Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch - a breakdown of some of next week's actionable events that stand out. Check out Saturday morning's regular Stocks to Watch article for a full list of events planned for the week or the Seeking Alpha earnings calendar for companies due to report.
Monday - August 23
- Volatility watch - Options trading is elevated on Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ:ABUS), Adaptimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ADAP) and Lightning eMotors (NYSE:ZEV). Names making the rounds again on Reddit's WallStreetBets with increased buzz include Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD), Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) and Paysafe Limited (NYSE:PSFE). Stocks still trading with a high level of short interest on them include Cricut (NASDAQ:CRCT), Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) and Riot Blockhain (NASDAQ:RIOT).
- All week - The FDA action date for Axsome Therapeutics' (NASDAQ:AXSM) Dextromethorphan-bupropion (AXS-05) arrives. The company noted on August 9 that the FDA that it has identified deficiencies that preclude discussion of labeling and post-marketing requirements/commitments, which sent shares down more than 40%. Some analysts are suggesting that AXS-05 is a potential blockbuster even if there is a delay that pushes the share price even lower in the near term. The FDA action date on Cara Therpeutics' (NASDAQ:CARA) Korsuva is also on tap. An approval means the company can move forward with plans to launch products this year with a commercial partner already lined up. Analysts tip that CARA could see a significant share price move when the FDA announcement is made.
- All week - The 36th Space Symposium will be the first live space conference since the start of the pandemic. Top official with the U.S. Space Force and NASA will give talks. SpaceX (SPACE) Chief Operating Officer Gwynn Shotwell will be featured, while execs from L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX), Boeing (NYSE:BA), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Raytheon (NYSE:RTX), HawkEye 360, Virgin Orbit, Maxar Technologies (NYSE:MAXR)and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will also make appearances.
- All day - Analyst reports are expected to start pouring in on Robinhood Markets (HOOD) from firms that did not participate in the direct listing. Shares of HOOD trade comfortably above the $38 IPO price, but have fallen sharply from the peak level in early August. Robinhood remains one of the most discussed stocks with the Reddit WallStreetBets crowd.
- All day - The redemption period for warrants issued by Clover Health Investments (NASDAQ:CLOV) expires. Investors will be looking at the impact of the warrants on the current share count.
Tuesday - August 24
- All day - The redemption period for warrants issued by QuantumScape (NYSE:QS) expires. Investors will be looking at the impact of the warrants on the current share count.
- All day - A couple of healthcare SPAC deals could move forward with Alpha Healthcare Acquisition Corp (AHAC) shareholders set to meet tovote on the business combination with clinical-stage biotech platform firm Humacyte and Locust Walk Acquisition Corp (LWAC) shareholders meeting to vote on the combination with eFFECTOR Therapeutics. Both AHAC and LWAC have traded weak the last few sessions.
- 8:00 a.m. Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) holds an important earnings call. The retailer's color on back-to-school trends with in-person learning back in play is viewed as a potential catalyst. Breaking it down a bit, BofA notes that a drop in the mix of online sales for BBY could actually boost margins. BBY management's update on capital allocation plans is also seen as pivotal. Shares of Best Buy moved higher during the retailer's earnings call when execs outlined that "nesting" habits were proving sticky. Also keep an eye on supplier Arlo Technologies (NYSE:ARLO). The home automation company derives about 19% of its revenue from Best Buy and trades in tandem with it about 75% of the time on earnings day.
- 10:00 a.m. Paysafe Limited (PSFE) participates in a virtual fireside chat at the BMO 2021 Technology Summit. The appearance is notable with Paysafe generating more interest as an iGaming play. Shares of Paysafe have gained at least 3% the last two times the company appeared at an investor event.
- 10:00 a.m. Entasis Therapeutics Holdings (NASDAQ:ETTX) hosts a virtual webinar that will include an update on the company's pipeline product sulbactam-durlobactam. The product has just completed enrollment of a global Phase 3 registrational clinical trial to treat infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, including carbapenem-resistant strains.
- 12:45 p.m. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) is one of the more interesting presenters at the Needham SemiCap and EDA Conference. Needham is one of the stronger bulls on AMAT and could reiterate the upside case for the semiconductor stock and/or raise targets following the presentation.
- 1:00 p.m. Limelight Networks (NASDAQ:LLNW) hosts a detailed strategy session for analysts and investors. The company says it will share details on how it plans to transition Limelight into a profitable, leading edge Application Orchestration and Content Delivery provider starting with the immediate launch of our best-in-class Application Orchestration solution enabled by the acquisition of Layer0.
