ØABED4100 Valuation - Equity Research Emneplan

The course covers advanced valuation techniques used for thorough modeling of a firm's value. The aim is to provide students with advanced knowledge and in-depth understanding of the concepts behind fundamental value, and the underlying assumptions in order to sensibly apply their existing theoretical understanding of valuation. The course will be relevant for students seeking a career in equity research, investment banking, management consulting, and larger corporations in Norway and internationally.

Project examination, consisting of a group assignment with up to 7 students, based on a case with a health claim in the media. The assignment will include the levels of the EBP model. The assignment is submitted as a written paper of 1500 words (+/- 10 prosent) according to further specified criteria.

Each group decides whether their assignment is to be submitted in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Resit exam: If the assignment is given the grade Fail, the group can submit a revised version once.

If this attempt fails, the group is entitled to a third and final attempt. In a third attempt, the group must choose a new health claim and submit a new examination paper.

None

This joint course is developed for all the Bachelor programmes at the Faculty of Health Sciences which are part of RETHOS (National guidelines for the Health and Social Studies), and is considered as an introductory course, preferably taken during the first part of the study programme.

In this course, starting with relatable examples, students will learn about the rationale for evidence-based practice (EBP) and its Core Competencies: Ask, Acquire, Appraise and Interpret, Apply, and Evaluate. Areas of focus are critical thinking (e.g. asking critical questions about health claims and the sources of claims), and shared decision-making. The course provides a foundation for learning and applying more advanced and field-specific skills.

The course consists of four blocks, each consisting of lectures, a multiple choice test, a group handin and presentation of the casework. Students will work in groups of three on one case company throughout the course. The only exception would be if the number of students is not divisible by 3, which would result in one or two groups consisting of two students. This course is an advanced and applied valuation course. In order to achieve maximum learning potential, the course is entirely case based, which means extensive casework on the part of the students. One or more industries will be selected, depending on the number of students/groups. The number of industries will be restricted to a minimum of 3 or more groups working in the same industry in order to enable comparable analysis within industry, and induce interest for in class discussions of their casework. An industry covered the previous year is not accessible the following year (exception may apply). Each student group will work on one listed company throughout the course, and will share their model(s) with other groups also covering the same industry in order to create an opportunity to conduct comparable analysis between case firms within industries. All teaching will be followed up by an online multiple choice test of the material covered in the lectures, available for a limited time following each block of lectures. These tests will carry points towards the final grade, but are not individually mandatory. They are there to incentivize students to review the lecture material before working on their case. The student groups will have to hand in multiple reports and spreadsheet models (with 'user manuals'), as well as conduct discussions (within industry group) of modeling issues. Students will present their casework 3 times, before finally issuing an "Analyst Report" and "Pitch" (final presentation of) their "Investment Case" (BUY/HOLD/SELL) to "investors" (the class).

Students that are unable to fulfill any elements by posted deadlines, must agree with the lecturer beforehand as a general rule.

The student must have been admitted to the study programme.

On successful completion of the course, the student has acquired the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can define what EBP is and recognizes the rationale for EBP and shared decision making
• knows the steps of EBP
• is familiar with the levels in the S-pyramid and acknowledges the difference between single studies and systematic reviews
• knows the characteristics of a scientific article, e.g. IMRAD
• can explain the purpose and characteristics of qualitative and quantitative studies and syntheses of studies, e.g. systematic reviews
• understands the principles for critical appraisal and knows how to use check lists for different study designs, clinical guidelines and professional procedures
• knows different types of categorical and continuous measures of association and effect, and key graphical presentations

Skills

The student

• can identify different types of professional/clinical questions, such as questions about treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, experiences and etiology
• can, for each type of clinical question, identify the preferred order of study designs
• can formulate searchable professional/clinical questions using e.g. PICO
• and variations of PICO
• can construct and carry out an appropriate and simple search strategy for professional/clinical questions from the top of the S-pyramid

General competencies

The student

• can critically assess health claims in the media

All reference aids are allowed as long as the rules for source references are followed.

The teaching is mainly designed with "flipped classroom" and learning activities in class and smaller groups. Digital learning resources such as digital lectures, videos and films will be available to the students in advance. Students are recommended to use these resources and to be prepared before the lectures and the seminars.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the exam:

• participate in at least 2 of 4 seminars

The students are recommended to participate at the seminar where they present the exam group projects.