Early Look

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Futures	Up/Down	%	Last
Dow	-6.00	0.02%	31,452
S&P 500	-2.25	0.06%	3,925
Nasdaq	-26.50	0.19%	13,741

 

 

U.S. futures are looking flat to down slightly, pulling back off record intraday day highs on Tuesday as the latest rally in Treasury yields weigh on investor sentiment, with the 10-year yield trading to 1-year highs above 1.30%. Better earnings, increasing vaccine rollouts and stimulus hopes have kept markets generally higher over the last few weeks, but with earnings season in the later innings, focus begins back to the macro picture. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index fell -175 points to 30,292, the Shanghai Index remained closed for week long holiday (at 3,655) and the Hang Seng Index jumped 338 points to 21,084. In Europe, the German DAX is lower by around -100 points to 13,965, while the FTSE 100 slips -15 points to 6,730. Bitcoin prices still grabbing headlines, with prices jumping over 6% overnight to new record highs above $51,000. Another generally quiet morning with no major economic data. Dow components Verizon (VZ) and Chevron (CVX) are looking higher after quarterly filings showed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway took stakes in the two companies.

 

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index slipped -2.24 points, or 0.06%, to 3,932.59

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 64.35 points, or 0.20%, to 31,522.75

·     The Nasdaq Composite dipped -47.97 points, or 0.34%, to 14,047.50

·     The Russell 2000 Index declined -16.47 points, or 0.72% to 2,272.89

 

Events Calendar for Today

·     7:45 AM ET         ICSC Weekly Retail Sales

·     8:55 AM ET         Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales

·     4:00 PM EST       Net Long-term Flows for December

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: AAP, AN, BKI, BRKR, CEVA, CVS, EXPD, FELE, GEO, IPGP, JELD, LPX, MGP, NXRT, PLTR, SABR, TRU, USAC, USFD, VMC, ZTS

·     Earnings After the Close: A, ACC, ACCO, AIG, BYD, CAI, CAR, CLR, CMP, CRMT, CSOD, DENN, DIOD, DVN, ENLC, ES, EXAS, GNW, HE, IOSP, KAR, LSCC, LZB, OXY, QTS, RNG, TNET, VNO, WIRE

 

Other Key Events:

·     Barclay’s Industrials Select Virtual Conference, 2/16-2/17

 

 

Macro	Up/Down	Last
Nymex	0.62	60.67
Brent	0.81	64.16
Gold	-6.80	1,787.65
EUR/USD	-0.004	1.2066
JPY/USD	-0.07	105.97
10-Year Note	-0.007	1.292%

 

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Boyd Gaming (BYD) Q4 adj EPS 46c vs. est. 39c; Q4 revenue $635.9M vs. est. $632.26M; Midwest & South achieves record fourth-quarter adjusted Ebitda and margins; record companywide margins demonstrate sustainability of operating efficiencies; online gaming growth continues, as company prepares to launch iCasino

·     Chegg (CHG)) files to sell $800M in common stock

·     Denny’s (DENN) 4Q adj EPS ($0.05) vs. est. ($0.01) on revs $80.1Mm vs. est. $80.1Mm, qtrly domestic system-wide comps -32.9%

·     KAR Auction Services (KAR) 4Q EPS ($0.01) vs. est. $0.28 on revs $529.6Mm vs. est. $571.9Mm; guides FY net income from continuing ops at least $90Mm and adj EBITDA of at least $475Mm

·     La-Z-Boy (LZB) 3Q adj EPS $0.74 vs. est. $0.70 on sales $470.2Mm vs. est. $468.4Mm, network written comps +6.3%; guides 4Q sales +34-39% vs. est. +32.5%

·     Hilton (HLT) Q4 adj EPS loss (10c) vs. est. 3c; Q4 revenue $890M vs. est. $1.03B; Q4 system-wide comparable RevPAR decreased 59.2% on a currency neutral basis and 56.7% on a currency neutral basis

·     Agrify (AGFY) 5.56M share Spot Secondary priced at $13.50

·     Owens Corning (OC) Q4 adj EPS $1.90 vs. est. $1.38; Q4 revenue $1.9B vs. est. $1.79B

