Subject background and discussion: In recent decades, issues of human rights, labor and environmental change has been hot topics world wide, which also has influenced the financial market. More and more investors use socially responsible investing (SRI) screens when constructing their portfolios. One form of SRI screen is to choose companies that have satisfied employees. Existing theory says that employee satisfaction is an intangible asset to the firm that will positively affect a firm’s performance in the future. Intangible assets are often unrecognized by the market and thereby not incorporated in the stock price. The efficient market hypothesis has been studied and debated for several decades. Proponents of the EMH argue that all available information is incorporated in the stock price, thus it is not possible to systematically beat the market. However, EMH is controversial, since research has shown different results regarding the possibility to make abnormal return from various investing strategy. Research question: Is it possible to make abnormal returns by investing in a portfolio of worldwide firms with top scores on the SRI screen employee satisfaction? Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to examine investor’s possibility to make abnormal return with controls for multiple risk factors by investing in worldwide firms with top scores in employee satisfaction. One sub-purpose is to examine how the market values intangibles depending on the degree of market efficiency. Another sub-purpose of the study is to test two different portfolio weighting methodologies, equally- and value weighted, and observe the differences between them. Theory: This study deals with the efficient market hypothesis and the concepts of SRI, employee satisfaction, intangible assets and several risk-adjusted measurements. Method: We have chosen to perform a quantitative study with a deductive approach to answer our research question. We used a sample size of 696 firms based on “Great Place to Works”- lists of companies with high employee satisfaction to construct sex portfolios with different holding periods and strategies. These portfolios have been explored and tested significantly with both equally and value weighted methods. Result/Analysis: The study finds significant evidence of an average annual abnormal return of 3,66% and 2,43% for our main portfolio over the market for equally- and value weighted, respectively, using the three-factor model. When adjusting for momentum, thus employing the four-factor model, all the predictive variables still identify strong persistence in the abnormal return, with statistical significance. Conclusion: The results show that it is possible to make abnormal returns, during the observed time period, regardless of the weighing methodology, although the equally weighted received higher abnormal returns. Thus, the market efficiency appears to be in weak form and does not fully value intangibles.

Purpose: To examine how video-game releases affect the share price, and if video-game reviews have any impact on the share price of gaming corporations.  Method: A quantitative deductive research approach is applied with event study methodology used as basis. The investigated companies were the five largest gaming companies listed on the U.S. NASDAQ exchange. A total of 29 video-game launches and 85 reviews where examined.   Theory: The study is based on The Efficient Market Hypothesis, Agent Theory, Public Relations Theory, Nextopia and previous research. Results: The result contains 114 observations in five companies. The result accounts for the cumulative abnormal return for each video-game. It also accounts for the cumulative average abnormal return for each company ten days after release. Analysis: The hypothesis test accounts for a statistical significant correlation between negative abnormal return and the release. It is also accounted for a cumulative average abnormal return of  -2,29 % of the video-game companies stocks. Conclusion: There is a negative abnormal return for shareholders ten days after a video-game release. The result and the analysis dose confirm a direct correlation between video-game reviews and the abnormal return.

本研究主要探討台灣半導體產業供應鏈上游公司召開法人說明會是否會影響中下游公司之股價。本研究將法人說明會公布之資訊區分為財務資訊及非財務資訊，除探討財務資訊對供應鏈中、下游公司股價是否具影響效果外，亦探討財務及非財務的法人說明會資訊是否具有增額效果。實證結果顯示財務資訊在法人說明會召開前後一天與累積異常報酬呈現顯著正向關係，但非財務資訊卻呈現顯著反向關係，顯示非財務資訊會修正財務資訊所造成之效果。另外，資訊於供應鏈中移轉之距離越長，則移轉效果會越小，但若單純為好消息或壞消息，則移轉效果將增強。 / This research examines the influence of conference call information on the stock price of supply chain partners. The semi-conductor industries in Taiwan were used in this paper to examine the issue. I examined two kinds of information disclosed from conference calls: financial information and non-financial information. I first examined the information contained in conference calls for any effects on supply chain partners. Furthermore, I also examined to see if the non-financial information contains any additional effects to the supply chain partners. The empirical results show that the accumulated abnormal return of the supply chain partners is significantly positive related to the financial information around the conference call date. The accumulated abnormal return of the supply chain partners is significantly negative related to the non-financial information around the conference call date. The results show that both financial and non-financial information would influence the accumulated abnormal return of supply chain partners. The non-financial information contains additional information that revises the influence of the financial information.

