Morning Preview: December 09, 2020

Early Look

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Futures

Up/Down

%

Last

DJ Industrials

62.00

0.21%

30,232

S&P 500

5.00

0.14%

3,707

Nasdaq

-9.50

0.07%

12,628

 

 

Another day, another move higher for global stock markets as overnight, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin presented to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a $916B virus relief proposal that includes money for state and local governments and liability protections for businesses, schools and universities. The Democrats have previously opposed the liability shield, a measure that Republicans have been insisting upon. Meanwhile, Republicans have objected to more state and local aid. Part of the legislation would be funded with $140B in unused funds from the Paycheck Protection Program and $429B in Treasury funds. The proposal also adds a $600 direct payment for most Americans. Whether both sides agree to the new proposal is yet to be seen, but just another positive market friendly headline at this time. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index jumped 350 points to 26,817, the Shanghai Index fell -38 points to 3,371 and the Hang Seng Index gained 198 points to 26,502. In Europe, the German DAX is up around 115 points near 13,400, while the FTSE 100 rises over 25 points to 6,585. In stock news, food delivery company DoorDash (DASH) priced its IPO at $102, well above the expected range as shares trade today.

 

As for Tuesday, the Nasdaq Composite posted its 50th record close along with a closing high for the benchmark S&P 500 index as well as positive vaccine developments boost investor risk appetite midway through the session after overnight weakness amid a lack of stimulus news. All four major U.S. stock indexes gained ground, with the S&P 500 settling above 3,700 for the first time ever. The Russell 2000 also set a record high, breaching 1,900 for the first time as SmallCap recent outperformance continued. Stocks got a boost late morning after the FDA backed PFE/BNTX’s COVID-19 vaccine data on the same day Britain began first using the drug while MRNA advanced as Switzerland increased its orders for that company’s coronavirus vaccine candidate, which has also been submitted for emergency approval.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index gained 10.29 points, or 0.28%, to 3,702.25

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.09 points, or 0.35%, to 30,173.88

·     The Nasdaq Composite jumped 62.83 points, or 0.50%, to 12,582.77

·     The Russell 2000 Index surged 26.53 points, or 1.40% to 1,917.78

 

Economic Calendar for Today

·     7:00 AM EST      MBA Mortgage Applications Data

·     10:00 AM EST    JOLTs Job Openings for October

·     10:00 AM EST    Wholesale Business Inventories for Oct

·     10:30 AM EST    Weekly DOE Inventory Data

 

Earnings Calendar:

·     Earnings Before the Open: CPB, DBI, HOV, LOVE, PLAB, UNFI, VERU, VRA, ZAYO

·     Earnings After the Close: ASAN, CMTL, ENZ, GEF, GNSS, ISSC, MESA, OXM, RH, VRNT

 

Other Key Events:

·     Raymond James Technology Investors Conference (virtual) 12/7-12/9

·     UBS Global TMT Conference (virtual), 12/7-12/9

·     Wells Fargo Midstream & Utility Symposium (virtual), 12/8-12/9

 

 

Macro

Up/Down

Last

WTI Crude

0.10

45.70

Brent

0.06

48.90

Gold

-10.15

1,860.40

EUR/USD

0.0018

1.2122

JPY/USD

-0.01

104.15

10-Year Note

+0.028

0.941%

 

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     DoorDash (DASH) priced its 33M share IPO at $102 per share, well above its previously raised price range of $90-$95, making it an offering of $3.4B worth of stock, marking the second-biggest IPO of the year

·     Chewy.com (CHWY) 3Q ($0.08) vs. est. ($0.13) on net sales $1.78B vs. est. $1.72B; guides 4Q sales $1.94-1.96B vs. est. $1.79B; sees FY sales $7.04-7.06B vs. prior $6.78-6.83B (est. $6.84B); Q3 active customers up 39.8% at 17,788; Q3 net sales per active customer up 0.8% at $363; Q3 gross margin was 25.5%, expanded 180 basis points year-over-year

