'short-term" financial challenges. Feihe's primary products include infant milk formula, adult milk powder, liquid milk, and goat milk infant formula. Its formula brands include Astrobaby and Organic Zhenzhi. Feihe issued a similar first-half profit warning back in August 2023 ahead of its final annual results. It later reported that full-year net profit increased 11.1% to 3.6bn yuan in the 12 months to 31 December 2024. Revenue climbed 6.2% to 20.7bn yuan. In contrast, it posted a profit of 3.2bn yuan in fiscal 2023, down 33.5%, while revenue dropped 8.3% year-on-year to 19.5bn yuan. "China's Feihe issues profit warning" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Forbes
30 minutes ago
- Forbes
Buy, Sell, Or Hold IREN Stock At $16?
CHONGQING, CHINA - MAY 11: In this photo illustration, the logo of Iris Energy Ltd. is displayed on ... More a smartphone screen, with the company's green branding visible in the background, on May 11, 2025, in Chongqing, China. (Photo illustration by) IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) – a Bitcoin mining data center operator that utilizes renewable energy sources such as solar and wind – has witnessed an impressive stock increase of nearly 80% over the last month. This notable rise can be linked to several recent positive events: While these developments have undoubtedly thrilled investors, the pivotal question now is whether IREN stock, currently trading at approximately $16 following an 80% rally, remains an attractive investment. Our evaluation indicates that it does. We consider the stock a solid choice at its current price of about $16. However, it is essential to recognize that there are several concerns regarding IREN, particularly its currently elevated valuation, which poses a significant level of risk. Our conclusion is derived from a thorough comparison of IREN's current valuation against its operational performance in recent years, alongside its historical and present financial state. Our analysis across key metrics—Growth, Profitability, Financial Stability, and Downturn Resilience—shows that the company currently exhibits poor operating performance and financial health, as further elaborated below. However, for investors seeking lower volatility than individual stocks, the Trefis High Quality portfolio offers an alternative — having outperformed the S&P 500 and provided returns exceeding 91% since its inception. Separately, refer to – SOUN Stock To $20? How Does IREN's Valuation Compare to the S&P 500? Based on the price you pay per dollar of sales or profit, IREN stock appears costly relative to the broader market. How Have IREN's Revenues Progressed in Recent Years? IREN's revenues have significantly increased in recent years. How Profitable Is IREN? IREN's profit margins are notably poorer than most firms in the Trefis coverage universe. How Resilient Is IREN Stock During Economic Downturns? IREN stock has performed significantly worse than the benchmark S&P 500 index during the inflation downturn in 2022. While investors are hopeful for a soft landing by the U.S. economy, one must consider how severely the situation could worsen if another recession occurs. Our dashboard How Low Can Stocks Go During A Market Crash illustrates how key stocks performed during and after the previous six market crashes. Bringing It All Together: What It Means for IREN Stock In conclusion, IREN's performance across the criteria outlined above is as follows: While our analysis indicates that IREN's operating performance and financial situation are currently weak, which suggests a level of risk, the company's remarkable growth should not be overlooked. Over the past three years, IREN has achieved an average annual growth rate of 270%, a trend we anticipate will continue in triple digits for at least the next couple of years. Given this robust growth path, we believe that a valuation of 9 times trailing revenues is not excessively high and implies that the stock likely has some potential for further appreciation. Therefore, notwithstanding the recognized risks, we conclude that IREN is a worthwhile stock to purchase. Although IREN stock appears promising, investing in a single stock carries risks. Conversely, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, comprising 30 stocks, has a history of comfortably outperforming the S&P 500 over the past four years. What accounts for this? Collectively, HQ Portfolio stocks have delivered superior returns with lower risk compared to the benchmark index; a smoother performance, as evidenced in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.
New York Times
37 minutes ago
- New York Times
MLB's Luis Ortiz investigation, explained. Plus: Why now, Nats?