Trenden inom världsekonomin har på senare år indikerat på en mognad där tillväxten ligger på låga tal historisk. Detta har tvingat centralbanker runt omkring jorden att drastiskt ta till åtgärder för att stimulera tillväxten. Reporäntan har använts som det mest centrala instrumentet för detta ändamål. Sverige är ett levande exempel på detta, där de har sänkt räntan lägre än den fruktade nollnivån och har i dagsläget en ränta på -0,5 %. Effekterna av reporänteförändringar på aktievärdering har studerats brett och den ackumulerade åsikten bland forskare är att räntan påverkar aktiemarknaden direkt. De historiska studierna som har utförts fokuserar på hur marknaden som helhet påverkas där de individuella företagseffekterna hamnar i skymundan. Därför har denna studie fokuserat på att undersöka dessa branschrelaterade effekter av en ränteförändring på individuella företag inom de valda branscherna. Detta område har undersökts med hjälp av en eventstudie.  Resultaten från studien visar på homogena effekter för mindre bolag där dessa får en större påverkan vid förändringar än stora bolag. Detta visar sig även mellan de olika branscherna. De observerade branscherna är sällanköpsvaror och dagligvaror, de branschspecifika effekterna som studien visar är att dagligvaror påverkas signifikant mer än sällanköpsvaror. Vidare visar resultatet att företagsstorlek har en större påverkan än branschtillhörighet, där small-cap bolag inom sällanköpsvaror har större påverkan än large-cap bolag inom dagligvaror. En negativ förändring går även att hänvisa till mer homogena rörelser för branscherna samt de olika storlekarna. Vidare gav positiva nyheter en mer heterogen rörelse där de mindre bolagen ej korrelerade med dem större. / In recent years, the trend in the world economy has indicated a maturity in growth which is low in historical terms. This has forced central banks around the world to drastically act to stimulate growth. The prime rate has then been used as the most central instrument for this purpose. Sweden is a living example of this as they have lowered interest rates below the dreaded zero level and currently have an interest rate of -0.5 %. The effects of prime rate changes on stock valuation have been studied widely, and the accumulated opinion among researchers is that interest rates directly affect the stock market. The historical studies that have been carried out focus on how the market as a whole is affected where individual effects on businesses end up in the dark. Therefore, this study has focused on investigating these industry-related effects of an interest rate change on individual companies in the chosen industries. The results from the study show homogenous effects for smaller companies, where the impact is greater on them in addition to larger companies. This is also apparent between the different industries. This area of concerns has been studied with an event study. The observed industries are consumer discretionary and commodities, the industry-specific effects shown by the study are that commodities are significantly more affected than consumer discretionarys’. Furthermore, the results show that company size is a greater indicator than industry due to the greater effect on small companies within consumer discretionary than on larger companies in the commodities sector. A negative change can also be referred to more homogeneous movements for the industries as well as the different business sizes. In addition, positive news gave a more heterogeneous move where the smaller companies did not correlate with the larger ones.

