Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Stocks to Watch - a preview of key events scheduled for the next week. Follow this account and turn the e-mail alert on to receive this article in your inbox every Saturday morning. A podcast of Stocks to Watch is also available on Sundays on Seeking Alpha, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify (click the highlighted links).
Investors will continue to evaluate the impact of the congressional vote on stimulus in the week ahead and the direction of interest rates. On the corporate calendar, earnings reports will only trickle in, but U.S. telecom giants Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) and AT&T hold big investor events. Gaming platform Roblox Corp (NYSE:RBLX) is set to go public in a direct listing next week. Roblox expects its revenue to double in Q1 and daily active users to be up 59% to 68% from last year's level. Roblox join a list of high-profile companies like Palantir Technologies and Spotify Technology that went public through the direct path. That list could include Instacart (ICART) shortly.
Earnings spotlight: XPeng (NYSE:XPEV), Stitch Fix (SFIX) and Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY) on March 8; Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) and MongoDB (NASDAQ:MDB) on March 9; Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB), Cloudera (CLDR), REV Group (REV) and BEST Inc. (NYSE:BEST) on March 10; JD.com (NASDAQ:JD) and DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) on March 11 and JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) on March 12.
IPO watch: IPOs expected to price include Coupang (NYSE:CPNG) and First High-School education (FHS) on March 11 and Joann (JOAN) and Hayward Holdings (NYSE:HAYW) on March 12. The direct listing for Roblox (RBLX) is expected to start trading on March 10. The IPO lockup period expires on Nanobiotix SA (NASDAQ:NBTX) on March 11. Quiet period expirations during the week include Adagene (NASDAQ:ADAG), Apria (APR), Bumble (NASDAQ:BMBL), Bioventus (NASDAQ:BVS), Viant Technology (NASDAQ:DSP), LoanDepot (NYSE:LDI), Cloopen Group (RAAS), Signify Health (SGFY), Decibel Therapeutics (DBTX) and NexImmune (NASDAQ:NEXI).Roblox (RBLX).
Projected dividend increases (quarterly): The list of notable dividend increases anticipated to be announced next week includes Oracle (ORCL) to $0.30 from $0.24, Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS) to $0.39 from $0.3125, Retail Properties (RPAI) to $0.07 from $0.06, Innovative Industrial (NYSE:IIPR) to $1.30 from $1.24, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) to $0.23 from $0.22, Hill-Rom (HRC) to $0.23 to $0.22 and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) to $0.45 from $0.44.
Carrier analyst days: Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T will hold analyst days next week. Taking the broad view, Bank of America expects the carriers to discuss 5G deployment efforts and capex expectations. "We suspect AT&T and Verizon will continue spending at the same level to attempt to take advantage of C-band spectrum as quickly as possible. Based on our conversation with the company, we believe T-Mobile will likely lower its prior '~$40bn over 3 years' capex budget per its 2018 merger deck. We suspect this is a mix of signing new long term tower deals, improved purchasing power, and greater insight into the merger integration effort," previews the firm. JPMorgan says it hopes to get a better view on how AT&T will account for the cost of the 15-17 films that will be streamed for 30 days on HBO Max this year, without which it is impossible to estimate segment EBITDA for the year. The firm also expects an update of long-term domestic and international subscriber guidance.
M&A tidbits: There are a number of shareholder votes on mergers this week. The IHS Markit (INFO)-S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) deal goes to a vote on March 11 and the Alaska Communications (ALSK)-ATN International (NASDAQ:ATNI) merger goes to a vote on March 12.
Corporate events: DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) holds its first Investor Day event as a public company. The presentation will give the company a chance to comment on what it sees as the total addressable market for sports betting in the U.S. and the path to profitability. Investor events are also scheduled for Cigna (NYSE:CI), Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and CyberArk Software (NASDAQ:CYBR). Check out Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch for a detailed list of events to watch.
Conferences rundown: The UBS Global Consumer and Retail Virtual Conference may be the headliner event of the week. Presenting companies include Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Under Armour (NYSE:UAA) and Walmart (NYSE:WMT). Other notable conference in the week includes the Deutsche Bank 29th Annual Media, Internet and Telecom Conference, the Citi Global Property CEO Conference including presentations by American Express (NYSE:AXP) and Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT),the RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference 2021, the Barclays Global Healthcare Conference including presentations by Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) and Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT), the Truist Securities Technology, Internet & Services Conference 2021 including presentations by BigCommerce (NASDAQ:BIGC) and Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS), the Susquehanna 10th Annual Technology Conference, the HC Wainwright Global Life Sciences Conference, the Bank of America Securities Consumer and Retail Technology Conference featuring presentations by RealReal (NASDAQ:REAL) and eBay (EBAY), the Baird's Vehicle Technology & Mobility Conference, the D.A. Davidson 4th Annual Consumer Growth Conference, the Loop Capital Consumer, Industrials and TMT Investor Conference, the JP Morgan Gaming Lodging Restaurant & Leisure Management Access Forum and the Gabelli & Company 12th Annual Specialty Chemicals Conference. Check out Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch for a detailed list of events to watch.
Data reports: AUM reports from asset managers are expected to be released. Boeing (NYSE:BA) will post its February deliveries report sometime during the week. Also, Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) could issue its monthly report on machine sales.
Barron's mentions: The publication makes a strong case that the pullback in Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) is overdone. Despite the slide in the stock following the canceled development of a promising drug, it is noted that not enough has actually changed for Vertex to warrant the loss of confidence. A sleeper pick in the e-commerce sector is also called out. MYT Netherlands Parent B.V. (NYSE:MYTE) is seen benefiting from tailwinds in the luxury market. The company is growing by about 7% annually and is set up for further expansion in the U.S. and China. Finally, the concerns of Lowe's (LOW) being a COVID-19 play are dismissed. "With Covid receding, Lowe’s is set to become a more-profitable company, while housing might be more resilient than it’s given credit for. Just as important, Lowe’s has also been a turnaround story, and with life returning to normal, it can finally demonstrate how far it has come," reads the rundown on the home improvement retailer.
Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, The Verge, Renaissance Capital
