Institutional Research

BofA argues that AI agents could gradually make excess cash more mobile and raise banks' funding costs. Early Muse adoption demonstrates consumer interest, but the report says bank disruption is unproven until deposit costs and deposit betas accelerate.

• Muse had about 2.5 million cumulative US downloads and about 557,000 daily active users as of September 19.
• The report considers AI-driven deposit disruption evolutionary rather than imminent because trust, privacy and account-access concerns slow adoption.
• The key evidence would be higher deposit costs, lower non-interest-bearing balances and deposit betas above normal rate-cycle or competitive effects.
• Banks with integrated banking, brokerage and wealth ecosystems may be better able to retain customer assets through internal balance optimization.

Morgan Stanley’s September Asia marketing trip found greater interest in the defensive qualities of food-sector earnings as investors reassess an AI-led market, yen appreciation and a food consumption-tax cut. Discussions nevertheless highlighted divergent views on US demand, pricing, valuations and domestic consumption risks.

• Investor interest in food has risen since Morgan Stanley’s March visits.
• The report expects only limited earnings impact from the recent modest yen appreciation.
• Kikkoman drew broad investor optimism for US execution, potential 2026 second-half price increases and overseas expansion.
• Weak US demand remains a concern for instant-noodle makers after new production-line start-ups.
• Morgan Stanley notes near-term risks from Middle East effects on July-September results and adverse summer weather.

Morgan Stanley identifies ServiceTitan, CCC Intelligent Solutions and Via Transportation as the most directly exposed beneficiaries of consumer agents. The thesis is conceptual and early-stage rather than supported by observed operating results.

• ServiceTitan could gain through higher local-services bookings and GTV.
• CCC could benefit if agents help convert currently unreported accidents into insurance claims.
• Via could gain from improved discovery of microtransit, potentially supporting government spending on vehicles and service hours.
• Morgan Stanley states there is no evidence yet that consumer agents are affecting these companies.

Morgan Stanley argues that Muse and Instinct could create more business interactions, transactions, and demand for supporting software infrastructure. The opportunity is more compelling over the medium term than as an immediate earnings catalyst.

• Consumer agents could increase inquiries, calls, authentication messages, reservations, and follow-up communications.
• Twilio has the broadest communications exposure through usage-based connectivity and software attachment.
• Wix has more direct exposure than GoDaddy to transaction-enabling business infrastructure.
• Shopify is positioned as agentic-commerce infrastructure through its catalog, storefront, and transaction-standard layers.
• The report does not expect the theme to create near-term estimate upside or a Q3 catalyst.

Morgan Stanley argues that Expedia's first major OTA partnership with Meta's Muse could push Booking and Airbnb toward similar integrations as agentic travel changes where discovery and booking occur. The report sees Meta moving closer to transaction monetization and views Instacart's Muse integration as a potential share-gain opportunity, while retaining differing views across the covered stocks.

• Expedia becomes Muse's first major online-travel-agency partner, enabling travel planning and booking within Muse.
• The partnership could make participation in horizontal AI agents increasingly necessary for Booking and Airbnb.
• Airbnb may face the greatest direct-traffic risk because about 90% of its platform traffic is direct.
• Meta could move from travel inspiration toward transaction dollars and commissions.
• Instacart's grocery integration could leverage thousands of retailers and a large still-offline grocery market.

J.P. Morgan assumes coverage of Yonyou at Underweight and sets a Dec-27 target of Rmb6.00. The report sees durable value in Yonyou's enterprise records, permissions, workflows, and execution systems, but argues that AI adoption must still produce incremental customer spending, operating leverage, and free cash flow.

• The rating moves from Neutral to Underweight, with the Dec-27 target reduced from Rmb10.00 to Rmb6.00.
• The target is based on 45x 2028E P/E, recognizing Yonyou's scarce position among scaled A-share enterprise-software franchises.
• Yonyou reported Rmb464mn of AI-related revenue and Rmb906mn of AI-related contracts in 1H26, but group revenue grew only 4.1% YoY.
• The report's 2026-28 revenue forecasts are 3%, 5%, and 10% below consensus.
• Gross margin improved 2.6ppt YoY to 50.9% in 1H26, while attributable net loss remained Rmb928mn and operating cash outflow reached Rmb1.0bn.
• A rerating requires evidence that AI increases net customer ACV while improving delivery productivity and cash generation.

Goldman Sachs says record RFP activity, supply-chain localisation and peptide demand support outsourcing growth despite selective biotech funding. Higher-cost US manufacturing is gaining acceptance where customers prioritise resilience.

• Neuland reported record 1H RFP inflow, up more than twofold year on year.
• Bora signed 14 preclinical molecules in 1H26, with program wins already exceeding its FY25 total.
• Bora saw a fivefold increase in RFPs for its Maple Grove facility; about 50% of new enquiries require US-only manufacturing.
• Global peptide programs in clinical development rose from about 600 in early 2025 to around 1,000 by May 2026.
• Both companies reported measurable AI productivity gains, though regulated manufacturing should slow adoption.

UBS finds investors constructive on AI-driven HVLP copper-foil demand, but focused on whether production, yield and earnings can scale as targeted. Battery-foil processing-fee increases and tighter utilization support a clearer profit inflection, leading UBS to see upside-skewed earnings risks despite Neutral ratings on Defu and Nuode.

• Defu rose 15% month to date, versus declines of 22% for Mitsui Kinzoku and 8% for Co-tech.
• Defu shipped 73t of HVLP4 in August at roughly 60% yield and targets more than 2,000t per month of total HVLP shipments by 3Q27.
• Major battery customers accepted processing-fee increases of about Rmb1,000–2,000/t from 4Q.
• ICCSINO expects China copper-foil utilization to rise from 92% in 2026 to 98% in 2027.
• UBS retains Neutral ratings on Defu and Nuode but sees earnings risks skewed to the upside.

UBS reiterates Buy on Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable's H shares and raises its target price to HK$330 from HK$290. It expects AI data-center demand and bottlenecks in preform capacity to keep high-end fiber supply tight through 2027-28E.

• UBS raises 2026-28E earnings forecasts by 116-158%.
• High-end fiber supply is expected to remain tight through at least 2027-28E despite announced capacity additions.
• YOFC-H trades at 8-9x 2027E P/E, versus 12-36x for Chinese and global peers.
• The HK$330 target uses 16x 2027E P/E, reduced from 30x as UBS assumes longer-term price normalization.

UBS expects Micron's August-quarter results and November-quarter guidance to exceed expectations, led principally by stronger memory pricing. It maintains its US$1,625 target, anchored on through-cycle earnings despite a modeled later-cycle memory downturn.

• UBS forecasts FQ4:26 revenue of US$52.4B and non-GAAP EPS of US$32.50, above company guidance and Street estimates.
• The report expects DRAM to remain undersupplied through at least C2Q28 as demand outpaces supply.
• C2027/2028/2029 EPS estimates are about US$212/US$277/US$219, materially above current Street forecasts.
• UBS expects share repurchases to begin around US$20B per quarter in FQ2:27 and approach US$50B per quarter exiting F2027.
• The US$1,625 target is unchanged and based on about 8x NTM P/E applied to discounted C2029E EPS.