Early Look

Friday, March 26, 2021

U.S. stock futures are looking higher, adding on to the late day surge in markets Thursday and tracking strength in Asian and European markets as investors cheered progress on vaccine distribution and optimism rose over the prospects for a strong economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Several top Federal Reserve officials reassured stock markets on Thursday, continuing to tell them the U.S. central bank’s expansive support for the economy will stay in place until an accelerating recovery reaches all levels of American society and is effectively complete. Shipping rates for oil product tankers have nearly doubled this week following the blockage in the Suez Canal, and several vessels were diverted away from the vital waterway as a giant container ship remained wedged between both banks (raising pricing concerns for goods). Bank stocks are looking higher after the Federal Reserve signaled it plans to lift pandemic-era restrictions on bank dividends and share buybacks for most companies after June 30 (Treasury yields also back at week highs with the 10-year up over 5 bps to 1.66%). The Dow got a boost yesterday from Boeing, which climbed after a report that it could start 787 deliveries by Friday. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index jumped 446 points to 29,176, the Shanghai Index gained 54 points to 3,418 and the Hang Seng Index gained 436 points to 28,336. In Europe, the German DAX is higher by 90 points to 14,715, while the FTSE 100 is up over 30 points to 6,710. Oil prices in the U.S. traded close to $60 a barrel as reports said it could take until at least next Wednesday to remove a massive tanker blocking the Suez Canal. Busy morning of economic data with Personal income/spending for February as well as trade data, inflation readings and sentiment data.

Events Calendar for Today

·     8:30 AM EST      Advance Goods Trade Balance for February

·     8:30 AM EST      Personal Income MoM for February

·     8:30 AM EST      Personal Spending MoM for February

·     8:30 AM EST      PCE Price Index MoM, for Feb

·     8:30 AM EST      PCE Price Index YoY, for Feb

·     8:30 AM EST      Core PCE Price Index MoM, for Feb

·     8:30 AM EST      Core PCE Price Index YoY, for Feb

·     10:00 AM EST    University of Michigan Sentiment, Mar-F

·     1:00 PM EST       Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index jumped 20.38 points, or 0.52%, to 3,909.52

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 199.42 points, or 0.62%, to 32,619.48

·     The Nasdaq Composite gained 15.79 points, or 0.12%, to 12,977.68

·     The Russell 2000 Index advanced 48.86 points, or 2.29% to 2,183.12

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Nio Inc (NIO) said it would halt production for five working days at its Hefei plant, due to a shortage in semiconductor chips; said it planned to suspend production from Monday; it also cut its first quarter delivery forecast to around 19,500 vehicles, compared to the 20,000 to 20,500 vehicles prior

·     Watch gun makers (RGR, SWBI) as the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday will discuss taking up a major new gun rights case involving a National Rifle Association-backed challenge to a New York state law that restricts the ability of residents to carry concealed handguns in public.

·     Altria Group (MO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies and raise tgt to $58 from $40

·     Blink Charging (BLNK) 4Q EPS ($0.24) vs. est. ($0.12) on revs $2.5Mm vs. est. $1.58Mm

·     GAN Ltd (GAN) 4Q EPS ($0.27) on revs $8.9Mm vs. est. $11.8Mm; guides 1Q revs $24-25Mm vs. est. $17.2Mm, sees FY21 revs $100-105Mm vs. est. $98.6Mm

·     Oxford Industries (OXM) 4Q adj EPS $0.13 vs. est. $0.21 on sales $221Mm vs. est. $217Mm; guides 1Q GAAP EPS $0l90-1.10 vs. est. $0.63, sees 1Q sales $220-240Mm vs. est. $193.5Mm

·     ThredUp (TDUP) 12M share IPO priced at $14.00

Energy, Industrials & Materials

·     Watch tanker stocks (FRO, NAT, NMM, TNK, TNP, EURN, GNK, SB, SBLK, STNG) as shipping rates are surging as the blockage of the Suez Canal is wreaking havoc in the global seaborne trade and making the long trip around Africa the only short-term alternative, said Bloomberg; about 12% of global trade goes through the canal. Bloomberg noted the cost to ship a 40-foot container from China to Europe has climbed to about $8,000, almost quadruple the figure a year ago. Suezmax vessels, which typically carry 1 million barrels of oil, are now getting about $17,000 a day, the most since June 2020.

