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Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Sony Group Corporation (SONY) the Best Japanese Stock to Buy in 2025?
We recently compiled a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) stands against the other Japanese stocks. As the dangers of natural disasters increase and the expenses of social security continue to rise, the International Monetary Fund says Japan has to take quick action to strengthen its fiscal situation. The IMF's warning comes as Japan increases spending to meet a wide range of requirements, from initiatives to improve the birth rate to strengthening national security. This occurs concurrently with its borrowing costs gradually increasing due to rate rises by the Bank of Japan in the past year. Japan already has the highest amount of public debt of any major country. According to a Finance Ministry estimate released this January, the nation's debt payment expenses are expected to increase by 25% by fiscal year 2028 compared to the previous year, assuming a 3% annual economic growth rate and 2% inflation. Overall, the IMF forecasts that Japan's public debt will be 232.7% of GDP this year. In addition, at its January 24 meeting, the Bank of Japan voted to boost interest rates to 0.50%, the highest level in seventeen years. The current approach comes after decades of the BOJ's efforts to normalize interest rates. Despite the increasing balance sheet risk, the bank may be pushed to hike interest rates further if it observes a "virtuous cycle" of rising prices and rising wages, with board member Naoki Tamura stating that raising short-term interest rates to "at least around 1%" by the second half of fiscal year 2025 is "necessary". According to a Statistics Bureau of Japan estimate, average household expenditure in Japan in December was 352,633 yen ($2,332), up 7% in nominal terms from the previous year. In addition, Reuters revealed that Japanese household spending rose year-over-year in December 2024 for the first time in five months, and at a far faster rate than expected. However, the Japanese government notes that it was premature to call a bottoming out in the decreasing trend in consumption. Consumer expenditure also grew 2.7% in the same month compared to the previous year, above the median market forecast of 0.5% growth. The current environment around Japanese markets is one of concern and relief, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump's threats to impose retaliatory tariffs on "everyone" have served as a harsh reminder of the dangers that all of America's trading partners, including Japan, face. With Trump aiming to reduce his country's trade imbalance with Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to purchase more American LNG and disclosed plans for manufacturers such as Toyota and Isuzu Motors to invest more in the United States at their summit meeting on February 7. Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier in Singapore, had the following to say about the meeting: "The friendly tone and substance of the summit, especially in regard to Japan's high profile investment in the U.S. steel sector, should provide a modest relief to Japanese investors.' For this list, we compiled a list of US-listed Japanese stocks using stock screeners. We then chose the best Japanese stocks based on overall hedge fund sentiment toward each stock. We have assessed the hedge fund sentiment from Insider Monkey's database of 900 elite hedge funds tracked as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. The list is arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders in each company. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A team of content creators using the latest devices and software to produce high-quality animation and motion pictures. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21 Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) is a Japanese global company with a wide portfolio that includes electronics, gaming, entertainment, and financial services. The firm uses technical innovation, as well as the appeal of its intellectual assets, to drive growth in its main segments. On January 29, Citi analyst Kota Ezawa confirmed his neutral rating on Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY), keeping a price target of JPY2,800. The statement comes following Sony's announcement of a shift in its management structure, which will take effect on April 1. Sony revealed its new management team, with Hiroki Totoki, the current president, COO, and CFO, taking on the role of CEO. This is seen as a potentially pivotal move, with the new CEO expected to drive additional development in electric cars. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) reported a 2% increase in revenues and a 6% increase in net profit. Sony's adjusted EBITDA increased by 42% year-over-year despite a 22% drop in PlayStation 5 sales, thanks to higher-than-expected sales of third-party titles. According to Insider Monkey's data, 21 hedge funds held stakes in Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) as of the end of Q3 2024. Aristotle International Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) in its Q4 2024 investor letter: 'Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY), the global provider of videogames and consoles, image sensors, music, and movies, was a top contributor for the period. The company reported strong results driven by third-party gaming revenue and record PlayStation 5 console profitability. This was achieved despite lower console sales, which, in our view, exemplifies the strength of PlayStation's network effects. PlayStation is the world's largest gaming platform with 116 million monthly active users, making it an attractive market for game developers and allowing users to play the most advanced games at lower costs than PCs. In its Pictures segment, Crunchyroll (the anime business Sony acquired from AT&T in 2020) signed a distribution agreement with YouTube Primetime Channels, the market share leader in streaming services, which we believe will increase Crunchyroll's subscriber base. Though a singular example, it illustrates management's ability to better execute and further improve the segment's profitability, a catalyst we previously identified. In addition, Sony reported improved sales of image sensors for mobile products as the global smartphone market continued its gradual recovery. Sony's image sensor business has the largest global market share, and we believe, longer term, it is uniquely positioned to benefit from increasing demand for both autonomous driving technology in vehicles and improved image quality in smartphone cameras. As such, we continue to admire Sony's capacity to build on its industry leadership and optimize its operations, which includes its plan for a partial spinoff of its Financial Services segment in October 2025.' Overall SONY ranks 1st on our list of the best Japanese stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of SONY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than SONY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Asset Managers Most Bullish on Yen Since 2021 on BOJ Hike Bets