Wednesday - August 25
- All day - Aileron Therapeutics (NASDAQ:ALRN) is due to present Phase 1b/2 data on ALRN-6924 at the ISEH Virtual Scientific Meeting. Shares of Aileron rallied the last time the company updates on the chemoprotective agent aimed at treating patients with non-small cell lung cancer undergoing chemotherapy.
- 9:30 a.m. BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE) hosts an investor conference call to discuss the company’s early development pipeline and research. Last year, shares of BeiGene rallied more than 20% in the two weeks after its pipeline update call.
- 9:30 a.m. Good Works Acquisition (GWAC) holds a shareholder meeting to vote on the business combination with Cipher Mining. If approved, the SPAC deal is expected to close promptly. Cipher Mining is a newly formed subsidiary of Bitfury Top HoldCo B.V., a leading provider of Bitcoin mining hardware and other blockchain software and services.
- 11:00 a.m. Spruce Biosciences (NASDAQ:SPRB) host its inaugural virtual Research and Development Day. The event will include an overview of Spruce’s clinical development programs for tildacerfont in adult and pediatric classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NYSE:CAH). The event will also feature a Q&A session with company management.
- 11:00 a.m. Tortoise Acquisition Corp. II (SNPR) shareholders meet to vote on the business combination with Volta Industries. The SPAC deal is slated to bring in proceeds of approximately $600M to be used to accelerate Volta's buildout of its charging network already in the pipeline. The battery charging subsector is getting larger with Volta poised to join Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK), Chargepoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT) and EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO).
- 1:00 p.m. DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) CEO Jason Robbins is on a panel at the Craig-Hallum Online Gaming Conference. The topic of "importance of integrated technology" is intriguing with several bullish firms seeing the recent acquisition of SBTech as significant.
Thursday - August 26
- All day - The three-day Federal Reserve retreat in Jackson Hole begins. The Fed's "taper tantrum" is believed by many to be priced in after the FOMC minutes indicated officials are ready to start reducing the amount of bond buying, but investors will be listening for any further clues on timing.
- 8:00 a.m. - Altair (NASDAQ:ALTR) virtually presents via a fireside chat format at the Rosenblatt Technology Summit covering the age of AI scaling. Shares of Altair rose 9% in the week following its last conference presentation after its update drew attention.
- 8:30 a.m. The second release of Q2 GDP drops. Bank of America forecasts a surprise upward revision to +7.1% Q/Q from the advance estimate of +6.5%.
- 11:00 a.m. Express (NYSE:EXPR) hosts a virtual investor event a day after reporting Q2 earnings. The retailer will provide an update on its progress on the Expressway Forward Strategy, future growth plans and drivers of value creation. Express rallied more than 3% the day after an investor event in 2020 when the company outlined a restructuring plan.
- 5:00 p.m. Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) holds its earnings call. Shares of PTON have reversed their direction during two of the last three earnings calls. Any color on when the company thinks the Tread and Tread+ will go back on sale could be a share price mover.
Friday - August 27
- All day - A big day is set up for the paper and containerboard sector with new pricing data due in. A third price hike is expected to be reflected in next week's monthly price estimates with demand strong and costs elevated. The sector could see some volatility as investors gauge if the data is strong enough to suggest a fourth price hike is also coming down the road. WestRock (NYSE:WRK), International Paper (NYSE:IP), Cascades (OTCPK:CADNF), Greig (NYSE:GEF), Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) and Packaging Corp of America (NYSE:PKG) are some of the names to watch.
- All day - Aileron Therapeutics (ALRN) is scheduled to present Phase 1b/2 on ALRN-6924 at the ISEH Virtual Scientific Meeting that runs from August 25-28. Shares of ALRN have been perky before on days with news on the AKRN-6924 chemoprotective agent.
- 10:00 a.m. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell virtually delivers his remarks at the annual Kansas City Fed's Jackson Hole symposium. Powell's speech covering the central bank's economic outlook will be accessible via the Kansas City Fed's YouTube channel. Fed watchers will be looking for any signals about the pace of tapering and any nuances with the outlook for the economy.
- 10:00 a.m. Blue Water Acquisition (NASDAQ:BLUW) shareholders meet to vote on the business combination with Clarus Therapeutics. The combined company plans to accelerate commercialization of an oral testosterone replacement therapy and fund expansion of the company's pipeline of androgen and metabolic therapies for men and women.
- 11:35 a.m. Larimar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:LRMR) presents at the World Orphan Drug Congress in a presentation that analysts have circled as a potential share price catalyst. The topic will be the use of cell penetrating peptide technology for protein replacement.