Report
Dave Nicoski ...
  • Ross LaDuke
EUR 236.88 For Business Accounts Only

Vermilion Compass: Weekly Equity Strategy

Market rangebound; Upgrading Services

In last week's Compass we made several observations which led us to be cautious. All of the concerning observations have since reversed as the market found support: the U.S. dollar weakened, defensive areas underperformed, cyclical areas held at logical support, high yield spreads narrowed, and the 10-year Treasury yield found support. These positive developments are encouraging, however we believe the market remains rangebound.

• S&P 500 levels. We believe the market remains in purgatory as technical indicators remain mixed. We see the S&P 500 remaining rangebound between support at 2,720-2,730 and resistance at the all-time highs of 2,954.

• 10-year Treasury, high yield spreads reversing course. Last week we highlighted 2.04% as a level where the plunging 10-year Treasury yield had the potential to stabilize, noting it would be consistent with a bounce in the equity market. So far this has played out nicely. Additionally, high yield spreads have narrowed substantially and appear to be reversing course - akin to what happened in late Dec./early Jan. as equities bottomed... see charts below.

• Upgrading Services. RS for our equal-weighted Services Sector is breaking out topside 3.5-year resistance -- overweight/add selective exposure. Actionable stocks highlighted include CLGX, ACM, ARMK, MAN, NCR, and KBR... see pages 2-4. We also highlight attractive Groups and stocks within Services on pages 12-32.

• U.S. dollar (USD) testing major support. The USD has weakened to a critical support level. We continue to believe further weakening may rescue global risk assets by providing a tailwind for EM/foreign equities and the commodity structure... see page 5.

• Foreign markets finding support. Speaking of EM/foreign equities, both developed (EFA) and EM (EEM) are holding at important support levels... see page 5.

• Dr. Copper, Crude oil prices stabilizing. Copper prices remain above key 10-month support in the $2.55-2.60 range and WTI crude oil has found support at $50. Breakdowns below these key levels would be problematic for global equities as it would likely usher in another wave of selling pressure.
Underlyings
Accenture Plc Class A

AECOM

AECOM designs, builds, finances and operates infrastructure assets for governments, businesses and organizations. The company provides: planning, consulting, architectural and engineering design services to commercial and government clients in transportation, facilities, environmental, energy, water and government markets; construction services, including building construction and energy, infrastructure and industrial construction; as well as program and facilities management and maintenance, training, logistics, consulting, technical assistance, and systems integration and information technology services, for agencies of the United States government and for other national governments.

Aramark

Aramark is a provider of food, facilities and uniform services. The company manages its Food and Support Services (FSS) business in segments split between its United States and International operations. The company's FSS segments manage a number of interrelated services-including food, hospitality, procurement and facility services-for school districts, colleges and universities, healthcare facilities, businesses, sports, entertainment and recreational venues, conference and convention centers, national and state parks and correctional institutions. The company's Uniform and Career Apparel segment provides employee uniform solution, including design, sourcing and manufacturing, delivery, cleaning and maintenance.

Automatic Data Processing Inc.

Automatic Data Processing is a provider of cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solutions to employers, providing solutions to businesses of various sizes. The company's two reportable business segments are Employer Services, which provides a range of technology-based HCM solutions, including payroll services, benefits administration, talent management, HR management, workforce management, compliance services, insurance services and retirement services; and Professional Employer Organization, which provides clients with employment administration outsourcing solutions through a relationship in which employees who work for a client are co-employed by the company and the client.

Black Knight Inc.

Black Knight is a provider of software, data and analytics solutions to the mortgage and consumer loan, real estate and capital market verticals. The company's solutions facilitate and automate business processes across the homeownership lifecycle. The company's business is organized into two segments: Software Solutions, which provides software and hosting solutions that facilitate and automate business processes across the homeownership lifecycle; and Data and Analytics, which supports the company's software solutions and is designed to help lenders and servicers make informed decisions, improve performance, identify and predict risk and generate qualified leads.

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation Class A

Booz Allen Hamilton Holding is a holding company. The company provides management and technology consulting, analytics, engineering, digital solutions, mission operations, and cyber knowledge to U.S. and international governments, corporations, and non-profit organizations. The company's services are: Consulting, which focuses on solving client problems and developing mission-oriented solutions; Analytics, which includes decision analytics, automation, and data science solutions; Digital Solutions, which develops, designs, and implements solutions; Engineering, which delivers engineering services and solutions; and Cyber, which focuses on active prevention, detection, and cost effectiveness.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc.

Broadridge Financial Solutions is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions to financial services clients. The company's services include investor communications, securities processing, data and analytics, and customer communications solutions. The company has two segments: Investor Communication Solutions, which involves the processing and distribution of proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as the facilitation of related vote processing; and Global Technology and Operations, which provides securities processing solutions for capital markets, wealth management, and asset management firms.