·     GameStop (GME) Q3 adj EPS ($0.53) vs. est. ($0.85) on sales $1.005B vs. est. $1.09B, comps -24.6%, e-commerce sales +257%; expect to realize positive comps and profitability in 4Q, says November comps +16.5%; to file shelf registration for “at-the-market” share offerings

·     GrowGeneration (GRWG) 5M share Secondary priced at $30.00

·     Xpeng (XPEV) 48M share Secondary priced at $45.00

 

Energy

·     The American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a surprise build of 1.14M barrels of oil for the week ending Dec. 4, a build of 6.44M gasoline barrels, distillate inventories show a build of 2.32M barrels and Cushing inventories show a draw of 1.85M barrels.

·     JinkoSolar Holding (JKS) announced the sale of up to $100M of its American depositary shares

·     W&T Offshore (WTI) now expects its Q4 production to average between 34,700 and 36,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (“Boe/d”) of which 34% is estimated to be oil, 11% natural gas liquids, and the balance natural gas. Previously the Company had estimated its Q4 production would average 31,500 to 35,000 Boe/d

·     Talos Energy (TALO) 8.25M share Secondary priced at $8.90

 

Financials

·     MasterCard (MA) announces new $6B share buyback program and raises quarterly dividend to 44c from 40c pe share

·     Robinhood Markets selected Goldman Sachs (GS) to lead its initial public offering and seeks a valuation of more than $20B, Reuters reported, above the company’s prior valuation of $11.7B in its last fundraising round in September.

·     Cohen & Steers, Inc. (CNS) reported preliminary assets under management of $76.7 billion as of November 30, 2020, an increase of $5.5 billion from assets under management at October 31, 2020. the increase was due to net inflows of $458 million and market appreciation of $5.2 billion, partially offset by distributions of $221 million.

·     BRP Group (BRP) 8.75M share Spot Secondary priced at $29.50

 

Healthcare

·     Baxter International (BAX) has expressed interest in buying Omnicell (OMCL), Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the matter, but notes that no final decisions about the deal have been made https://bloom.bg/3gttsvc

·     Britain’s medicine regulator has advised that people with a history of significant allergic reactions do not get Pfizer-BioNTech’ s vaccine after two people reported adverse effects, England’s National Health Service (NHS) said on Wednesday.

·     Pluristem (PSTI) falls over -40%; said it decided to end late-stage study of its treatment for critical limb ischemia as the decision follows an independent data monitoring committee’s review, which found the study is unlikely to meet its main goal by the time of the final analysis

·     Atara Biotherapeutics (ATRA) 5.102M share Secondary priced at $24.50

·     Hookipa Pharma (HOOK) 3.4M share Spot Secondary priced at $11.75

·     IGM Biosciences (IGMS) 2.222M share Secondary priced at $90.00

·     Sutro Biopharma (STRO) 6M share Secondary priced at $21.00

·     CVS Corp. (CVS) says 44,000 long term care facilities have selected CVS for covid-19 vaccine – operation warp speed vaccine summit

·     Kura Oncology (KURA) 8.11M share Secondary priced at $37.00

·     Phreesia (PHR) Q3 EPS loss (17c) vs. est. loss (9c) on revenue $38.5M vs. est. $35.56M; guides FY21 revenue $146M-$147M vs. est. $140.9M and for the full fiscal year 2022, expects revenue to grow between 20%-25% over fiscal year 2021; Average number of provider clients was 1,737 in the quarter as compared to 1,573 in the same period in the prior year, an increase of 10% and average revenue per provider client was $17,490 in Q3 compared to $16,637 YoY

·     HTG Molecular Diagnostics (HTGM) announced that it has launched an Early Access Program for its whole transcriptome panel using the HTG EdgeSeq technology

·     Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) rises 30%; after it reported positive early data from the Phase 1 trial of RP-A501 in treating Danon disease. RP-A501 is Rocket’s adeno-associated viral vector-based gene therapy candidate expressing LAMP2B for the treatment of Danon disease, a rare X-linked inherited disorder caused by genetic mutations in the LAMP2 gene