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. Missed out on the action this weekend? We got you. Plus: The Nationals cleaned house (but at a weird time), we make the case for a few All-Stars who aren't (yet), and how the heck did two pitches trigger a gambling investigation? I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup! If you spent the weekend at the beach or grilling out with family, fret not: Here's a recap of a few key series over the weekend. Yankees at Mets: The Yankees were fresh off being swept out of first place. The Mets were showing signs of righting the ship, coming off two wins against the Brewers after going 3-13 in their previous 16 games. The Mets took the first two to run the Yankees' losing streak up to six before the Yankees took the series finale. Even worse for the Yankees? Clarke Schmidt is 'likely' to have Tommy John surgery. Advertisement Angels at Blue Jays: Coming off that sweep of the Yankees, the Blue Jays notched back-to-back extra-innings 4-3 walkoffs Friday and Saturday. They played it a little less dramatic yesterday, holding a 3-2 lead for the final three innings. Toronto has won eight straight and now leads New York and Tampa Bay in the AL East by three games. Mitch Bannon has a roundup of what's going right in Toronto. Astros at Dodgers: The Astros have spent the last month proving to the baseball world that they're legitimate contenders in the AL. After losing Jeremy Peña to the IL with a rib fracture, they went out and put an exclamation point on that sentence over the weekend, sweeping the Dodgers in Los Angeles — including an 18-1 boat-racing on Friday. Cardinals at Cubs: St. Louis took the middle game of the series between two blowouts by the Cubs — including an eight-homer game on the Fourth of July. As the trade deadline approaches, Patrick Mooney says it's time for the Cubs to go all in, while Jon Greenberg says this is the next great Cubs team fans have been waiting for. Tigers at Guardians: 57-34 Detroit is starting to look a little bit unstoppable. Tarik Skubal is dominant, Casey Mize looks great and the Tigers swept the Guardians over the weekend. They now have a 13 1/2-game lead in the AL Central. The Guardians, by the way, are starting to look a little bit 'unstartable' — they've lost 10 straight. White Sox at Rockies: Well, that happened. From my latest column: Indifferent. Apathetic. Disconnected. All of those words seemed to apply in recent seasons to the Nationals ownership group headed by Mark Lerner. Well, wonder of wonders, ownership just snapped out of it, at just about the oddest time imaginable — one week before the Nats will make the No. 1 pick in baseball's amateur draft, and less than a month before the trade deadline. Advertisement The timing of the Nationals' dismissals of president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez yesterday was so sudden, ownership did not even appear fully prepared. Lerner named a successor for Rizzo, assistant GM Mike DeBartolo, but held off announcing Martinez's replacement until today. Bench coach Miguel Cairo and Triple-A manager Matthew LeCroy would appear the most logical candidates. If Lerner and Co. were desperate to draw attention away from themselves, a theory advanced by one former team executive, they sure had an odd way of going about it. Not that Rizzo, the game's second-longest tenured head of baseball operations, and Martinez, the manager who led the franchise to its only World Series title in 2019, necessarily deserved to keep their jobs. The Nationals' 37-53 record is the fourth-worst in the majors. More telling, the Nats rank second in the majors in losses, ahead of only the Colorado Rockies, since 2019. True, ownership needed to decide this month on 2026 options for both Rizzo and Martinez. But general managers almost never get fired before the deadline. The last time it happened, as far as I can tell, was when the Minnesota Twins dumped Terry Ryan on July 18, 2016. In dumping Rizzo, the Nationals are leaving both the draft and deadline to DeBartolo. The No. 1 pick, as the Nationals know well, is a monumental opportunity for any franchise. But picking first isn't always about simply choosing the best fit for an organization. Teams sometimes operate strategically, taking a player they can sign for less in order to spread their bonus pool money to other talents in later rounds. That strategy might make particular sense this year, with no clear No. 1 pick emerging. More here. The All-Star rosters have been announced — at least the first draft, before guys start dropping out and the replacements are named — and you can find the full lists in this story about the biggest snubs. Why? Because that's half the fun? Obviously? In that story, Chad Jennings gives us one player at each position (and one bonus outfielder) with the best cases that they were unjustly left off. Advertisement Trea Turner wasn't a random name, by the way. His 3.9 fWAR ranked eighth in the sport, higher than either of the NL shortstops — Francisco Lindor (3.3) and Elly De La Cruz (3.0). This is not a suggestion that either guy was undeserving, though. Seiya Suzuki also has a legit case: He already led the entire sport in RBIs before last night's two-RBI performance. He's at 77. Alas, the RBI just doesn't mean what it used to, I guess. On the pitching side, there will always be deserving candidates left out on the first draft. More will be added later — starters who pitch on the Sunday before the game will be replaced on the roster. The top of the list of replacements should probably be Joe Ryan of the Twins. After another quality start last night against the Rays, he's 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. Also … no Juan Soto, eh? More All-Star news: News broke Thursday that Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz was placed on 'non-disciplinary paid leave' through the end of the All-Star break while the league completes an investigation that has something to do with gambling. What we later learned was that the league is investigating two specific pitches that Ortiz threw. Both pitches had a higher-than-usual number of bets placed on them — action that was flagged by a betting integrity firm. Why would two specific pitches trigger a red flag? Buddy, there are essentially an infinite number of ways you can bet on sports these days. One of them is a micro-bet about what the first pitch of a given inning might be: ball, strike, swinging strike, etc. Both of the pitches — the first pitch of the second inning against the Mariners on June 15, and the first pitch of the third inning against the Cardinals on June 27 — resulted in pitches thrown well outside the zone (you can see video in this story). Advertisement That's really all we know for now, but it's worth pointing out that this is just the latest in a recent uptick of gambling investigations. Remember Ippei Mizuhara? Tucupita Marcano? Pat Hoberg? I can't imagine this is the last investigation we'll see. In the meantime, we'll keep you posted if there are any further developments in Ortiz's case. When we left you at the end of last week, Clayton Kershaw had just notched his 3,000th strikeout. Over the weekend, we got some more stories: Kershaw reflecting on the journey, his former catcher trying to will it to completion over the phone and Tyler Kepner's Sliders column reflecting on Kershaw's place among the greats. There's never been a right-handed high school pitcher taken with the first pick of the draft. Melissa Lockard and Dhani Joseph tell us why that might never change. In April, Sam Blum told you about former White Sox closer Bobby Jenks' battle against stomach cancer. Jenks died Friday at 44 years old. After battling elbow inflammation and soreness all season long, Yu Darvish will make his 2025 debut for the Padres tonight.