CACI International Inc Class A

CACI International is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is a provider of information solutions and services to the United States government. The company's information solutions and services support national security missions and government modernization/transformation for intelligence, defense, and federal civilian customers. The company provides its services and solutions to its domestic customers in the following market areas, among others: business systems, command and control, communications, cyber security, enterprise information technology (IT), health, and intelligence services. The company's international operations provide a mix of IT services and proprietary data and software products.

CGI Inc. Class A

CGI Group is engaged in managing information technology services, including outsourcing, systems integration and consulting, software licenses and maintenance, as well as business process services to help clients realize their strategies and create added value.

CoreLogic Inc.

CoreLogic is an information, analytics, data-enabled software platforms, and services provider. The company providesdatabase covering real property and mortgage information, judgments and liens, building and replacement costs, parcel and geospatial data, criminal background records, and eviction information, among other data types. The company's segments are: Property Intelligence and Risk Management Solutions, which delivers housing market and property-level insights, predictive analytics and risk management capabilities; and Underwriting and Workflow Solutions, which provides mortgage origination and monitoring solutions, including underwriting-related solutions and data-enabled valuations and appraisal.

EPAM Systems Inc.

Epam Systems is a provider of software product development and digital platform engineering services to customers located around the world, primarily in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company's industry services include financial services, travel and consumer, software and hi-tech, business information and media, life sciences and healthcare, as well as other industries.

Equinix Inc.

Equinix provides colocation space and related offerings. The company operates International Business Exchange? (IBX?) data centers across the Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia-Pacific geographic regions where customers directly interconnect with a network ecosystem of partners and customers. The company's data center solutions include IBX Data Centers and xScale Data Centers. The company's Interconnection Solution connect businesses within and between its data centers across its global platform. The company's edge services help businesses deploy as-a-service networking, security and hardware across its data center footprint, as an alternative to buying, owning and managing the physical infrastructure.

Euronet Worldwide Inc.

Euronet Worldwide is an electronic payments provider. The company provides payment and transaction processing and distribution solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. The company operates three segments: Electronic Financial Transaction Processing, which processes transactions for a network of automated teller machines and point-of-sale terminals; epay, which provides distribution and processing of prepaid mobile airtime and other electronic content and payment processing services for various prepaid products, cards and services; and Money Transfer, which provides consumer-to-consumer and global account-to-account money transfer services.

Fidelity National Information Services Inc.

Fidelity National Information Services is a provider of technology solutions for merchants, banks, and capital markets firms globally. The company's solutions include merchant acquiring solutions; payment solutions; global eCommerce solutions; processing and ancillary applications solutions; digital solutions; fraud, risk management and compliance solutions; electronic funds transfer and network services solutions; card and retail payment solutions; wealth and retirement solutions; item processing and output services solutions; securities processing and finance solutions; global trading solutions; asset management and insurance solutions; and corporate liquidity solutions.

First Data Corporation Class A

First Data engages in commerce-enabling technology and solutions for merchants, financial institutions, and card issuers. The company's segments are: Global Business Solutions, which provides retail point-of-sale (POS) merchant acquiring and eCommerce services as well as offerings such as mobile payment services and cloud-based Clover POS operating system; Global Financial Solutions, which provides credit, retail private-label, commercial card as well as licensed financial software systems; and Network & Security Solutions, which provides electronic funds transfer network solutions, debit card processing solutions, stored value network solutions, and security and fraud solutions.

Fiserv Inc.

Fiserv is a provider of financial services technology. The company provides account processing systems, electronic payments processing products and services, internet and mobile banking systems, and related services. The company's segments are: First Data, which provides merchant acquiring, e-commerce, mobile commerce, and other business solutions; Payments and Industry Products, which provides electronic bill payment and presentment services, internet and mobile banking software; and Financial Institution Services, which provides financial institutions with account processing services, item processing and source capture services, loan origination and servicing products, and cash management, among others.

FLEETCOR Technologies Inc.

FleetCor Technologies is provider of commercial payment solutions. The company's five primary product lines are Fuel, which provides fuel payment solutions to businesses and government entities who operate vehicle fleets, as well as to main oil companies;Lodging, which provides lodging payment solutions to employees who travel overnight for work purposes; Tolls, which provides an electronic toll and parking payments product; Corporate Payments, which include virtual cards, purchasing cards, travel and entertainment cards; and Gift, which provides gift card product management and processing services. Additionally, the company provides other payment products including fleet maintenance and employee benefits.

Gartner Inc.