(Bloomberg) -- Institutional investors turned the most positive on the yen since March 2021 as speculation mounts that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates again. Progressive Portland Plots a Comeback Why Barcelona Bought the Building That Symbolizes Its Housing Crisis A Filmmaker's Surreal Journey Into His Own Private Winnipeg How to Build a Neurodiverse City SpaceX Bid to Turn Texas Starbase Into City Is Set for Vote in May Asset managers' net long positions for the yen reached the highest in about four years, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data covering the week ended Feb. 11. The figures emerge as overnight index swaps show a more than 80% chance of a rate hike by the BOJ by July, with a certainty priced in by September. The Japanese currency has gained 0.2% to 152.06 per dollar at 9:29 a.m. in Tokyo. Earlier this month, the BOJ's most hawkish board member Naoki Tamura flagged the need for two or more interest rate hikes by early next year, and nominal wages in December also jumped by the most in nearly three decades. In the US, retail sales fell in January, reviving bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts and pointing to a further narrowing of the yield gap between the US and Japan. 'Asset managers started to think the BOJ's hiking appetite is stronger than initially thought,' said Shoki Omori, chief global desk strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. 'Many expected a terminal rate of 1%, but people started to fear rates expectations going higher than 1% more quickly than expected.' The yen has been the best performer against the dollar this year among its Group-of-10 peers, a contrast to its consecutive declines over the past four years. Still, the yen faces headwinds from Japan's retail investors who are hungry for overseas stocks, as well as the nation's negative real interest rates. The Undocumented Workers Who Helped Build Elon Musk's Texas Gigafactory The Unicorn Boom Is Over, and Startups Are Getting Desperate Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? The NBA Has Fallen Into an Efficiency Trap How Silicon Valley Swung From Obama to Trump ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) the Best Japanese Stock to Buy in 2025?
We recently compiled a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) stands against the other Japanese stocks. As the dangers of natural disasters increase and the expenses of social security continue to rise, the International Monetary Fund says Japan has to take quick action to strengthen its fiscal situation. The IMF's warning comes as Japan increases spending to meet a wide range of requirements, from initiatives to improve the birth rate to strengthening national security. This occurs concurrently with its borrowing costs gradually increasing due to rate rises by the Bank of Japan in the past year. Japan already has the highest amount of public debt of any major country. According to a Finance Ministry estimate released this January, the nation's debt payment expenses are expected to increase by 25% by fiscal year 2028 compared to the previous year, assuming a 3% annual economic growth rate and 2% inflation. Overall, the IMF forecasts that Japan's public debt will be 232.7% of GDP this year. In addition, at its January 24 meeting, the Bank of Japan voted to boost interest rates to 0.50%, the highest level in seventeen years. The current approach comes after decades of the BOJ's efforts to normalize interest rates. Despite the increasing balance sheet risk, the bank may be pushed to hike interest rates further if it observes a "virtuous cycle" of rising prices and rising wages, with board member Naoki Tamura stating that raising short-term interest rates to "at least around 1%" by the second half of fiscal year 2025 is "necessary". According to a Statistics Bureau of Japan estimate, average household expenditure in Japan in December was 352,633 yen ($2,332), up 7% in nominal terms from the previous year. In addition, Reuters revealed that Japanese household spending rose year-over-year in December 2024 for the first time in five months, and at a far faster rate than expected. However, the Japanese government notes that it was premature to call a bottoming out in the decreasing trend in consumption. Consumer expenditure also grew 2.7% in the same month compared to the previous year, above the median market forecast of 0.5% growth. The current environment around Japanese markets is one of concern and relief, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump's threats to impose retaliatory tariffs on "everyone" have served as a harsh reminder of the dangers that all of America's trading partners, including Japan, face. With Trump aiming to reduce his country's trade imbalance with Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to purchase more American LNG and disclosed plans for manufacturers such as Toyota and Isuzu Motors to invest more in the United States at their summit meeting on February 7. Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier in Singapore, had the following to say about the meeting: "The friendly tone and substance of the summit, especially in regard to Japan's high profile investment in the U.S. steel sector, should provide a modest relief to Japanese investors.' For this list, we compiled a list of US-listed Japanese stocks using stock screeners. We then chose the best Japanese stocks based on overall hedge fund sentiment toward each stock. We have assessed the hedge fund sentiment from Insider Monkey's database of 900 elite hedge funds tracked as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. The list is arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders in each company. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). Workers assembling a car in a modern manufacturing plant, emphasizing the company's sense of Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), the world's largest carmaker in terms of sales volume, designs, produces, assembles, and distributes passenger cars, minivans, commercial vehicles, and associated parts and accessories worldwide. Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) saw its operating profit fall roughly 28% year-on-year in the third quarter that ended December 2024. Toyota's operating profit fell for the second straight year, following a 20% drop in the preceding quarter. However, net income attributable to the company increased to 2.19 trillion yen from 1.36 trillion yen the previous year. In addition, the company maintained its full-year dividend prediction at 90 yen, up from 75 yen last year, while increasing its operating income forecast by 400 billion yen to 4.7 trillion yen for the fiscal year. Moreover, the company plans to build a completely owned firm in Shanghai to research and manufacture electric vehicles and batteries for the Lexus brand, with production scheduled to begin in 2027. Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) claimed the unit will create a new Lexus EV with an initial manufacturing capacity of roughly 100,000 units per year. As of Q3 2024, 18 hedge funds held stakes in Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM), up from 14 in the previous quarter. Overall TM ranks 2nd on our list of the best Japanese stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of TM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (MFG) the Best Japanese Stock to Buy in 2025?
We recently compiled a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) stands against the other Japanese stocks. As the dangers of natural disasters increase and the expenses of social security continue to rise, the International Monetary Fund says Japan has to take quick action to strengthen its fiscal situation. The IMF's warning comes as Japan increases spending to meet a wide range of requirements, from initiatives to improve the birth rate to strengthening national security. This occurs concurrently with its borrowing costs gradually increasing due to rate rises by the Bank of Japan in the past year. Japan already has the highest amount of public debt of any major country. According to a Finance Ministry estimate released this January, the nation's debt payment expenses are expected to increase by 25% by fiscal year 2028 compared to the previous year, assuming a 3% annual economic growth rate and 2% inflation. Overall, the IMF forecasts that Japan's public debt will be 232.7% of GDP this year. In addition, at its January 24 meeting, the Bank of Japan voted to boost interest rates to 0.50%, the highest level in seventeen years. The current approach comes after decades of the BOJ's efforts to normalize interest rates. Despite the increasing balance sheet risk, the bank may be pushed to hike interest rates further if it observes a "virtuous cycle" of rising prices and rising wages, with board member Naoki Tamura stating that raising short-term interest rates to "at least around 1%" by the second half of fiscal year 2025 is "necessary". According to a Statistics Bureau of Japan estimate, average household expenditure in Japan in December was 352,633 yen ($2,332), up 7% in nominal terms from the previous year. In addition, Reuters revealed that Japanese household spending rose year-over-year in December 2024 for the first time in five months, and at a far faster rate than expected. However, the Japanese government notes that it was premature to call a bottoming out in the decreasing trend in consumption. Consumer expenditure also grew 2.7% in the same month compared to the previous year, above the median market forecast of 0.5% growth. The current environment around Japanese markets is one of concern and relief, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump's threats to impose retaliatory tariffs on "everyone" have served as a harsh reminder of the dangers that all of America's trading partners, including Japan, face. With Trump aiming to reduce his country's trade imbalance with Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to purchase more American LNG and disclosed plans for manufacturers such as Toyota and Isuzu Motors to invest more in the United States at their summit meeting on February 7. Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier in Singapore, had the following to say about the meeting: "The friendly tone and substance of the summit, especially in regard to Japan's high profile investment in the U.S. steel sector, should provide a modest relief to Japanese investors.' For this list, we compiled a list of US-listed Japanese stocks using stock screeners. We then chose the best Japanese stocks based on overall hedge fund sentiment toward each stock. We have assessed the hedge fund sentiment from Insider Monkey's database of 900 elite hedge funds tracked as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. The list is arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders in each company. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A portfolio manager scanning the stock market numbers projected on a large wall monitor. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 11 The parent company of Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) is a bank holding company that offers retail banking, corporate banking, investment banking, and asset management services. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) reported a notable increase in key financial measurements in its earnings report for the third quarter of 2024. The company's ordinary income climbed by 14.8% to JPY 7,073,521 million, ordinary profits increased by 27.6% to JPY 1,126,538 million, and profit attributable to parent shareholders increased by an impressive 33.1% to JPY 855,374 million. In addition, Mizuho's earnings per share grew from JPY 253.41 in the previous year to JPY 337.64. Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG) took a minority stake in Golub Capital, a U.S private lending company, back in late 2024. With this move, Mizuho will not only strengthen its place in the credit markets business in the U.S., but also become the first shareholder of a private credit asset management firm in the country. According to Insider Monkey's database for Q3 2024, 11 hedge funds held a stake in Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MFG). Overall MFG ranks 8th on our list of the best Japanese stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of MFG as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MFG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TAK) the Best Japanese Stock to Buy in 2025?
