Wall Street Breakfast: The Week Ahead

Outlook

Economic reports in the week ahead

Investors head into next week with plenty of wildcards to size up, including U.S. trade relations with China, the Treasury yield curve and an increased focus on the potential for higher corporate tax rates down the road. On that last item, Credit Suisse Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Jonathan Golub thinks the probability of tax increases coming this year could rise if the economy shows particular strength. "The market in 6-to-8 months from now is going to start getting more concerned about that," he warns. The event calendar for next week includes an Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) update on products and a Virtual E-Systems Product Day from Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA). There is also an earnings report from GameStop (NYSE:GME) to strap in for and prepare for some extra volatility. During the earnings call, GameStop management is likely to be asked about the Reddit-inspired share price explosion, along with expected updates on revenue trends and the digital strategy.

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Welcome to Wall Street Brunch, our preview of stock market events for investors to watch during the upcoming week. You can also catch this article a day early by subscribing to the Stocks to Watch account for Saturday morning delivery.
Outlook

Economic reports in the week ahead

Investors head into next week with plenty of wildcards to size up, including U.S. trade relations with China, the Treasury yield curve and an increased focus on the potential for higher corporate tax rates down the road. On that last item, Credit Suisse Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Jonathan Golub thinks the probability of tax increases coming this year could rise if the economy shows particular strength. "The market in 6-to-8 months from now is going to start getting more concerned about that," he warns. The event calendar for next week includes an Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) update on products and a Virtual E-Systems Product Day from Lear Corporation (NYSE:LEA). There is also an earnings report from GameStop (NYSE:GME) to strap in for and prepare for some extra volatility. During the earnings call, GameStop management is likely to be asked about the Reddit-inspired share price explosion, along with expected updates on revenue trends and the digital strategy.

Earnings

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) and IHS Markit (NYSE:INFO) report on March 23; General Mills (NYSE:GIS) and KB Home (NYSE:KBH) on March 24; Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI), Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK) and Momo (NASDAQ:MOMO) on March 25.

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Dividends

Projected dividend increases (quarterly): There is a short list of companies expected to increase their dividend payouts next week. Quarterly dividend hikes are expected from Globe Life (NYSE:GL) to $0.20 from $0.1875 and Whitestone REIT (NYSE:WSR) to $0.35833 from $0.35.

M&A

Shareholders votes are scheduled for the all-stock Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM)-Navios Maritime Containers (NASDAQ:NMCI) deal, the Great American buyout of Sportsman's Warehouse (NASDAQ:SPWH) and the Sumitovant Biopharma acquisition of Urovant Sciences (NASDAQ:UROV).

Healthcare

BridgeBio Pharma (NASDAQ:BBIO) is due to present Phase 2 data on encaleret on Type 1 autosomal dominant hypocalcemia at Endocrine Society's 2021 Annual Meeting. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:RYTM) and Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) will also be closely watched for the latest set of data likely to be presented at a virtual 3-day event. Insulet Corporation (NASDAQ:PODD) will host an investor webcast focused on the Omnipod 5 pivotal trial data for adults and adolescents presented at ENDO 2021. The event will be hosted by Insulet and will include a presentation and an interactive question and answer session with the company's covering sell-side analyst.

Events

Intel (INTC) is hosting an "Unleashed: Engineering the Future "event next week that could include a product roadmap update. New CEO Pat Gelsinger on March tipped that the event will include a business update and webcast address on the new era of innovation and leadership. During the company's Q4 report in January, Intel said its FY21 forecast would be provided no later than the Q1 report and said more details about the 2023 product plans would come after Gelsinger took the reins. Other key events to watch next week include the BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:BCRX) Virtual R&D day, the Lear (LEA) Virtual E-Systems Product Day, the Roche Diagnostics (RHBBY) Investor Day, InterActive Corp's (NASDAQ:IAC) Vimeo Investor Day and Alkermes (NASDAQ:ALKS) Investor.

Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) expects ridesharing volume growth in excess of 100% in the week ahead as the company recovery appears to be ahead of schedule. Wedbush Securities thinks the positive trends could extend for Lyft with springboard-like pent-up demand on the horizon and a much more profitable model on the other side of a vaccine. The firm notes that Lyft doesn't have the regulatory/legal employee/contractor headache issues in Europe like Uber (NYSE:UBER) or a food delivery business drag on margins. Keep an eye on Lyft next week for an update on ridesharing trends through its corporate blog.

XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) is conducting the longest autonomous driving test in China of a mass-produced vehicle next week. The company says the expedition will showcase the capability of its Navigation Guided Pilot, which is Xpeng's full-stack in-house developed autonomous driving solution for complex driving scenarios on China's highways. The fleet of P7s will drive across 10 cities in China (Guangzhou to Shantou, Quanzhou, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Jinan, and Beijing). The expedition is being joined by more than 200 auto journalists, EV enthusiasts and industry experts over the course of seven days, meaning XPeng could see some publicity by the end of the week if the autonomous driving goes smoothly.

Conferences rundown: Some of the notable conferences in the week ahead include the Piper Sandler Energy 21st Annual Energy Conference, the Bank of America Energy & Utilities Conference, the Credit Suisse Digital Consumer Retail Conference, the JP Morgan Global ESG Conference and the Canaccord Genuity eCommerce Sustainable Advantage Forum.

Barron's mentions

The publication tackles investing in the space race in the latest issue. While space tourism gets the attention, Barron's says investors can pick from companies creating actual revenue across satellite makers, launch-services providers and even space-logistics companies. On the pricier and more speculative side are companies aiming to provide satellite service like AST & Science (ASTS), Astra (OTC:ASTR), BlackSky Holdings (BKSY) and Momentus (MNTS). Of all the start-ups in the space race, Barron's says its favorite is Rocket Lab USA, which is merging with SPAC Vector Acquisition (NASDAQ:VACQU). This week's issue also pitches the bull case for e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) and Splunk (NASDAQ:SPLK).

Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, Renaissance Capital

 


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