Economic reports in the week ahead - U.S. markets are only open for four trading days after taking a breather for the Independence Day holiday. It is a quiet week for earnings and corporate events, although the IPO and SPAC markets are expected to stay in focus. One of the more notable developments of the year in the restaurant sector takes place when McDonald's launches its first-ever loyalty program on July 8. The week ahead will also see more buzz on space investing as SpaceX's (SPACE) first dedicated mission for the Falcon 9 with Starlink internet satellites and Virgin Galactic's (NYSE:SPCE) spaceflight with Richard Branson on board both approach.
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| | Welcome to Wall Street Breakfast, 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  Shutterstock U.S. markets are only open for four trading days after taking a breather for the Independence Day holiday. It is a quiet week for earnings and corporate events, although the IPO and SPAC markets are expected to stay in focus. One of the more notable developments of the year in the restaurant sector takes place when McDonald's launches its first-ever loyalty program on July 8. The week ahead will also see more buzz on space investing as SpaceX's (SPACE) first dedicated mission for the Falcon 9 with Starlink internet satellites and Virgin Galactic's (NYSE:SPCE) spaceflight with Richard Branson on board both approach. | | Earnings Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, July 6th: SMART Global (NASDAQ:SGH).
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, July 7th: Rush Street Interactive (NYSE:RSI) and WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC).
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, July 8th: Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE), PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) and Levi Strauss (NYSE:LEVI).
Earnings spotlight: Friday, July 9th: Greenbrier (NYSE:GBX). | | Sponsored By Unifimoney  Robo Advisor, Commission Free Trading of thousands of stocks and ETF's, trade over 30 Cryptocurrencies and Precious Metals. Unifimoney is a multi-asset investment and money management platform that makes building and protecting your wealth effortless. The only fully integrated digital consumer financial solution in the market.
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| | IPOs IPO watch: No IPOs are expected to price during the holiday-shortened week. A rush of quiet period expirations on July 6 will keep analysts busy. Look for ratings to drop on Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ), Kanzhun (NASDAQ: BZ), Monday.com (NASDAQ: MNDY), TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK), Janux Therapeutics (NASDAQ: JANX), Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA), 1stdibs (NASDAQ: DIBS), AcuityAds (NASDAQ: ATY), Zhangmen Education (NYSE: ZME) and Splash Beverage Group (NYSE: SBEV). IPO lockup periods expire on Cullinan Oncology (NASDAQ: CGEM) and Gracell Biotechnologies (NASDAQ: GRCL) on July 7. Investors will also be watching for more information on the Robinhood Markets ( HOOD) IPO. | | M&A M&A tidbits: A Delaware judge is expected to rule on whether MSG Networks (NYSE: MSGN) shareholders will vote next week on a planned merger with Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: MSGE). The go-shop period on the acquisition of MMA Capital Holdings (NASDAQ: MMAC) by Fundamental Advisors expires. Safe-T (NASDAQ: SFET) is expected to close on its acquisition of CyberKick next week. | | Trending McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) launches the first loyalty program in the company's history. McDonald's Rewards gives customers the chance to unlock free menu items by collecting 100 points for every one dollar spent on qualifying purchases. The program is part of the company's new "MyMcDonald's" platform, which includes the app and digital menu boards. McDonald's ( MCD) tested its new rewards program in Phoenix and New England to strong results before announcing the national launch. "Our loyalty customers are far more likely to return in the next 30 days compared to non-loyalty customers," noted McDonald's execs. The fast-food chain's loyalty program is highly anticipated by investors hoping that it can generate the same sort of positive attention as the programs at Chipotle, Starbucks and Panera. Universal (NASDAQ: CMCSA) is expected to hold down the top three spots at the U.S. box office for the three-day holiday weekend. If F9 ($28M), The Boss Baby; Family Business ($15M) and The Forever Purge ($10M) meet expectations, Universal will be the first studio to have the top three movies since Sony pulled it off in 2005. | | Events Healthcare watch: The FDA action date on ChemoCentryx's (NASDAQ:CCXI) avacopan for associated vasculitis arrives. Shares of CCXI plunged earlier this year when FDA briefing documents indicating areas of concern. Morphic Holding (NASDAQ:MORF) is due to post full Phase 1 data on MORF-057 at the ECCO Virtual Congress. Shares of Morphic spiked earlier this year when interim results for MORF-057 came in positive. Vaccinex (NASDAQ:VCNX) is in the spotlight at the XV European Meeting on Glial Cells in Health and Disease. Execs will chair a symposium and panel Q&A session, as well as present a poster on pepinemab.
Data watch: Airline traffic reports are due in during the week with potential guidance updates always a possibility with the monthly reports. Smaller domestic-focused airline stocks like Sun Country Airlines (NASDAQ:SNCY), Mesa Airlines (NASDAQ:MESA) and Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ:HA) have outperformed over the last month. Also watch for updates on Class 8 truck orders, the latest Nielsen reports and Costco's (NASDAQ:COST) monthly sales report for June.
Talking Metaverse: The newly-launched Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (NYSEARCA:META) could attract some more attention next week as the first index intended to trace the performance of the metaverse. Roundhill vividly describes the metaverse as a descendant of the current Internet that includes countless interoperable and persistent virtual worlds that integrate into the physical world to create a new medium and economy for work, leisure and innovation. Top holdings of the next-gen fund include Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Tencent Holdings (OTCPK:TCEHY), Roblox (NYSE:RBLX), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Fastly (NYSE:FSLY), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) and Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR).
Conferences rundown: It is a slow week for investor conferences, but the TD Securities Virtual Energy Conference and the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference 2021 could generate some interest.
Notable annual meetings: Annual meetings on the calendar next week include Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) on July 7. Shares of Rite Aid are on a downswing after FQ1 earnings disappointed and JPMorgan downgraded the drugstore stock to an Underweight rating. | | Barron's mentions The case to buy European stocks is the subject of the cover story this week. A reopening economy, supportive fiscal policies and relatively cheap stocks are noted to make Europe an ideal destination for investors. European airline stocks International Consolidated Airlines Group ( OTCPK:ICAGY), Ryanair Holdings (NASDAQ: RYAAY), and Wizz Air Holdings ( OTCPK:WZZAF) are called interesting long-term bets. Meanwhile, the overall bounce in the economy is seen benefiting companies like BAE Systems ( BAESD), BNP Paribas ( OTCQX:BNPQF), Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), Fraport Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide ( OTCPK:FPRUF), Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, ING Groep and Irish Continental Group ( OTCPK:IRCUF). | | | | |
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