We recently compiled a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) stands against the other Japanese stocks. As the dangers of natural disasters increase and the expenses of social security continue to rise, the International Monetary Fund says Japan has to take quick action to strengthen its fiscal situation. The IMF's warning comes as Japan increases spending to meet a wide range of requirements, from initiatives to improve the birth rate to strengthening national security. This occurs concurrently with its borrowing costs gradually increasing due to rate rises by the Bank of Japan in the past year. Japan already has the highest amount of public debt of any major country. According to a Finance Ministry estimate released this January, the nation's debt payment expenses are expected to increase by 25% by fiscal year 2028 compared to the previous year, assuming a 3% annual economic growth rate and 2% inflation. Overall, the IMF forecasts that Japan's public debt will be 232.7% of GDP this year. In addition, at its January 24 meeting, the Bank of Japan voted to boost interest rates to 0.50%, the highest level in seventeen years. The current approach comes after decades of the BOJ's efforts to normalize interest rates. Despite the increasing balance sheet risk, the bank may be pushed to hike interest rates further if it observes a "virtuous cycle" of rising prices and rising wages, with board member Naoki Tamura stating that raising short-term interest rates to "at least around 1%" by the second half of fiscal year 2025 is "necessary". According to a Statistics Bureau of Japan estimate, average household expenditure in Japan in December was 352,633 yen ($2,332), up 7% in nominal terms from the previous year. In addition, Reuters revealed that Japanese household spending rose year-over-year in December 2024 for the first time in five months, and at a far faster rate than expected. However, the Japanese government notes that it was premature to call a bottoming out in the decreasing trend in consumption. Consumer expenditure also grew 2.7% in the same month compared to the previous year, above the median market forecast of 0.5% growth. The current environment around Japanese markets is one of concern and relief, especially after U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Trump's threats to impose retaliatory tariffs on "everyone" have served as a harsh reminder of the dangers that all of America's trading partners, including Japan, face. With Trump aiming to reduce his country's trade imbalance with Japan, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to purchase more American LNG and disclosed plans for manufacturers such as Toyota and Isuzu Motors to invest more in the United States at their summit meeting on February 7. Homin Lee, senior macro strategist at Lombard Odier in Singapore, had the following to say about the meeting: "The friendly tone and substance of the summit, especially in regard to Japan's high profile investment in the U.S. steel sector, should provide a modest relief to Japanese investors.' For this list, we compiled a list of US-listed Japanese stocks using stock screeners. We then chose the best Japanese stocks based on overall hedge fund sentiment toward each stock. We have assessed the hedge fund sentiment from Insider Monkey's database of 900 elite hedge funds tracked as of the end of the third quarter of 2024. The list is arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders in each company. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A scientist studying a DNA sample under a microscope in a laboratory. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 12 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK), a global pharmaceutical firm, conducts research, development, manufacturing, marketing, and out-licensing of pharmaceutical products. The company focuses on a wide range of therapeutic areas, including cancer, uncommon illnesses, and gastrointestinal. Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK) has upgraded its fiscal year 2024 financial estimate, anticipating a 2.5% increase in revenues to JPY 4,590.0 billion on account of favorable foreign exchange rates, strong business growth, and slower generic erosion of VYVANSE in the United States. It is expected that net profit will improve by 73.5% to JPY 118 billion while operating profit will rise by 29.8% to JPY 344 billion. According to Insider Monkey's Q3 database, 12 hedge funds were bullish on Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (NYSE:TAK), an increase from 10 funds in the last quarter. Israel Englander's Millennium Management is the leading stakeholder of the company. Overall TAK ranks 6th on our list of the best Japanese stocks to buy. While we acknowledge the potential of TAK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TAK but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
