Get ahead of the market by subscribing to Seeking Alpha's Stocks to Watch, a preview of key events scheduled for the coming week. The newsletter keeps you informed of the biggest stories set to make headlines, including upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports and conference presentations.
Economic reports in the week ahead include updates on retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, and existing home sales. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve will release the latest Beige Book report and many members will be out on the speaking circuit as investors stay laser-focused on when interest rates may be cut. Bank of America said it thinks the acceleration of inflation this year makes a cut prior to December challenging. On Seeking Alpha, analyst WYCO Researcher presented the contrarian view that the Federal Reserve should raise rates at the next meeting of the policymaking committee.
The earnings calendar ramps up in the week ahead, with Goldman Sachs (GS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX), and Procter & Gamble (PG) some of the big companies set to report. In the tech sector, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) will host its annual flagship AI developer conference. Cryptocurrency traders have the Bitcoin (BTC-USD) halving event set to fire off during the week. Seeking Alpha analyst Mike Fay has a deep dive on how investors should view spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Earnings spotlight: Monday, April 15 - Goldman Sachs (GS), Charles Schwab (SCHW), and M&T Bank (MTB). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, April 16 - UnitedHealth (UNH), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Rio Tinto (RIO), and United Airlines (UAL). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, April 17 - Abbott Laboratories (ABT), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Kinder Morgan (KMI), VinFast Auto (VFS), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), and CSX (CSX). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, April 18 - Netflix (NFLX), Blackstone (BX), Ally Financial (ALLY), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and Intuitive Surgical (ISRG). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Friday, April 19 - Procter & Gamble (PG) and American Express (AXP). See the full earnings calendar.
Volatility watch: Options trading volume is elevated on electric vehicle stocks Nikola (NKLA) and Rivian Automotive (RIVN). The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include ICZOOM Group (IZM), Galectin Therapeutics (GALT), IMPACT Silver (OTCQB:ISVLF). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include Perion (PERI), Sirius XM (SIRI), and Globe Life (GL). Investors will also have their eyes on Capri Holdings (NYSE:CPRI) and Tapestry (TPR) amid concerns about the Federal Trade Commission's review of the planned $8.5B merger. The European Commission Phase 1 investigation on the CPRI-TPR deal expires on April 15.
IPO watch: Companies expected to launch their IPOs in the week ahead include utility infrastructure services provider Centuri Holdings (NYSE:CTRI) and mobile tech firm Ibotta (NYSE:IBTA). The quiet period ends on Astera Labs (ALAB), Reddit (NYSE:RDDT), and Auna (AUNA) to free up analysts to post ratings. Blocks of shares of Webuy Global (WBUY) and CytoMed Therapeutics (GDTC) roll off their IPO lockup period.
Dividend watch: Companies forecast to increase their quarterly dividend payouts include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to $1.25 from $1.19, Travelers (TRV) to $1.05 from $1.00, Kinder Morgan (KMI) to $0.29 from $0.2825, and Sonoco (SON) to $0.53 from $0.51. See dividend stock picks from Seeking Alpha analysts.
Netflix earnings preview: Netflix (NFLX) will report Q1 earnings on April 18. The streaming giant is forecast to report revenue of $9.28B and EPS of $4.51. As always, the tally of net streaming subscriber additions will be closely watched. For Q1, Netflix is expected to have added 4.62M subscribers vs. 1.75M a year ago. The earnings call is expected to dive into topics such as average revenue per membership, the progress in scaling the advertising business, and the benefits of paid sharing. Ahead of the report, Hargreaves Lansdown said Netflix's (NFLX) subscriber growth and churn rate could have the potential to move the dial next week. J.P. Morgan is also confident in the Netflix update on its view that the benefits of paid sharing, core subscriber growth, solid content, and ramping ad tier scale have all carried into 2024. Looking further down the road, Oppenheimer thinks Netflix's (NFLX) net additions could beat Street estimates by 24% over the next three years. The firm noted that the streaming giant has captured ~20% of the 100M disclosed opportunity for paid sharing. "By 2026, we think a 60% capture rate is more likely, given NFLX's increasing content advantage and content/advertising spend pull-back by competitor streaming platforms," updated analyst Jason Helfstein. He said a 60% recapture rate over three years would represent ~14M extra subscribers than what the Street is anticipating. On Seeking Alpha, analyst Ryan Ang thinks Netflix is still a solid buy given the momentum and general sentiment that the company has regained its footing in the industry since late 2022. Options trading on Netflix implies a 9% jump in share price after the earnings report drops. The streaming stock rallied 11% after its last earnings report.
Investor events: The four-day NAB Show in Las Vegas will have a focus on topics such as broadcast cybersecurity, the rise of 5G, and the role of AI in media. Sony (SONY), Verizon (VZ), Sinclair (SBGI), Fujifilm (OTCPK:FUJIY), Beamr (BMR), InterDigital (IDCC), and Backblaze (BLZE) are some of the companies that will be showcasing their products and innovations. Baidu (BIDU) will host its annual flagship AI developer conference on April 16 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center. Robin Li, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Baidu, will deliver a keynote speech, which will be his first major public speech of 2024. GreenPower Motor (NASDAQ:GP) will hold a webinar on April 17 to share insight into the company's strategic positioning and growth trajectory. Benitec Biopharma (NASDAQ:BNTC) will host a virtual R&D Day on April 18.
Eyes on crypto: The Bitcoin (BTC-USD) halving event will be a major focus in the cryptocurrency world. The halving event will reduce the rate at which new Bitcoins are created by cutting the reward to so-called miners who maintain the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin appreciated, on average, 11% in the three months after the last two halvings and 59% in the six months following the last two halvings. Some of the stocks that have been volatile around speculation on the impact of the Bitcoin halving event include Coinbase Global (COIN), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), Hut 8 Mining (HUT), CleanSpark (CLSK), and MicroStrategy (MSTR). J.P. Morgan warned that halving will cut industry revenues in half, triggering a wave of consolidation and business closures, while also potentially rationalizing the network hashrate and industry capex, which is ultimately good for the remaining operators. The firm sees CleanSpark as best positioned from an optics perspective, as it enjoys the lowest all-in cost per coin in the firm's coverage universe. Despite having the lowest energy prices of any publicly traded operator, J.P. Morgan sees Cipher Mining (CIFR) as the worst positioned of the miners due to the optics perspective, given tough hashrate comparisons, and relatively high overhead expenses.
Editor's Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.
