Early Look

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Futures	Up/Down	%	Last
Dow	59.00	0.18%	32,963
S&P 500	-13.25	0.34%	3,950
Nasdaq	-133.50	1.01%	13,056

 

 

U.S. futures are looking mixed as the Nasdaq Composite is looking down over 1% early following another sharp spike in Treasury yields this morning with the 10-year rising over 8 bps to above 1.72%, while Dow futures are edging higher, building on recent gains as industrials and financials ae looking higher. Another milestone was reached yesterday for the Dow, topping the 33,000 level for the first time as markets surged following Fed Chairman Powell’s speech. The record comes just five trading days after the blue-chip average first closed above than 32,000—its quickest 1,000-point milestone on record after the Federal Reserve pledged to maintain its easy-money policies as the U.S. economy recovers from the damage of the Covid-19 pandemic. The S&P 500 also ended at a record as it approaches the 4,000 level. Fed Chairman Powell said we the Fed will continue to provide the economy the support that it needs for as long as it takes, giving a late day boost to stocks. His comments also managed to halt a bond selloff that was pushing yields sharply higher ahead of FOMC decision (fell as low as 1.61% post FOMC after touching highs of 1.69% prior). The Dow industrials climbed 189.42 points, to 33015.37, the 15th record close of 2021. The S&P 500 rose 11.41 points to 3974.12, its 14th record of the year. Strength continued overseas as in Asian markets, The Nikkei Index jumped 302 points to 30,216, the Shanghai Index rises 17 points to 3,463 and the Hang Seng Index gains 371 points to 29,405. In Europe, the German DAX is up over 170 points to 14,765, while the FTSE 100 is slightly higher at 6,765.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index jumped 11.41 points, or 0.29%, to 3,974.12

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 189.42 points, or 0.58%, to 33,015.37

·     The Nasdaq Composite gained 53.64 points, or 0.40%, to 13,525.20

·     The Russell 2000 Index advanced 16.87 points, or 0.73% to 2,336.39

 

Events Calendar for Today

·     8:30 AM ET         Weekly Jobless Claims

·     8:30 AM EST      Continuing Claims

·     8:30 AM EST      Philly Fed Business Index for March

·     10:00 AM EST    Leading Index MoM for February

·     10:30 AM ET      Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: DG, DLTH, DXLG, EMAN, HOOK, SIG, TITN, UTZ, VIRI, WOOF

·     Earnings After the Close: AFIB, CVSI, FDX, HIMS, KINS, LAZR, MP, NKE, NVGS, OLLI

 

Other Key Events:

·     Citigroup Communications Services Conference (virtual), 3/16-3/19

·     Oppenheimer Healthcare Conference (virtual), 3/16-3/18

·     Stephens Building Materials Virtual Trip, 3/17-3/19

·     UBS Energy Conference (virtual), 3/16-3/18

 

 

Macro	Up/Down	Last
Nymex	-0.25	64.35
Brent	-0.25	67.75
Gold	-11.10	1,734.25
EUR/USD	-0.004	1.1939
JPY/USD	0.23	109.07
10-Year Note	+0.087	1.728%

 

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     AMC Theatres (AMC) said that beginning Friday, March 19, 98% of its U.S. theatres will be open for guests and expects that by Friday, March 26, 99% of its U.S. circuit will be open

·     American Outdoor Brands (AOUT) shares rise 11%; Q3 adj EPS 82c vs. est. 36c; Q3 revenue $82.6M vs. est. $59.02M; sees FY21 EPS $2.08-$2.15 (up from prior $1.49-$1.67) vs. est. $1.68 and sales $268M-$272M (up from $235M-$245M) vs. est. $244.9M; for Q3, e-Commerce channel sales up 129%

·     Five Below (FIVE) Q4 EPS $2.20 vs. est. $2.11; Q4 revenue $858.51M vs. est. $838.26M; Q4 comparable sales increased by 13.8% vs. est. 10.3%; said opened two new stores and ended the quarter with 1,020 stores in 38 states; sees Q1 EPS 56c-68c vs. est. 39c; sees Q1 revenue $540M-$560M vs. est. $440.91M

·     Herman Miller (MLHR) Q3 adj EPS 65c vs. est. 58c; Q3 revenue $590.5M vs. est. $587.27M; reinstating our employer retirement contributions, which we temporarily suspended for first three quarters of fiscal 2021; contract sales funnel is pointing to increased demand in back half of calendar 2021

·     Hugo Boss expects a sales decline of up to 20% in the first quarter as a result of global store closures associated with coronavirus-related lockdown measures,