Gartner is a research and advisory company. The company's principal products and services are delivered through its three business segments: Research, which provides insights and advice across various functional areas of the enterprise through research, briefings, proprietary tools, access to the company's research personnel, peer networking services and membership programs; Conferences, which provides business personnel across an organization the opportunity to learn, share and network; and Consulting, which helps chief information officers and other senior executives driving technology-related strategic initiatives move from insight to action.

GDS Holdings Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A

Genpact Limited

Global Payments Inc.

Global Payments is a pure play payment technology company providing payments and software solutions to merchants and financial institutions. The company has three segments: Merchant Solutions, which includes authorization services, chargeback resolution, and payment security services; Issuer Solutions, which provides solutions that enable financial institutions and other financial service providers to manage their card portfolios and reduces technical difficulty and overhead on a single platform; and Business and Consumer Solutions, which provides general purpose reloadable prepaid debit and payroll cards, demand deposit accounts and other financial service solutions through its Netspend? brand.

Globant SA

Infosys Limited ADS

Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

iShares Trust MSCI EAFE Index Fund

KBR Inc.

KBR provides services and technologies across the asset and program life-cycle within the government services and hydrocarbons industries. The company has three segments: Government Solutions, which provides life-cycle support solutions to defense, space, aviation and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies; Technology Solutions, which combines technologies, equipment and catalyst supply, digital solutions and associated knowledge-based services into a global business for refining, petrochemicals, inorganic and specialty chemicals; and Energy Solutions, which provides life-cycle support solutions across the upstream, midstream and downstream hydrocarbons markets.

Leidos Holdings Inc.

Leidos Holdings is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged in a science, engineering and information technology that provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil and health markets. The company's defense solutions segment deploys solutions in the areas of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance, enterprise information technology, integrated systems, cybersecurity and global services. The company's civil segment integrates and protects physical, digital and data domains. The company's health segment delivers solutions to federal and commercial customers that are responsible for the health and well-being of people including service members and veterans.

LiveRamp Holdings Inc.

LiveRamp Holdings is a global technology company. The company provides enterprise customer management platform that help organizations utilize customer data to deliver products and experiences. A main component of the company's platform is the omnichannel, deterministic identity graph. Utilizing the company's identity graph, the LiveRamp platform resolves a customer's data (first-, second-, or third-party) to consumer identifiers that represent real people in a way that protects consumer privacy.

MANPOWERGROUP

ManpowerGroup provides a range of workforce solutions and services, which include recruitment and assessment, training and development, career management, outsourcing, and workforce consulting. The company's family of brands and offerings includes Manpower, Experis, Right Management, and ManpowerGroup Solutions. The company's portfolio of recruitment services includes permanent, temporary and contract recruitment of professionals, as well as administrative and industrial positions. All of these services are provided under its Manpower and Experis brands. The company provides services under its Experis brand, particularly in the areas of Information Technology, Engineering, and Finance.

MASTERCARD INCORPORATED

Mastercard is a technology company in the global payments industry. The company's solutions enabling consumers to use electronic forms of payment instead of cash and checks. The company provides a range of payment solutions and services using its brands, including Mastercard?, Maestro? and Cirrus?. The company is a multi-rail network that provides customers one partner to turn to for their domestic and cross-border payment needs. The company has additional payment capabilities that include automated clearing house transactions. The company also provides offerings such as cyber and intelligence products, information and analytics services, consulting, loyalty and reward programs and processing.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

MAXIMUS Inc.

MAXIMUS is an operator of government health and human services programs worldwide. The company's segments are: United States Health and Human Services, which provides a variety of business process services such as program administration, appeals and assessments work and related consulting work; United States Federal Services, which provides program administration, appeals and assessments services and technology solutions, including system and software development and maintenance services; and Outside the United States, which provides business process services solutions for governments and commercial clients in geographies beyond the United States, including health and disability assessments.

NCR Corporation

NCR is a software- and services-led enterprise provider in the financial, retail, hospitality and telecommunications and technology industries. The company is an enterprise provider selling a portfolio of digital first software, services, hardware and payments. The company's segments include: Banking, which includes automated teller machines and payment processing hardware and software; Retail, which provides solutions that primarily include retail-oriented technologies, such as point of sale (POS) terminals and POS software; Hospitality, which provides solutions that include POS hardware and software solutions; and Other, which includes telecommunications and technology solutions.

Paychex Inc.

Paychex is a provider of integrated human capital management (HCM) solutions for payroll, benefits, human resource (HR), and insurance services for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company's portfolio of HCM and employee benefit-related services include: payroll processing services; payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; regulatory compliance services (new-hire reporting and garnishment processing); HR Solutions Administrative Services Organization; retirement services administration; HR administration services, including time and attendance; other HR services and products; business services; Professional Employer Organization services; and insurance services.

