<7832> Bandai Namco Holdings 3210 +96

Significant gains. SBI Securities continues the investment rating of 'buy' and has raised the target stock price from 4080 yen to 4480 yen. In addition to the company's upward revision of the first half plan, the new Kamen Rider series 'Kamen Rider Gav', which started airing on TV from September, is also drawing attention, prompting an upward revision of performance estimates for the fiscal year ending in March 2025. The operating profit for this fiscal year is expected to be 154.2 billion yen, a 70.0% increase from the previous year, surpassing the company's planned 115 billion yen and the market consensus of around 140 billion yen.

<3196> Hotland 2296 +63

Continued growth. Ichiyoshi Securities maintains the fair value of 2800 yen while upgrading the rating from 'B' to 'A'. Expecting a positive performance from 'Tsukiji Gin-Dako' and a smooth transition in the pub and staple food business formats, the forecast for operating profit for the fiscal year ending in December 2024 remains unchanged. The recent stock price has declined, indicating a heightened sense of undervaluation. It is expected that the operating profit for the fiscal year ending in December 2024 will be 3.1 billion yen, a 38.7% increase from the previous year, exceeding the company's planned 2.8 billion yen.

<2670> ABC Mart 2990.5 +33.5

Significant gains. The monthly trends for August were announced the previous day. Same-store sales increased by 11.0% compared to the same month last year, marking a 30-month continuous growth in positive figures and a double-digit growth for the first time in two months. The number of customers increased by 1.2%, and the average customer spending also rose by 9.6% compared to the previous period. Despite the impact of earthquakes and typhoons, with some closed and shortened store hours, sales remained strong. Among product categories, sandals and T-shirts continued to perform well despite the lingering summer heat.

<3659> Nexon 2802.5 -131

Sharp decline. Announced a change in shareholder return policy, aiming to implement profit returns based on at least 33% of the operating profit for the preceding consolidated fiscal year, excluding impairment losses. Additionally, set the ROE target at a minimum of 10% and aim for 15% in the future. As a result, the annual dividend for the fiscal year ending in December 2024 has been raised from the previous plan of 15 yen to 22.5 yen, an increase of 12.5 yen from the previous year. However, based on the dividend yield at the previous day's closing price after the increase, the dividend yield is 0.8%, which is at a low level and does not have a stock price boosting impact.

<8783> GFA 284 +15

Significant increase. Lumirize, a regenerative medicine venture promoting strategic business collaboration, has announced that it has filed a patent application for a new method of dedifferentiated fat cell production in Japan. The research team at Lumirize has identified important compounds for neuronal reprogramming of cells and developed a gene-introduction-free human cell neuronal reprogramming system. The reprogrammed neurons in the system have been shown to exhibit similar functions to neurons in the human body.

<4750> Dai San 600 -70

Sharp decline. The company announced its first quarter financial results the previous day, reporting an operating profit of 0.02 billion yen, resulting in a profit increase of 0.04 billion yen compared to the same period last year. However, the full-year forecast remains unchanged at 0.45 billion yen, which is expected to be 8 times higher than the previous year, indicating some satisfaction with the progress. The recent rapid increase in stock prices, reaching a year-to-date high the previous day, is expected to fuel a backlash of expectations.

<8057> Uchida Yoko 6940 -690

Substantial decline. The company announced its financial results for the fiscal year ending July 2024 the previous day. Operating profit was 9.35 billion yen, a 10.8% increase from the previous year, slightly exceeding the 9.2 billion yen level revised upwards during the third quarter. The annual dividend has been raised from the previous plan of 210 yen to 220 yen. However, for the fiscal year ending July 2025, a profit of 10 billion yen is expected, representing a 7.0% increase. Anticipating steady growth in ICT-related businesses and office investments, the guidance is largely in line with expectations, yet a sense of market saturation prevails amidst adverse conditions.

<9843> Nitori Holdings 22000 +550

Significant increase. The monthly trend for August was announced the previous day, and same-store sales increased by 7.8% compared to the same month last year, turning positive for the first time in two months. While average customer spend decreased by 1.8%, the number of customers increased by 9.8%. Some stores were affected by the typhoon, but it seems that measures such as TV commercials and air conditioning campaigns were effective. In addition, the reversal of the weak dollar and strong yen in the foreign exchange market, reflecting the deterioration of the US economic indicators, is leading to buying opportunities as a benefit of the strong yen.

<9749> Fujisoft 9630 +660

Significant increase. It has been announced that the US investment fund Bain Capital has made a proposal for privatization to the company. The company announced its acquisition by the US investment fund KKR in August, with a share price formation that was conscious of the tender offer price of 8,800 yen. In this M&A by Bain, the tender offer price is expected to be around 9,200-9,300 yen. It seems that there are also expectations for further premium due to the development of future stock acquisition battles.

<6857> Advantest 6129 -514

Significant continued decline. The previous day, the U.S. released the August ISM Manufacturing PMI, which rose from 46.8 in July to 47.2, but still fell below the market expectation of 47.5, confirming the ongoing stagnation. Concerns about an economic downturn reignited, leading to a significant selloff in the U.S. stock market the previous day, causing a risk-off sentiment to spread to the Tokyo market. In particular, the SOX index plummeted by 7.7%, leading to noticeable declines in semiconductor-related companies such as the one mentioned.