·     Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (WBA) says 30,000 long term care facilities have chosen Walgreens for covid-19 vaccine- operation warp speed vaccine summit

 

Industrials & Materials

·     AeroVironment (AVAV) Q2 non-GAAP EPS 48c vs. est. 31c; Q2 revs $92.7M vs. est. $81.8M; acquires Telerob for $45.4M, a leader in ground robotic solutions, to expand multi-domain unmanned systems offering and global presence; backs FY21 adj. EPS view $1.74-$1.94 (est. $1.88) and also backs FY21 revenue view $390M-$410M (est. $404.22M)

·     Boeing (BA) delivered a 737 MAX to United Airlines (UAL), the first carrier to receive a newly produced model of the jet after U.S. regulators lifted the 20-month grounding last month. Eight finished MAX planes are expected to be delivered to United by end of this year.

·     Ferroglobe (GSM) rises on news that the U.S. Department of Commerce will impose preliminary duties of up to 47.54% on all silicon metal imports from Iceland and from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

·     Pentair (PNR) to buy back up to $750M of shares

·     Powell industries (POWL) 4Q EPS $0.25 vs. est. $0.27 on revs $115Mm vs. est. $120.2Mm, backlog $477Mm; says expects to convert about 60% of backlog to revs in upcoming

 

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     FireEye (FEYE) shares fell -7%; the Internet security company says they were hacked in company blog post; says internal hacking tools were stolen and that it is working with affected vendors

·     Guidewire Software (GWRE) shares fell -5%; Q1 adjusted EPS 17c vs. est. loss (5c) on revenue $169.8M vs. est. $164.62M; sees Q2 revenue $168M-$172M vs. est. $169.85M and sees FY21 revs $723M-$733M vs. est. $730.48M; sees FY21 adjusted operating income ($5M)-$5M; Annual recurring revenue, or ARR, was $513 million as of October 31, 2020, compared to $514 million as of July 31, 2020

·     MongoDB Inc. (MDB) 3Q adj EPS ($0.31) vs. est. ($0.44) on revs $150.8Mm vs. est. $138.7Mm; guides 4Q revs $155-157Mm vs. est. $146.1Mm; Continued Strong Growth with Over 22,600 Customers as of October 31, 2020; Atlas Revenue 47% of Total Q3 Revenue, up 61% Year-over-Year; raises FY21 adj. EPS view to ($1.07)-($1.04) from ($1.29)-($1.21) and ups year revs to $574.4M-$576.4M from $549M-$554M

·     NBCUniversal (CMCSA) streaming service Peacock has crested 26M subscribers, NBCU CEO Jeff Shell says; that’s up from 22M posted at Q3’s end (reported on Oct. 29).

·     PubMatic (PUBM) 5.9M share IPO priced at $20.00

·     STMicroelectronics NV (STM) shares fell -9%; after the company lowered most of its midterm targets and pushed them back a year to 2023; said that it expects revenue of $12 billion and free cash flow of more than $1 billion in the midterm – which was the same forecast at its capital markets day in 2019 for the period until 2022, but Wednesday’s update is for the period until 2023. Also lowered midterm forecasts for gross margin, operating margin, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin.

·     Photronics (PLAB) Q4 EPS 10c vs. est. 15c on revenue $149.3M vs. consensus $153.87M; sees Q1 EPS 7c-14c on revs $145M-$155M vs. est. 16c and $152.57M

@media only screen and (max-width: 500px) {
td p.MsoNormal {
text-indent: 0!important;
margin: 0!important;
}
}
div[class*=WordSection]>p {line-height: inherit !important;}div[class*=WordSection] a:not([href]) {color: inherit !important;}

_________________________________________________________________

Market commentary provided by Catena Media Financials US, LLC, a firm separate from and not affiliated with Regal Securities. Regal Securities has not participated in the creation of the content, and does not explicitly or implicitly endorse the content.