·     Duckhorn Portfolio (NAPA) 20M share IPO priced at $15.00

·     Nikola Corp (NKLA) slips after saying South Korea’s Hanwha Corp to sell up to half of its 5.65% stake in NKLA this year

·     Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE) says it received request for information from SEC regarding Hindenburg short report; qtrly net loss per share $0.23; said expected 2021 capital expenditures of between $250 and $275 mln; expected year-end 2021 liquidity of at least $200 mln in cash and cash equivalents; timeline to start of production (sop) in september 2021 remains on track; expected 2021 operating expenses of between $40 and $45 mln

·     Penn National (PENN) announced it has received a temporary permit from the Virginia Lottery to offer online sports betting in the Commonwealth of Virginia

·     Williams-Sonoma (WSM) Q4 EPS $3.95 vs. est. $3.39; Q4 revenue $2.29B vs. est. $2.17B; Q4 comparable brand revenue growth of 25.7%, including e-commerce comp growth of 47.9%; planning fiscal 2021 financial performance to be in line with long-term guidance of mid-to-high single digit net revenue growth; boosts dividend by 11% and announces new $1B stock repurchase program

 

Energy, Industrials and Materials

·     The Federal Aviation Administration has stripped Boeing’s (BA) authority to inspect and sign off on several newly produced 787 Dreamliners, part of tighter regulatory scrutiny of production problems that have stopped deliveries of the widebody jets – WSJ

·     Canadian Solar (CSIQ) Q4 EPS 11c on revs $1.04B vs. est. (55c) and $975.2; total module shipments in Q4 were 2,998 MW, an increase of 22% year-over-year and decrease of 5% quarter-over-quarter; sees Q1 revenue $1B-$1.1B vs. est. $975.16M; sees Q1 total module shipments 3 GW to 3.2 GW

·     South Jersey Industries (SJI) 10.25M share Secondary priced at $22.25

·     KBR (KBR) wins over $100M in contracts from U.S. Navy and Air Force in the Middle East

·     Maxar Technologies (MAXR) 10M share Secondary priced at $40.00

·     Steel Dynamics (STLD) said it sees Q1 EPS guidance between $1.94-$1.98 vs. est. $1.96; says Q1 profitability from the company’s steel operations is expected to be significantly higher than sequential Q4 results, driven by flat roll metal spread expansion, as strong demand continues to support flat roll steel prices; says Q1 earnings from the company’s steel fabrication operations are expected to be meaningfully lower sequentially

·     Westport Fuel Systems (WPRT) rises more than 8% after the Weichai Westport joint venture agreed to amended terms for the existing technology development and supply agreements between the two groups

·     Vine Energy (VEI) 21.5M share IPO priced at $14.00

 

Financials

·     Paya Holdings (PAYA) 20M share Secondary priced at $12.25

·     Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) both downgraded to underperform from market perform at KBW Inc. as believes there is a high likelihood that the status quo will stay in place for the foreseeable future

 

Healthcare

·     Sotera Health (SHC) 25M share Secondary priced at $27.00

·     Vericel Corp. (VCEL) will replace QEP Resources Inc. (QEP) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Monday, March 22. S&P 500 constituent Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) has acquired QEP Resources in a transaction that closed today.

·     Solid Biosciences (SLDB) announces $85M common stock offering

·     Translate Bio (TBIO) announces results from second interim data analysis from ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial of mrt5005 in patients with cystic fibrosis

 

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Coherent (COHR) confirmed receipt of a revised acquisition proposal from II-VI Incorporated (IIVI) of $7B; per the revised terms, each share of Coherent common stock would be exchanged for $220 in cash and 0.91 of a share of II-VI common stock (follows a recently revised offer from LITE of $6.9B)

·     PagerDuty (PD) Q4 EPS loss (7c) vs. est. loss (11c); Q4 revenue $59.3M vs. est. $57.47M; said added $59 million in revenue, reaccelerating growth sequentially to 29% year over year; sees Q1 (10c) to (9c) vs. est. loss (7c); sees Q1 revenue $61M-$63M vs. est. $60.96M; plans to offer customers a new European hosting option for data assets, including customer-generated data, based on amazon web services

·     Semtech (SMTC) Q4 adj EPS 51c vs. est. 48c; Q4 revenue $164.7M vs. est. $158.29M; sees Q1 adj EPS 49c-55c vs. est. 47c; sees Q1 revenue $164M-$172M vs. est. $155.57M

·     Upstart (UPST) Q4 adj EPS 7c vs. est. 2c; Q4 revenue $86.7M vs. est. $74.06M; sees Q1 revenue $112M-$118M vs. est. $73.78M; sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA $14.6M-$15.3M