·     Nestle S.A. (NSRGY) announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its regional spring water brands, purified water business and beverage delivery service in the U.S. and Canada to One Rock Capital Partners in partnership with Metropoulos & Co. for $4.3B

 

Energy

·     Energy Transfer LP (ET) will acquire Enable Midstream Partners, LP (ENBL) in an all-equity transaction valued at approximately $7.2 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Enable common unitholders will receive 0.8595 ET common units for each Enable common unit

·     Chevron (CVX) rises as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc revealed $4.1 billion stake in Chevron in a regulatory filing

·     Mammoth Energy’s (TUSK) subsidiary, Aquawolf, has been awarded a 3-year contract by a major utility to provide engineering and design services with $40M in revenue over the contract term

·     Comstock Resources (CRK) 4Q adj EPS $0.14 vs. est. $0.10, qtrly total oil and gas sales $274.8Mm, produced 111.1B cubic ft of natural gas equivalent in 4Q20; says plans to spend approx. $510-550Mm in 2021 on drilling and completion activities

·     Continental Resources (CLR) Q4 adj EPS loss (23c) vs. est. loss (8c); Q4 revenue $837.64M vs. est. $774.85M; Full-year 2020 total production averaged 300,090 Boepd. Full-year 2020 oil production averaged 160,505 Bopd. Full-year 2020 natural gas production averaged 837.5 MMcfpd. Fourth quarter 2020 total production averaged 339,307 Boepd. Fourth quarter 2020 oil production averaged 176,639 Bopd

·     Devon Energy (DVN) Q4 EPS 0c vs. est. 3c; Q4 revenue $1.28B vs. est. $1.15B; raises dividend to 19c; raises 2021 oil production view to 280k-300k barrels/day; sees 2021 upstream capital budget of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion; qtrly oil production averaged 156,000 barrels per day, increasing 7 percent compared to previous qtr

·     SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) Q4 EPS 98c vs. est. 86c; Q4 revs $358.1M vs. est. $356.25M; sees Q1 revs $385M-$405M vs. est. $377.9M; Q1 non-GAAP gross margin of 34% to 36%

·     Sundial Growers (SNDL) files $1B mixed securities shelf

 

Financials

·     AIG Inc. (AIG) Q4 adjusted EPS 94c vs. est. 93c; Q4 catastrophe losses $545M, Covid-related catastrophe costs $178M; adjusted ROE +6.7%, net investment income $3.96 billion vs $3.59 billion YoY and Net premiums written $5.57 billion; adjusted book value per share $57.01; loss ratio 70.2% and general insurance combined ratio 102.8 vs 99.8 YoY

·     Invitation Homes (INVH) Q4 FFO 32c core vs. est. 6c; Q4 revenue $464M vs. est. $460.5M; Q4 Same Store NOI grew 4.3% year over year on 2.0% Same Store Core revenue growth and a 2.4% decrease in Same Store Core operating expenses; Q4 Same Store average occupancy was 98.1%, up 210 basis points year over year

·     TriNet Group (TNET) 4Q adj EPS $0.44 vs. est. $0.26 on total revs $$1.1B, net service revs $221Mm; sees 1Q adj EPS $1.16-1.39 vs. est. $0.91, sees 1Q revs +2-4%; guides FY adj EPS $3.35-3.90 vs. est. $3.71, sees FY revs +8-11%

·     Vornado Realty (VNO) Q4 FFO 66c vs. est. 64c; Q4 revenue $376.4M vs. est. $365M

 

Healthcare

·     Agilent (A) 1Q adj EPS $1.06 vs. est. $0.89 on revs $1.55B vs. est. $1.44B; guides 2Q revs $1.37-1.39B vs. est. $1.36B, sees 2Q adj EPS $0.78-0.80 vs. est. $0.83; guides FY revs $5.825-5.9B vs. est. $5.75B, sees FY adj EPS $3.80-3.90 vs. est. $3.70