·     Caterpillar (CAT) is expecting shipment delays due to the Suez Canal blockage and is even considering airlifting products if necessary – Bloomberg

Financials

·     The U.S. Federal Reserve announced it would likely remove income-based restrictions on bank dividends and share buybacks for “most firms” in June after its next round of stress tests. The central bank said that all large firms that can show they can stay above regulatory minimum capital requirements after undergoing the next stress test will no longer face those restrictions

·     Root Inc (ROOT) rises after hours as Citron’s Andrew Left said the stock is misunderstood and that shares are a bargain; he called Root a “disruptive tech company” and added that its shares should not be trading below their IPO price of $27

·     WeWork has agreed to merge with a BowX Acquisition Corp (BOWX), in a deal that would take the shared-office provider public nearly two years after its failure to launch a traditional IPO. The planned merger with the BowX Acquisition Corp. SPAC would value WeWork at $9 billion including debt, the people said – WSJ reports https://on.wsj.com/2NSDsUO

·     Arbor Realty (ABR) 7M share Spot Secondary priced at $15.65

·     Annaly Capital Management Inc (NLY) has agreed to sell its commercial real estate business to investment firm Slate Asset Management in a deal valued at $2.33 billion to sharpen its focus on its core residential mortgage finance business.

·     Robinhood Markets Inc is building a platform to “democratize” initial public offerings (IPOs), including its own, that would allow users of its trading app to snap up shares alongside Wall Street funds, Reuters reported. The move could further erode Wall Street’s grip on stock market flotations. It would be easier to implement for Robinhood’s own IPO, given how companies and their investment bankers tightly control allocations to investors in new listings.

·     German insurer Allianz is nearing a 2.5 billion euro ($2.94 billion) deal to buy Aviva’s Polish unit, trumping rival bids from Italy’s Generali and Dutch insurer NN, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters https://yhoo.it/3w0bPdP

Healthcare

·     Design Therapeutics (DSGN) 12M share IPO priced at $20.00

·     Edgewise Therapeutics (EWTX) 11M share IPO priced at $16.00

·     iKena Oncology (IKNA) 7.813M share IPO priced at $16.00

·     Co-Diagnostics (CODX) FY GAAP EPS of $1.52 misses by $0.04; revenue of $74.55M (+33786.4% Y/Y) beats by $2.18M; primarily due to sales of Logix Smart COVID-19 Tests throughout the world; cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $47.3 million as of December 31, 2020, an increase of $46.4 million from December 31, 2019.

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Tower stocks American tower (AMT), Crown Castle (CCI) and SBA Communications (SBAC) upgraded to Overweight from Equal-weight citing the improving macro 5G narrative which should produce accelerating capital spending and new leasing activity that would reach record highs in the next 2-3 years; tgt for SBAC $313, CCI $193 and AMT $275

·     Boxlight Corp. (BOXL) 4Q adj EPS $0.01 vs. est. ($0.12) on revs $31.9Mm vs. est. $27.2Mm, qtrly customer orders +453% to $33.2Mm; guides 1Q revs above $28Mm vs. est. $24.1Mm, sees 1Q adj EBITDA positive

·     One Stop Systems (OSS) 4Q adj EPS $0.04 vs. est. $0.04 on revs $13.9Mm vs. est. $13.2Mm; guides 1Q revs about $13Mm vs. est. $11.3Mm

·     Progress Software (PRGS) 1Q adj EPS $0.95 vs. est. $0.75 on adj revs $131.8Mm vs. est. $121.4Mm

·     SAIC (SAIC) Q4 adj EPS $1.67 vs. est. $1.45; Q4 revenue $1.7B vs. est. $1.78B; says has made rapid advancements to the business portfolio, financial profile, and return of capital over the past several years; share repurchases re-initiated during the fourth quarter

·     Chinese companies Baidu (BIDU), Alibaba (BABA), JD.com (JD) look to rebound after a day of suffering losses following concerns of possible de-listing from U.S. stock exchanges; the U.S. SEC has adopted measures that would kick foreign companies off U.S. bourses if they do not comply with the country’s auditing standards – Reuters