The medical device industry has seen rapid growth in recent years, and the increasing valuations has caught the attention of investors. Although their growth has outpaced many indices, medical device companies’ reliance on capital to finance research, patents, and clinical testing to reach pre-market approval makes due-diligence and the investment research process especially complex. Investors frequently rely on intuition when making investment decisions and it would therefore be particularly valuable if there was a way to accurately predict future returns. Although stock return prediction and market anomalies are a frequently debated topic among finance researchers, unlike other studies which look at whole markets this study looks at a particular subset of companies. This study looks at 63 recently listed medical device companies in the US market to analyze the predictability of future shareholder returns. The metrics analyzed are some of the most common quantitative metrics used by investors. A multiple linear regression model is used to determine if the metrics can predict future total returns, and abnormal returns. An interview was conducted with an industry investment expert to get more insight in the sector and to evaluate the chosen metrics. This study also examines the same data set during two eras; predictability before and after the financial crisis in 2009, to see if predictability is constant over time. The findings show that free cash flow yield is the only statistically significant variable in the model. This implies that if a recently listed medical device company has a negative free cash flow yield for one year, it will have a positive return the following year. From the analysis on the two eras, before and after 2009, predictability is found to be lower after the financial crisis. / Den medicintekniska industrin har sett snabb tillväxt de senaste åren och de ökande värderingarna har lockat investerarnas intresse. Även om deras tillväxt har överträffat många index, innebär medicintekniska företags beroende av kapital för att finansiera forskning, patent och kliniska tester för att nå godkännande före marknaden en särskilt komplicerad besiktnings- och analyseringsprocess. Investerare förlitar sig ofta på intuition när de fattar investeringsbeslut och det skulle därför vara synnerligen värdefullt om det fanns ett sätt att noggrant förutsäga framtida avkastning. Även om aktieavkastnings förutsägbarhet och marknadsavvikelser är ett ofta diskuterat ämne bland finansforskare, undersöker denna studie en viss undergrupp av företag till skillnad från andra studier som undersöker hela marknader. Denna studie analyserar 63 nyligen börsnoterade medicintekniska företag på den amerikanska marknaden för att analysera förutsägbarheten av framtida aktieägaravkastning. Mätvärdena som analyseras är några av de vanligaste kvantitativa mätvärdena som används av investerare. En multipellinjär regressionsmodell används för att avgöra om måtten kan förutsäga framtida totalavkastning och abnorm avkastning. En intervju genomfördes med en expert på investeringar inom denna sektor för att få mer insikt och för att utvärdera de valda variablerna. Denna studie undersöker också samma datauppsättning under två epoker; förutsägbarhet före och efter finanskrisen 2009, för att se om förutsägbarheten är konstant över tid. Resultaten visar att fri kassaflödesavkastning är den enda statistiskt signifikanta variabeln i modellen. Detta innebär att om ett nyligen börsnoterat medicintekniskt företag har en negativ avkastning på fritt kassaflöde under ett år, kommer det att ha en positiv aktieavkastning året därpå. Från analysen av de två epokerna, före och efter 2009, visar sig förutsägbarheten vara lägre efter finanskrisen.

Insider trading has long been a controversial phenomenon in the financial world. Several studies have been conducted in the area where the studies have shown ambiguous results. In 2016, Finansipektionen amended the Insider Trading Act, namely that insiders need to report an insider transction within three days. Insiders ability to generate abnormal returns is considered to be in conflict with market efficiency.  This study examines insiders ability to generate abnormal returns on the First North Growth Market during the year 2020, where the sample consists of 47 observations. An eventstudy has been used to investigate the market reaction from the publication of insider trading. Multiple regression analysis has been applied to examine whether there is any difference in the abnormal return based on the position of the insider, the transactionsize of the insider tradingsize and the gender. The hypothesis tests have been answered with the help of a one-sided t-test and multiple regression analysis. A quantitative method and deductive approach have been used in the study where the researcher derived hypotheses based on previous research as well as theories such as the effective markethypothesis, the random-walk theory, the signalinghypothesis, behaviorbased financing and herdbehavior. This study shows that insiders generate abnormal returns during a short-term event window, but that there is no significant difference in the abnormal returns based on the insider’s position, transactionsize and gender. / Insynshandel har länge varit ett omdiskuterat fenomen inom finansvärlden. Flera studier har avlagts inom området som visat på tvetydiga resultat. År 2016 ändrade Finansinspektionen lagen om insynshandel, nämligen att insynspersoner behöver rapportera en insynstransaktion inom tre dagar. Insynspersoners möjlighet till att generera abnormal avkastning anses gå i strid mot marknadseffektiviteten. Denna studie undersöker insynspersoners möjlighet till att generera abnormal avkastning på First North Growth Market under året 2020 där urvalet består av 47 observationer. En eventstudie har använts för att undersöka marknadsreaktionen vid publiceringen av insynshandel. Multipel regressionsanalys har tillämpats för att undersöka ifall det finns någon skillnad i den abnormala avkastningen baserad på befattningen på insynspersonen, transaktionsstorleken av insynshandeln och kön. Hypotesprövningarna har besvarats med hjälp av ett ensidigt t-test samt multipel regressionsanalys. En kvantitativ metod och deduktiv ansats har använts i studien där forskaren härlett hypoteser utifrån tidigare forskning samt teorier som den effektiva marknadshypotesen, random-walk teorin, signaleringshypotesen, beteendebaserad finansiering och flockbeteende. Denna studie visar att insynspersoner genererar abnormal avkastning under ett kortsiktigt eventfönster men att det inte existerar någon signifikant skillnad på den abnormala avkastningen baserat på befattningen av insynspersonen, transaktionsstorleken och kön.

