wallstreet:online, Palantir, TUI, Lufthansa - Digitization on the move!

wallstreet:online AG - The spider in the web of financial information

The wallstreet:online Group, with its nearly 200 employees, has long since ceased to be a pure financial information Company. Over the last 10 years, it has invested heavily in digitization and modernization. Today, in addition to the well-known platforms wallstreet-online.de, BoersenNews.de, FinanzNachrichten.de and ARIVA.de, the Company also hosts the renowned Smart Investor, a print magazine for the advanced and critical investor. With around 350 million page impressions, the Group is the largest publisher-independent financial portal operator in the German-speaking world and the No. 1 among financial communities.

At the end of February, there were figures for 2020 and an outlook for the current year. Fans of the W:O share will be looking in particular at the prospects of the new broker platform Smartbroker because here, there was a considerable expansion step into the future by integrating Volkswagen Bank's customers. Revenues amounted to around EUR 28 million in 2020, with the core "Portal Business" division growing by a good 25%. On an adjusted EBITDA basis, operating profit was EUR 4.3 million, which was in the middle of expectations.

Admittedly, a lot of money was invested last year; otherwise, EBITDA would have been EUR 7.6 million higher. The start-up costs of wallstreet:online capital AG contributed approx. EUR -0.1 million to the Group result, the sale of the investment in Trade Republic GmbH generated a profit of EUR 2.7 million. All in all, a round story.

The management highlighted the successes in digitization and the quality of financial information regarding private pensions in an environment of low interest rates. It will be possible to significantly increase profitability in the medium term, also through advertising revenues. However, the figures will be driven by the new "Smartbroker" business area; the Company now wants to transform itself into an online broker with an integrated financial community. For 2021, the Company is targeting sales of EUR 45 to 50 million. The W:O share shot up to a fabulous EUR 29.70 in February. Some normality is returning, as a capitalization of EUR 262 million is still double what it was in October 2020. Buy back in strategically between EUR 16-20. The story is exciting in the medium term!

Palantir Technologies - Strong correction from the high

Palantir Technologies recently experienced a real sell-off. The share plummeted from a high of USD 45 to below USD 22 and is now consolidating at a lower level. CEO Alex Karp, who at times warned against too much euphoria in his stock, was undoubtedly to blame. Investors followed his comments and sold. After all, Palantir had only come to the market in the fall of 2020 at USD 7.50. At that time, the data specialist from the USA made a brilliant start on the stock market.

However, Palantir is being eyed very critically, as the SAAS business model essentially involves collecting and analyzing highly sensitive personal data. As this is highly relevant for international intelligence services, the US military and the British government have also been major customers for several years. For European data protectionists, Palantir is already seen as the precursor to China's surveillance policy.

But Palantir is a digital Company par excellence. With a projected growth of over 30% per year in 2021/2022, the high valuation is justifiable in the context of prominent Nasdaq technology stocks. The only thing is that there should be no negative surprises!

TUI AG - Back and forth in the lockdown

TUI AG is being shaken back and forth in the political decision-making on German vacation planning for the summer. In one week, one may book vacations, and in the other, vacations must be canceled. Blind actionism in the pandemic shows the helplessness of those in power to announce the suitable measures.

The end of the story is incalculable volatility in rules and regulations for foreign travel, a nightmare for the TUI share fans. It was first pulled upwards over EUR 5 by the positive Majorca vote, then the multiple obstacles to a carefree summer vacation caused a renewed slump to EUR 4. Defacto, the share is a fundamental bet on future booking and revenue flows in Europe. As long as the virus leads to significant restrictions here and the vaccination rate does not get off the ground administratively, the stock's risk remains considerable. Speculative value with a digital outcome: Hop or Top!

Lufthansa - Not out of the woods yet

A digital result is also on the cards at Lufthansa because what applies to TUI may also become decisive for the airlines. After months of gloom, the cash registers of Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings rang thanks to spontaneous bookings by vacation-hungry citizens again. The increased number of flights to Mallorca sold like hotcakes at significantly higher prices. Time will tell whether the calculation works out because the RKI can declare Majorca a risk area again at any time. In that case, many bookings could not be made due to the subsequent quarantine obligation.

The current uncertainties prove that the airline industry still has a hairy road back to normality ahead of it. Lufthansa will not get another government package and has to live with a current load factor of about 50% despite a significantly reduced offer, and the operating losses are considerable. If the summer allows us all to travel, the Kranich share will take off again. However, from a chart perspective, the share price should not fall below EUR 9.50 before then; otherwise, there is a threat of trouble.