Investors will not have much in the way of economic data to wade through next week after a wave of conflicting reports on GDP, jobs, retail sales, and CPI inflation did little to settle the debate about whether the economy is more at risk of overheating or drifting into a recession.
However, heavyweight earnings reports from Nvidia (NVDA) (preview) and Walmart (WMT) could impact sentiment broadly in their respective sectors. Nvidia is up more than 45% on a year-to-date basis and is the AI superstar of the year, while Walmart is being tagged as one of the better defensive plays of the year. Walmart also has a three-for-one stock split that will become effective at the close of trading on Friday.
In the crypto sector, expect more buzz about the Bitcoin halving event that is expected to occur in May to reduce the reward for Bitcoin mining by half. The first Bitcoin halving occurred in November 2012, followed by halving events in July 2016 and May 2020. Bitcoin typically trades with increased volatility in the months ahead of the halving event.
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, February 20 – Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), and Medtronic (MDT).
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, February 21 – Analog Devices (ADI), Nvidia (NVDA), Etsy (ETSY), Rio Tinto (RIO), Marathon Oil (MRO), Rivian Automotive (RIVN), and Lucid Group (LCID).
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, February 22 – PG&E (PCG), Dominion Energy (D), Moderna (MRNA), Intuit (INTU), Booking Holdings (BKNG), Wayfair (W), and Carvana (CVNA).
Earnings spotlight: Friday, February 23 – Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN), and Ameren (AEE). See the full earnings calendar.
Volatility watch: Options trading volume is elevated on Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) and SunPower Corporation (SPWR). Meanwhile, Fisker (FSR), Beyond Meat (BYND), and C3.ai (NYSE:AI) are still near the top of the list of stocks with the highest level of short interest. The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Beamr Imaging (BMR), and BioLargo (OTCQB:BLGO). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include SSR Mining (SSRM), AN2 Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ANTX), and QuidelOrtho (QDEL).
IPO watch: Singapore-based ride-hailing company Ryde Group (RYDE) is expected to start trading next week in an IPO slated to being in $12M to $15M. The IPO lockup period expire on certain blocks of shares of Foremost Lithium Resource & Technology (FMST). The analyst quiet periods expire on CG Oncology (CGON), ArriVent BioPharma (AVBP), Morgan Stanley Direct Lending Fund (MSDL), Autonomix Medical (NASDAQ:AMIX), Haoxi Health Technology (HAO), BrightSpring Health Services (BTSG), Planet Image International (YIBO), and SU Group (SUGP) to free up analysts to post ratings. Of the group, CG Oncology has seen the biggest share price gain since going public.
Investor events: The conference schedule heats up in the week ahead, with the CAGNY Conference in Boca Raton, Florida, perhaps the headliner of the bunch. Companies due to present include Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Kraft Heinz (KHC), WK Kellogg (KLG), Mondelez International (MDLZ), Philip Morris International (PM), and Coty (COTY). The conference has been used by management teams in the past to talk about long-term strategies. The Citi Global Industrials Conference will also take place next week. The conference will include appearances from companies from a broad range of industries. United Airlines (UAL), Rocket Lab USA (RKLB), and United Rentals (URI) are a few of the companies due to appear. Meanwhile, the Bank of America Securities Financial Services Conference will include participation from MetLife (MET), Apollo Global Management (APO), and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM). Notable investor events include Amgen’s (NASDAQ:AMGN) business update call, Sonoco Products’ (NYSE:SON) Investor Day, and Intapp’s (NASDAQ:INTA) Investor Day.
