Early Look

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Futures	Up/Down	%	Last
Dow	455.00	1.40%	33,057
S&P 500	63.25	1.53%	4,232
Nasdaq	252.50	1.90%	13,519

 

 

U.S. stock futures point to a much stronger open, with the S&P rising +1.4% or 70 points to 4,230; 10-yr yield up at 1.9%; oil futures down over 2%. A pullback in global oil prices, following yesterday’s comprehensive ban on Russian energy imports from President Joe Biden, looks to have helped bullish sentiment Wednesday. No major developments occurred overnight to explain the big jump in stocks other than the S&P comes into the day riding a 4-day losing streak and the ban on Russian oil had been expected. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index fell -73 points to 24,717, the Shanghai Index dropped -1.1% to 3,256, and the Hang Seng Index declined -0.67% to 20.627. In Europe, the German DAX is surging over 600 points, or 4.8% to 13,450, while the FTSE 100 gains 1.6% to 7,075. Bitcoin and other crypt stocks are higher, Bitcoin jump over 7% above $42K a statement that briefly appeared on the Treasury website before it was taken down, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a still-pending executive order on virtual currencies from President Joe Biden “calls for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to digital asset policy (that) will support responsible innovation,” as per Reuters. Major U.S. averages ended lower on Tuesday after a volatile day as the U.S. banned Russian oil and other energy imports because of its Ukraine invasion, leading to another spike in oil and other commodity prices which have boosted fears of a global recession. The U.S imposed an immediate ban on the imports, while the UK will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022 and consider banning its natural gas. Consumer staples and healthcare were the worst performing sectors, each ending down by more than 2% while energy and consumer discretionary rose.

 

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index slumped -30.39 points, or 0.72%, to 4,170.70

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -184.74 points, or 0.56%, to 32,632.64

·     The Nasdaq Composite slipped -35.41 points, or 0.28%, to 12,795.55

·     The Russell 2000 Index advanced 11.68 points, or 0.60% to 1,963.01

 

Economic Calendar for Today

·     7:00 AM ET          MBA Mortgage Applications Data

·     10:00 AM ET        JOLTs Job openings for January

·     10:30 AM ET        Weekly DOE Inventory Data

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: CPB, DSEY, EXPR, KFY, LCUT, OSG, PLCE, PWFL, REVG, THO, UNFI, VERX, VRA

·     Earnings After the Close: ACEL, ACOR, ASAN, CDXC, CRDO, CRWD, FOSL, HCI, MQ, PFIE, SFE, SSSS, TIG, YTEN

 

Other Key Events:

·     Citigroup Global Property CEO Conference, 3/6-3/9, in Hollywood, FL

·     Cowen 42^nd Annual Healthcare Conference, 3/7-3/9, in Boston, MA

·     Goldman Sachs European Chemicals Conference, 3/9-3/10, London

·     JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Corporate Conference, 3/7-3/9, in Miami, FL

·     Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, 3/7-3/10, in San Francisco, CA

·     Raymond James Annual Institutional Investors Conference, 3/6-3/9, in Orlando, FL

·     RBC Capital Global Financial Institutions Conference (virtual), 3/8-3/9

·     Truist Technology, Internet & Services Conference (virtual), 3/8-3/9

·     Wolfe FinTech Forum 2022 (virtual), 3/8-3/10

 

 

Macro	Up/Down	Last
Nymex	-4.00	119.70
Brent	-3.78	124.20
Gold	-36.60	2,014.50
EUR/USD	0.0061	1.0960
JPY/USD	0.22	115.89
10-Year Note	+0.028	1.899%

 

 

World News

·     China February CPI showed annual CPI +0.9% in-line with estimates and monthly CPI +0.6% vs. est. +0.3% and prior reading +0.4%; annual PPI +8.8% vs. est. +8.7% (prior +9.1%)

