U.S. SMID FIRST TO MARKET

Research evidence excerpt

North America Equity Research

U.S. SMID First to Market

11 August 2026

Mentions

US Large Cap BioPharma (Chris Schott, CFA)

2Q Earnings Takeaways – We See Group Well Positioned Exiting Qtr, LLY & GILD Top Ideas

We exit 2Q26 results with our positive view on the group largely unchanged. Updates across the group were generally ahead of

expectations, with LLY a clear standout on the qtr following a strong beat (+$2.3bn on the topline, Int’l Mounjaro +$600mm) and

guidance raise.

Medical Devices (Robbie Marcus, CFA)

MedTech Sector and Stock Set-Ups Exiting 2Q Earnings

MedTech has rallied off a mid-summer bottom, a function that's less true new money buying into the space, and more

of (a) the market broadening out trade, and (b) PE interest that’s spurring hedge fund short covering. Our long-only and

generalist call volumes have certainly increased, but this is off a very depressed low and the numbers are still very small vs.

historical levels

Mirum (Jessica Fye) (MIRM, OW, PT $118.00)

MIRM MIRM On The Wall, Where Will the NDA Filing Needs Fall?

Coming off of our follow-up call with MIRM management after the recent pre-NDA interaction on volixibat for pruritis due to

PSC, we came away thinking that the FDA’s unexpected recommendation to run a phase III may not ultimately represent the

stumbling block it appears to be, particularly given mgmt’s characterization that the Agency offered no specifics on what

questions a new trial would answer.

Affirm & Klarna (Connor Allen)

C2Q26 Expectations Summary

Affirm (8/27, AMC) and Klarna (8/18, BMO) report C2Q26 results over the coming weeks. Fintech and payments peers have

generally reported solid results for the quarter; consumer spend and credit trends were largely stable-to-improved q/q and

management commentary suggested the macro environment was generally constructive, which is a positive read across for

AFRM and KLAR.

ACV Auctions (Rajat Gupta) (ACVA, OW, PT $10.00)

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