Commerzbank, wallstreet:online, Volkswagen - What is the German stock market doing?

Commerzbank - Undervalued according to KBV

The ruling of the Federal Supreme Court on the issue of account fees was a setback for Commerzbank. Provisions in the mid-double-digit million range have to be formed even though the Company is still in the restructuring phase. The figures of the first quarter were good at Commerzbank, now a damper followed.

Despite these costs, which will be booked in Q2, the Deputy CEO is sticking to the forecast for 2021. That this is possible can be attributed to the investment in the US start-up Marqeta. After the IPO, the Company will be valued at USD 16 billion and so the shares in Marqeta will be valued significantly higher. As a result, it will be possible to offset the losses from the remittance of the account management fees.

The restructuring is progressing. The Company would benefit highly from interest rate increases and could be a potential takeover candidate. Currently, the share has a price-to-book ratio (P/B) of 0.3, which means that more than 3 times the current share price could be distributed to shareholders if the entire Commerzbank were sold. Comparable bank stocks are at 0.75 KBV. Therefore, one should wait for the current setback if one wants to get in.

wallstreet:online - Insider buying

On June 11, wallstreet:online presented its audited financials for 2020. Revenues more than doubled from EUR 12.3 million to EUR 28.2 million. Revenue drivers were online brokerage and the portals' standard business, which increased its reach by around 42%. As a result, Smartbroker was able to acquire over 80,000 customers by the end of 2020. In 2021, the group's growth is expected to increase by another 70% to EUR 45-50M.

Smartbroker assumes a vital role in the long term, as it has already gained more than 50,000 additional customers. Younger investors, in particular, are using the Internet and trading via the so-called neobrokers. The dovetailing of financial portals and smart brokers will help to attract more and more investors. On the one hand, there is the information and the exchange with other users on the portals, and at the same time, one can trade via Smartbroker and at favorable transaction costs.

The interest of the investors is enormous, as one could see on June 15. No sooner had a cash capital increase of EUR 19.1 million with an accelerated placement procedure been announced than the shares were placed on the same day. There are further signs that wallstreet:online is going uphill. Last Friday, the Company reported insider purchases by founder, major shareholder and supervisory board member Andre Kolbinger worth over EUR 406,000 and supervisory board member Seidel who invested EUR 50,000. Monday, it was announced that the supervisory board members Kolbinger and Seidel and board member Nicklaus participated in the cash capital increase with over EUR 2.4 million. The management believes in the Company. The share is currently a buy, as you can even get in cheaper than the boards.

Volkswagen - Wants to be number one in electric cars

Volkswagen (VW), like pretty much every automaker, is currently beset by the chip shortage. However, the chief buyer believes that the bottom has been reached and there will be a slow improvement in the third quarter. Nevertheless, 10% of the required chips will be missing in the longer term. Therefore, the group reaffirmed the forecast with a margin of 5.5 - 7% for the year. Currently, a production shortfall of more than 800,000 cars is assumed.

The group is committed to electric mobility. Audi announced last week that it would no longer manufacture internal combustion vehicles from 2026, and the subsidy for the purchase of e-cars has been extended until 2025. Currently, every third new e-vehicle in Germany is delivered by the VW Group. The group is planning a battery factory to become more independent. There have even been rumors that they are looking for mines to cover important raw material areas themselves.

There are also already collaborations in the 3D printing sector to access the technology when it is ready for the market. At the same time, Tesla's lead in operating systems is to be reduced. To do this, the Company plans to acquire IT companies and hire IT staff. The Company is pushing ahead with the transformation process. It will undoubtedly overtake Tesla in the medium term since production capacity is the big bottleneck at Tesla, and VW can produce completely different quantities.

The share has been trending sideways since mid-March, which is certainly also due to the chip shortage. If this problem is solved, VW is well-positioned. Currently, the preferred share offers about a 2% dividend yield.