·     President Joe Biden is set to sign an executive order that will direct the federal government to come up with a plan to regulate cryptocurrencies, coordinating efforts among financial regulators to better understand the risks and opportunities presented by digital assets – NYT https://nyti.ms/3Kru6XV

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Casey Stores (CASY) Q3 EPS $1.71 vs. est. $1.45; Q3 revs $3.05B vs. est. $3.01B; Q3 Inside same-store sales increased 7.6% compared to prior year with a margin of 39.4%; reaffirms FY22 outlook for fuel and inside sales; Q4 operating expenses are expected to increase 11-13%

·     Figs Inc. (FIGS) Q4 adj EPS 9c vs est. 3c on revenue $128.7M vs est. $126.6M, active customers +46% to 1.9M, revenue per active customer +11% to $224, avg order value +15% to $113; sees FY22 revenue $550M-$560M vs est. $547.3M

·     Macy’s (M), which raised $4.5 billion in June 2020 to help fund its strained operations, in the coming weeks expects to refinance $850 million in bonds. It also intends to pay down another $280 million in debt. https://on.wsj.com/3Cpf9CV

·     StitchFix (SFIX) shares fell -18%; Q2 EPS loss (-$0.28), in-line with ests as revs rose 3% to $517M vs. est. $514.8M; sees Q3 revs $485M-$500m vs. rest. $560.5M; sees year revs to be flat to down slightly y/y; active clients of 4,019,000, an increase of 146,000 or 4% year over year

·     Thor Industries (THO) Q2 EPS $4.79 vs. est. $3.39; Q2 revs rose 42.1% to $3.88B vs. est. $3.56B; says remains long-term outlook remains very bullish for RV industry in 2022; Consolidated gross profit margin increased 220 basis points to 17.4% from 15.2%

·     Aterian, Inc. (ATER) Q4 EPS loss (-$0.11) vs. est. loss (-$0.26); Q4 revs rose 52.6% to $63.3M vs. est. $60.2M; as planned, due to supply chain concerns, 0 new products were launched in Q4

·     Cricut (CRCT) Q4 EPS $0.05 vs. est. $0.22; Q4 revs rose 5% to $387.8M vs. est. $407.51M

·     Pilgrims Pride (PPC) approves $200M share repurchase plan

 

Energy

·     The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported crude inventories rose 2.8M barrels as crude inventories at Cushing fell -400K barrels; gasoline inventories fell -2.0M barrels and diesel inventories fell -5.5M barrels

·     W&T Offshore (WTI) Q4 adj EPS $0.10 vs. est. $0.03; Q4 revs $165.59M vs. est. $137.12M; Q4 adj Ebitda up 42% to $65.7M

 

Healthcare

·     AbbVie (ABBV) will grant Alvotech a non-exclusive license to its HUMIRA-related patents in the United States, which will begin on July 1, 2023. AbbVie will make no payments of any form to Alvotech, and Alvotech will pay royalties to AbbVie for licensing its HUMIRA patents and acknowledges the validity and enforceability of the licensed patents

·     Pfizer (PFE) said it has begun a mid-to-late-stage study of its antiviral COVID-19 pill for non-hospitalized children aged 6-17 years who are at high risk of developing severe illness

·     Anika Therapeutics (ANIK) 4Q adj EPS ($0.23) vs est. ($0.25) on revs $35.8Mm vs est. $32.1Mm; guides FY revs $+low-mid single digit vs est. +13%

·     Avid BioServices, Inc. (CDMO) Q3 EPS $0.04, in-line with ests and revs rose 44% to 431.5M vs. est. $26.6M; signed $52M in net new business orders and ended the quarter with a backlog of $140M; highest backlog to date

·     Ontrak, Inc. (OTRK) shares fall -20%; 4Q adj EPS ($0.59) vs est. ($0.65) on revs $10.3Mm vs est. $12.8Mm; guides FY revs $25-30Mm vs est. $50.5Mm