·     Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) 4Q EPS ($0.79) vs. est. ($0.88), says cash equivalent and marketable including proceeds from recent equity offering providing cash runway to 2023, says submission for topical Roflumilast cream as a potential treatment for plaque psoriasis anticipated 2H21

·     Exact Science Corp. (EXAS) Q4 EPS loss ($2.79) vs. est. loss (22c); Q4 revenue $466.3M vs. est. $446.22M; to acquire Ashion Analytics and enter research collaboration with city of hope’s genomics institute, TGEN; Q4 Covid-19 testing revs $99.1M; screening revenue was $249.7 million, an increase of 9%

·     The U.S. government’s top infectious-disease official Anthony Fauci said the initial supply of Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Covid-19 vaccine will be smaller than originally thought, which could delay access to vaccination for some Americans.

·     Mesoblast Ltd. (MESO) said a published paper on the first two children treated with remestemcel-L–its mesenchymal stromal cell product candidate for multisystem inflammatory syndrome associated with Covid-19–shows positive results

·     HealthEquity (HQY) 5M share Spot Secondary priced at $80.30

·     Henry Schein (HSIC) Q4 adj EPS $1.00 vs. est. 99c; Q4 revenue $3.2B vs. est. $2.88B; sees FY21 adjusted EPS at or above $3.51 vs. est. $3.80

·     Virpax Pharmaceuticals (VPRX) 1.8M share IPO priced at $10.00

 

Industrials & Materials

·     Avid Budget (CAR) Q4 EPS loss (36c) vs. est. loss (60c); Q4 revenue $1.36B vs. est. $1.29B; reported adjusted EBITDA of $74M through cost removal of more than $500M; liquidity position at the end of the year was $1.3 billion after returning more than $600 million back into our vehicle programs.

·     Kornit Digital (KRNT) Q4 EPS 24c vs. est. 22c; Q4 revenue $72.29M vs. est. $62.01M; Revenue growth, profitability and cash from operations significantly exceed expectations; record growth in recurring consumables business, and services outperformance; sees Q1 revenue $61M-$65M vs. est. $54.18M

 

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     Alden Global Capital LLC, which already owned a 32% stake, reached an agreement to buy the rest of Tribune Publishing (TPCO) for $17.25 a share, valuing the company at around $630 million. The deal still requires shareholder approval https://on.mktw.net/3pslo0G

·     Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) 4Q adj EPS $0.64 vs. est. $0.27 on revs $206.9Mm vs. est. $196Mm; sees 1Q revs $203-205Mm vs. est. $201.4Mm, sees FY revs $847-857Mm vs. est. $828.3Mm

·     Diodes (DIOD) Q4 adj EPS 74c vs. est. 70c; Q4 revenue $350.4M vs. est. $340.51M; sees Q1 revenue increasing about $400M plus or minus 3% vs. est. $362.19M

·     Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) Q4 EPS 19c vs. est. 17c; Q4 revenue $107.2M vs. est. $103.15M; sees Q1 revs $106m-$114M vs. est. $103.4M; Gross Margin Expands to 60.5% / 61.6% in 4Q 2020 on a GAAP / Non-GAAP Basis, Compared to 59.2% / 59.6%, respectively

·     RingCentral (RNG) 4Q adj EPS $0.29 vs. est. $0.27 on revs $335Mm vs. est. $317.4Mm; guides 1Q adj EPS $0.24-0.25 vs. est. $0.23, sees 1Q revs $337-340Mm vs. est. $329.7Mm; guides FY adj EPS $1.20-1.24 vs. est. $1.17, sees FY revs 1.475-1.49B vs. est. $1.44B

·     Verizon (VZ) rises as Berkshire reveals $8.6 billion stake as disclosed in a regulatory filing

·     Wix.com (WIX) Q4 EPS loss (3c) vs. est. loss (11c); Q4 revenue $282.53M vs. est. $270.22M; Q4 total collections up 35% YoY to $306.4M, compared to $226.7M; added 185,000 net premium subscriptions in the Q4, a 107% increase; sees FY21 revenue $1.27B-$1.29B vs. est. $1.26B