PayPal Holdings Inc

PayPal Holdings is a technology platform and digital payments company that enables digital and mobile payments on behalf of consumers and merchants worldwide. The company's combined payment solutions include its PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom and iZettle products and services. PayPal's payment solutions enable the company's customers to send and receive payments. PayPal helps merchants and consumers connect, transact, and complete payments, whether they are online, on a mobile device, in an app, or in person. The company provides proprietary payment solutions accepted by merchants that enable the completion of payments on the company's Payments Platform on behalf of its customers.

Science Applications International Corp.

Science Applications International provides technical, engineering and enterprise information technology (IT) services. The company provides engineering, systems integration and information technology offerings for government projects and provides a range of services with an emphasis on differentiated technology services. The company's offerings include: engineering; technology and equipment platform integration; maintenance of ground and maritime systems; logistics; training and simulation; operation and program support services; and end-to-end services spanning the design, development, integration, deployment, management and operations, sustainment and security of its customers' entire IT infrastructure.

Select Sector SPDR-Industrial

SPDR KBW Bank ETF

Switch

Switch is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged in technology infrastructure powering the sustainable growth of the connected world and the Internet of Everything. The company provides colocation space and related services to global enterprises, financial companies, government agencies, and others that conduct business on the internet. The company develops and operates data centers in Nevada, which are Tier IV Gold certified, and Michigan, and is developing data centers in Georgia, delivering redundant services with low latency and capacity transport environments.

Total System Services Inc.

Total System Services is a payment solutions provider that provides payment processing services, merchant services and related payment services to financial and nonfinancial institutions. In addition, the company provides general purpose reloadable prepaid and payroll cards, demand deposit accounts and other financial service solutions to the underbanked and other consumers and businesses. The services the company provides are divided into three operating segments: Issuer Solutions, whereby the company is a third party processor for credit card issuers in North America and Europe; Merchant Solutions, whereby the company operates as a merchant acquirer; and Consumer Solutions, whereby the company is a prepaid program manager.

Visa Inc. Class A

Visa is engaged in digital payments. The company facilitates payments between consumers and businesses. The company is focused on its proprietary network, VisaNet, to provide products and services. The company provides a portfolio of business payment solutions, including small business, corporate (travel) cards, purchasing cards, virtual cards/digital credentials, non-card cross-border business-to-business payment options and disbursement accounts, covering various main industry segments around the world. The company also provides several capabilities and services, including fraud prevention and security, processing, loyalty, merchant and digital solutions, consulting and data solutions.

Western Union Company

Western Union is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company is engaged in money movement and payment services, providing people and businesses with ways to send money and make payments around the world. The company's segments are: Consumer-to-Consumer, which is focused on individual money transfers from one consumer to another; and Business Solutions, in which the company facilitates payment and foreign exchange solutions, primarily cross-border, cross-currency transactions, for small and medium size enterprises and other organizations and individuals. The company's remaining businesses and services include its electronic-based and cash-based bill payment services.

WEX INC

Wex is a provider of corporate card payment solutions. The company operates in three business segments: Fleet Solutions, which provides payment, transaction processing and information management services specifically designed for the needs of commercial and government fleets; Travel and Corporate Solutions, which focuses on the payment environment of business-to-business payments, providing customers with payment processing solutions for their corporate payment and transaction monitoring needs; and Health and Employee Benefit Solutions, which provides a software-as-a-service platform for consumer directed healthcare payments, as well as payroll related benefits to customers in Brazil.

WIPRO LTD

Worldpay Inc. Class A

Worldpay is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides electronic payment processing services to merchants and financial institutions. The company operates two segments: Merchant Services, which provides merchant acquiring and payment processing services to national merchants, regional and small-to-mid sized businesses; and Financial Institution Services, which provides card issuer processing, payment network processing, fraud protection, card production, prepaid program management, automated teller machine driving and network gateway and switching services that utilize the company's proprietary Jeanie debit payment network to a set of financial institutions.

Provider
Vermilion Research
Vermilion Research

Vermilion Research delivers timely, actionable, and unique research inputs to professional investors. Our research strategists highlight securities which we believe are at major inflection points, based on our various proprietary technical indicators, and offer asymmetric risk/return profiles. We believe our research methodology, which is not limited by industry sector or market capitalization, enables us to deliver superior investment recommendations.

Our process begins by organizing all actively traded stocks into coherent sectors, then into logical industry groups. We then apply our proprietary relative strength tools to identify developing price trends. Once attractive trends are identified within a selected sectors or groups, we screen for individual stocks which we believe offer the best risk/reward profile. Vermilion offers U.S. and global equity market research products. Vermilion’s research team, which has received numerous awards and accolades, has a combined 70 year of experience in the analysis of investment securities.

Analysts
Dave Nicoski

Ross LaDuke

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