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The first full trading week of 2024 will see some major conferences keep investors on their toes. The biggest release on the economic calendar will be the U.S. inflation report on January 11 as markets continue to factor in the likelihood and timing of monetary policy easing. The December CPI report is expected to show headline inflation and the core rate rising 0.3% month-over-month. Other notable data releases include consumer credit, international trade balance, and the producer price index. The Q4 earnings season begins officially on January 12, with United Healthcare (UNH), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK), Delta Air Lines (DAL), and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) all stepping into the line of fire.
Earnings spotlight: Monday, January 8 – Jefferies Financial Group (JEF) and Helen of Troy (HELE)
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, January 9 – Albertsons Companies (ACI), PriceSmart (PSMT), and Acuity Brands (AYI). Options trading implies a double-digit swing in share price for Tilray Brands (TLRY).
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, January 10 – KB Home (KBH).
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, January 11 – Infosys (INFY).
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, January 12 – United Healthcare (UNH), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), BlackRock (BLK), Delta Air Lines (DAL), and Bank of New York Mellon (BK).
Volatility watch: Options trading volume has moved higher on Cytokinetics (CYTK) amid report of takeover interest. TeraWulf (WULF) has also seen more options bets placed on it than normal activity. Fisker (FSR) and Invitae (NVTA) both have an elevated level of short interest outstanding on them. The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index are Cytokinetics (CYTK), Collegium (COLL), and RayzeBio (RYZB). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include Alternus Clean Energy (ALCE), Pono Capital Three (PTHR), and Global Mofy Metaverse (GMM).
IPO watch: Homebuilder Smith Douglas Homes (SDHC) and Israeli headset maker Silynxcom (SYNX) are both expected to start trading next week. Amer Sports is also on watch to price its IPO in the U.S. Sources indicated that Amer Sports is targeting an IPO to raise more than $1B in a listing that could value the firm at as much as $10B. That is smaller than sporting goods retailer DICK’S Sporting Goods’ (DKS) market cap of $11.3B, but well above the market caps for sports-related companies such as Under Armour (UAA), Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) and Topgolf Callaway Brands (MODG). The Finland-based company owns iconic sports and outdoor brands that include Arc’teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Louisville Slugger, and Peak Performance. The sports equipment giant disclosed that it generated revenue of over $3.5B in 2022 and posted a 20.4% revenue CAGR from 2020-2022. Amer Sports’ gross margin rate was 49.7% of sales in 2022. Adjusted EBITDA rose from $261.8N in 2020 to $422.1M in 2022. In 2022, 42% of Amer Sports’ revenue was from the Americas, 36% from EMEA, 7% from Asia Pacific excluding Greater China, and 15% from Greater China.
Also next week, the IPO lockup period expires on blocks of shares of Primech (PMEC), 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals (SXTP), Apogee Therapeutics (APGE), and Sagimet Biosciences (SGMT). The quiet period expires on Inno Holdings (INHD) and ZKH Group (ZKH) to free up analysts to post ratings.
CES preview: The 2024 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas from January 9-12 will be the center of the tech universe. Analysts think AI use cases will be showcased across automobiles, scooters, headphones, cameras, speakers, and televisions. New OLED gaming monitors at CES are expected to be highlighted, while 3M (MMM) is set to unveil the world’s first self-charging protective communications headset, Samsung (OTCPK:SSNLF) will display many products at CES, including its vision of the AI-enabled kitchen of the future. Meanwhile, Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast Auto (VFS) is scheduled to introduce a new EV concept and technology. Germany’s Bosch is expected to showcase a near-invisible gun-detection system that will pair video and audio AI for proactive security involving firearms at schools. Cerence (CRNC) is anticipated to announce a partnership with Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAF) and Amazon.com (AMZN) is tipped to introduce a generative AI partnership with BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY). Healthcare companies will also be at CES, including Abbott Laboratories (ABT) showing off new biowearables for consumers. Naturally, tech giants like Nvidia (NVDA), Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD) and Qualcomm (QCOM) are expected to show off their latest innovations.
ICR preview: The ICR Conference next week will be the focus of the retail sector as the event typically involves a flurry of holiday sales and Q4 guidance updates from mall chains, restaurants companies, and apparel manufacturers. Analysts think that the holiday results are likely to show a strong quarter. Ahead of ICR, JPMorgan said companies across its coverage universe are tracking to meet or beat the current Q4 consensus estimates. The firm tipped Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Savers Value Village (SVV), Urban Outfitters (URBN), and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) to be outperformers. Meanwhile, Bank of America expects Crocs (CROX) to pre-announce Q4 results and surprise to the upside, while Jefferies said it is most bullish on SharkNinja (SN), due to its strong innovation pipeline and opportunity for both significant category and geographic expansion, and Five Below (FIVE), due to its strong value offering. Some of the other companies scheduled to participate include a.k.a. Brands (AKA), On Holding (ONON), Jack in the Box (JACK), Xponential Fitness (XPOF), Wolverine World Wide (WWW), Walmart (WMT), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Duckhorn Portfolio (NAPA), Solo Brands (DTC), Rush Street Interactive (RSI), Portillo’s (PTLO), Planet Fitness (PLNT), Freshpet (FRPT), Dutch Bros (BROS), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), Crocs (CROX), Darden Restaurants (DRI), and Beyond Meat (BYND).
J.P. Morgan Annual Healthcare Conference preview: The J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference is typically one of the biggest healthcare conference of the year. In the past, M&A announcements, drug data results, and financial guidance updates have been released in conjunction with company presentations. JPMorgan expects the macroeconomic backdrop and AI to be the most discussed themes. The firm also expects a continued interest in value-based care, patient engagement, and the trend of consumerization of healthcare, inflation/labor shortages, and M&A opportunities in the year ahead. Some of the notable companies to watch include Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Moderna (MRNA), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Alpine Immune Sciences (ALPN), Baxter International (BAX), CVS Health (CVS), GSK plc (GSK), and Incyte (INCY).
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