·     Agiliti, Inc. (AGTI) Q4 adj EPS $0.25 vs est. $0.09 on revenue $290.5M vs est. $19M; sees FY22 adj EPS $0.89-$0.94 vs est. $0.73 on revenue $1.16B-$1.19B vs est. $1.19B

·     Terns Pharmaceuticals (TERN) files $250M mixed securities shelf

 

Industrials & Materials

·     General Electric (GE) board provided an authorization for up to $3 billion of common share repurchases

·     ABM Industries (ABM) Q1 adj EPS $0.94 vs est. $0.78 on revenue $1.9B vs est. $1.83B; raised FY adj EPS view to $3.50-$3.70 from $3.30-$3.55 (est. $3.42)

·     XPO Logistics (XPO) announces plan to create two standalone, publicly traded industry leaders in less-than-truckload and tech-enabled brokered transportation. Divestitures of Co’s European business and N.A. intermodal operation would simplify company’s transportation service offering

 

Media & Telecom

·     Bumble Inc. (BMBL) shares rise 15%; 4Q EPS ($0.08) vs est. $0.00 on revs $208.2Mm vs est. $209.6Mm, qtrly paying users +10.6% to 30Mm and ARPPU $22.83 vs $20.02; guides 1Q revs $207-210Mm vs est. $211.6Mm and adj EBITDA $47-49Mm vs est. $54.1Mm

·     Gannett (GCI) said it inadvertently passing along incorrect data parameter to advertisers over nine months; says revenue associated with third-party programmatic advertising exchanges that potentially used the incorrect data parameter was less than $10 mln over the impacted period

 

Technology

·     DoubleVerify Holdings (DV) 4Q revs $105.5Mm vs est. $102.6Mm; guides 1Q revs $89-91Mm vs est. $89Mm and adj EBITDA $21-23Mm vs est. $22.2Mm; guides FY revs $429-437Mm vs est. $431.7Mm and adj EBITDA $126-134Mm vs est. $129.8Mm

·     Guidewire Software (GWRE) Q2 adj EPS (6c) vs est. (12c) on revenue $204.6M vs est. $197.5M; sees Q3 revenue $186M-$190M vs est. $180.3M, raised FY revenue outlook to $784M-$792M from $780M-$790M

·     MongoDB (MDB) shares rose 10%; Q4 adj EPS loss (-$0.09) vs. est. loss (-$0.23); Q4 revs rose 56% y/y to $266.5M vs. est. $241.6M; guides Q1 revs $263M-$267M vs. est. $253.4M; sees year revs $1.15B-$1.18B vs. est. $1.15B and year loss (51c-29c) vs. est. loss (-$0.61); Q4 Atlas revs were up 85% y/y which was 58% of Total Q4 Revenue

·     Sumo Logic, Inc. (SUMO) 4Q adj EPS ($0.13) vs est. ($0.17) on revs $67Mm vs est. $64.3Mm; guides 1Q revs $65.5-66.5Mm vs est. $65.9Mm and adj EPS ($0.17) vs est. ($0.12); sees FY revs $288-292Mm vs est. $284.8Mm and adj EPS range ($0.68) to ($0.66) vs est. ($0.49)

·     Yext Inc. (YEXT) shares fell -20%; Q4 adj EPS ($0.03) vs est. ($0.08) on revs $100.9Mm vs est. $101.3Mm; guides 1Q revs $96.3-97.3Mm vs est. $103.8Mm and adj EPS range ($0.08) to ($0.07) vs est. ($0.05); guides FY revs $403.3-407.3Mm vs est. $444.7Mm and adj EPS range ($0.19) to ($0.17) vs est. ($0.10)

·     The U.S. is probing options trades that Barry Diller, Alexander von Furstenberg, and David Geffen made on Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shares just days before the company agreed to be acquired by Microsoft (MSFT), WSJ reports https://on.wsj.com/3hPJfpt

·     Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) announces $150M accelerated share repurchase