Get ahead of the market by subscribing to Seeking Alpha’s Stocks to Watch , a preview of key events scheduled for next week. This newsletter keeps you up to date on the big stories making headlines, including upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports and conference presentations.
The release of the U.S. March inflation report will put interest rates at the forefront of investors’ minds. Economists predict that the CPI will rise by 0.3% quarterly and 3.5% annually. BNP Paribas believes that a slowdown in housing inflation may help strengthen confidence that the FOMC will start cutting interest rates in June, while relatively strong non-housing services inflation is seen as posing a risk that overall inflation remains more resilient, And the Federal Reserve will start its interest rate cut cycle later than June. Chris Lau, head of Seeking Alpha Investment Group, predicted that unless CPI rises sharply, it will not be important in changing the Fed’s dovish stance.
The first major earnings reports are due this weekend, with JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK) and Citigroup (C) all reporting on leaked data. Analysts pointed out that investment banking business performed strongly in the first quarter, with high-yield issuance, leveraged loan syndication and equity underwriting volumes all hitting their highest levels since the fourth quarter of 2021, but corporate loan demand was weak. Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Constellation Brands (STZ) are also due to report earnings next week. In the tech world, enthusiasm for artificial intelligence can be seen through Intel (INTC), Google (GOOGL) and Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) All events that promise to cover AI use cases and capabilities.
Earnings Spotlight: Monday, April 8 – Lotus Technologies (LOT). View the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Spotlight: Tuesday, April 9 – Neogen (NEOG), PriceSmart (PSMT) and Tilray Brands (TLRY). View the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Spotlight: Wednesday, April 10 – Delta Airlines (Dar), applied numbers (APLD), and renting runways (rent). View the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Spotlight: Thursday, April 11 – Constellation Brands (STZ), CarMax (KMX) and Fastenal (FAST). View the full earnings calendar.
Earnings Spotlight: Friday, April 12 – JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC)), Blackstone (black) and Citigroup (C). View the full earnings calendar.
Volatility Watch: Options trading on TeraWulf (WULF) and Aurora Cannabis (ACB) increased. The most overbought stocks according to the 14-day relative strength index include AltC Acquisition (ALCC), SIGA Technologies (SIGA) and Kulr Technology Group (KULR). The most oversold stocks on the 14-day relative strength index include Disc Medicine Inc (IRON), Amylyx Pharmaceuticals (AMLX) and Humana (HUM).
IPO Watch: Companies expected to launch IPOs in the coming week include Neonc Technologies (NTHI), UL Solutions (ULS) and Cleancore Solutions (ZONE). Data security company Rubrik (RBRK) is expected to file for an IPO. Birkenstock (NYSE:BIRK) will also be watched, as its IPO lock-up period expires on April 8.
Dividend Watch: Companies expected to increase their quarterly dividends include FedEx (FDX) to $1.40 from $1.26, Constellation Brands (STZ) to $0.96 from $0.86, HB Fuller (FUL) to $0.22 from $0.205, and Qualcomm (QCOM) Aon ( AON ) rose to $0.65 from $0.615, up from $0.80 to $0.85. Check out Seeking Alpha’s analyst picks for dividend stocks.
Delta Air Lines profit preview: Delta Air Lines (DAL) will report first-quarter earnings on April 10. The airline expects revenue of $12.9B and earnings per share of $0.36 for the quarter. Passenger revenue per available seat mile is expected to decline sequentially this quarter, while costs per available seat mile are expected to be higher. Delta Air Lines expects adjusted EBITDA of $1.2B and free cash flow of $1.6B for the quarter. Ahead of the report, Bank of America said it expected to hear solid commentary from the airline and believed consensus estimates for the second quarter were likely too low. The company reiterated a buy rating and raised its price target on Delta Air Lines to $53 from $50. On Delta’s earnings call, management is likely to discuss capacity expectations for a busy summer, including a potential boost from the Paris Olympics. As the first airline to report earnings each quarter, Delta’s outlook typically has a huge impact on the industry. The two airline stocks with the highest correlation to Delta Air Lines trading are United Airlines (UAL) and Alaska Airlines Group (ALK).
Technology activities: The tech industry will be buzzing with major events in the week ahead. Intel (INTC) will host the Intel Vision event in Phoenix, Arizona. The theme of this year’s event is “Making Artificial Intelligence Ubiquitous”. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger will deliver a keynote speech on enterprise artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence-driven business support. The conference will also highlight Intel’s future projects. The three-day Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) Cloud Next event is also taking place this week. The tech giant will showcase artificial intelligence assistant Gemini, Generative AI Studio and AI Platform tools during the event. DocuSign (DOCU) is hosting a two-day Momentum24 event. CEO Alan Thygeson will be one of the keynote speakers. Also attracting great attention is that Marvell Technology (MRVL) will host a special event titled “Accelerating Infrastructure in the AI Era.” Management is expected to discuss the overall addressable market for application-specific integrated circuits and custom ASIC ramps. Citi opened a 30-day Catalyst Watch on semiconductor stocks, believing the stock will rise similar to how Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) rallied following their respective AI-related events. Bank of America expects Marvell Technology (MRVL) to address an incremental total addressable market of $20B to $30B. “AVGO dominates the custom chip market (worth $7.5 billion in 2024, accounting for 75% of the $10-11 billion custom chip market), but we expect MRVL to become more important and ultimately It accounts for more than 10% of the AI chip market.” Analyst Vivek Arya. Notably, Marvell Technology (MRVL) is also expected to strengthen its competitive advantage in customized chips compared with lower-priced Taiwanese rivals.
Derived watches: Many companies are expected to finalize spinoff plans in the second quarter. New stocks that may begin trading include Studio Business (LGF.A), a spin-off from Lions Gate, Sporting Products from Vista Outdoor (VSTO), Eviden (OTCPK:AEXAF), a spin-off from Atos SE, and Centuri Group. Stocks that are spun off. Spin-off from Southwest Natural Gas Holdings (SWX). AP Moller – Maersk (OTCPK:AMKBF) (OTCPK:AMKBY) has set April 30 as the first trading day for Svitzer Group, the company’s towage and marine services business unit.