This study investigates the impact of mega-sporting event announcements on the host country's stock market. The analysis includes 34 events between 2000 and 2024, including the Olympic Games (Summer and Winter), the FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA European Championship. Employing a deductive approach grounded in existing theory and research, the study formulates hypotheses and utilizes an event study methodology to examine whether the announcements trigger abnormal returns in the host nation's stock market. T-tests are used to assess the statistical significance of the findings. The results provide limited evidence of market reactions to the announcements, with any potential effects occurring primarily before the official announcement, suggesting the possibility of information leakage or insider trading. No significant effects were found on the announcement day itself or on subsequent days. Furthermore, no statistically significant differences were found based on the economic size of the host nation or the type of event. However, the study did observe that FIFA World Cup announcements tend to generate slightly more volatile market reactions compared to the other events.

Det finns ett flertal tidigare studier som undersöker listbyten och dess effekt på ett bolags aktieavkastning. Merparten av dessa studier är dock baserade på den amerikanska aktiemarknaden. De svenska studierna som har genomförts undersöker effekten av listbyte från alternativa marknadsplatser (MTF) till huvudmarknaden (reglerad marknad). Det har framkommit att det finns ett kunskapsgap vad gäller hur aktieavkastning reagerar på marknadsplatsbyten på Sveriges MTF-er. Genom att endast fokusera på MTFmarknadsplatserna,AktieTorget, First North och Nordic MTF i Sverige och effekten av bytenmellan dessa marknadsplatser blir denna studie ett komplement till den tidigare forskningen inom området. I studien undersöks 39 svenska bolag som mellan åren 2007-2016 valt att byta marknadsplats. OMXPI är det jämförelseindex som använts för att jämföra bolagens avkastning med marknaden. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om det finns ett värdeför såväl bolagen som dess aktieägare att byta marknadsplats mellan AktieTorget, Nordic MTF och First North, istället för att stanna kvar på den ursprungliga listan. Detta syfte uppnås genom att studien undersöker bolagens aktieavkastning i samband med flytt till likvärdig, alternativ, marknadsplats för att ta reda på om bytet av marknadsplats skapar en negativ avkastning hos bolagen. Denna studie utförs i form av en kvantitativ eventstudie där marknadsplatsbytet utgör eventet. Studiens avsikt är inte att analysera de enskilda bolagen utan att istället ge en samlad bild av effekten på den aktiekursutveckling listbytet medför. Resultatet av studien visar att en negativ ackumulerad onormal avkastning (CAR) förekommer efter att marknadsplatsbytet genomförts. Vid beräkning av parametrarna imarknadsmodellen finner studien att den genomsnittliga ackumulerade onormala avkastningen (CAAR) för samtliga bolag är hela -47,88 %, 12 månader efter att marknadsplatsbytet genomförts. / There are several previous studies that examine switches between marketplaces and how these changes impact companies share performance. The most foregoing research made on the subject share performance is based on the US stock market. Swedish studies made to the subject examine the share performance when companies move from one of the SwedishMultilateral Trading Facilities (MTF) to main market. The authors of this paper have noted that there is a gap of knowledge regarding share performance when companies move between the Multilateral Trading Facilities. By only examining the Swedish Multilateral Trading Facilities, AktieTorget, First North and Nordic MTF, and how moving between the lists affects the share performance, this study is an addition to the previous research in the field.This study examines 39 Swedish companies, which have changed list between 2007-2016. OMXSPI is the benchmark used in this study to compare the companies return with the market return. The purpose of this study is to examine if there is a value for both the companies and its shareholders to exchange marketplaces between the Swedish Multilateral Trading Facilities, AktieTorget, First North and Nordic MTF. This purpose is achieved byexamine the company’s stock price development before and after the change of market place and identify if the change creates a negative share performance. This study is conducted in the form of a quantitative event study where the marketplace change represents the event. The purpose is not to analyze the individual companies but to provide a comprehensive picture ofthe effect the marketplace changes have on the stock price development. The result of the study indicates that a negative accumulated abnormal return (CAR) occurs after the marketplace change. When calculating the parameters in the market model the study finds that the average accumulated abnormal return (CAAR) for all companies is a total of -47,88 % twelve months after the marketplace change.