Morning Note - 04/20/26: Stocks Lower As Middle East In Turmoil Over Blockade And Ship Seizure
Overnight Summary & Early Morning Trading:
The S&P 500 finished Friday higher by 1.20% at 7126.06 from Thursday higher by 0.26% at 7041.28.
The S&P 500 sees support now at 7100 from 7000. Resistance is now at 7200 from 7100. In the last month, support has moved from 6300 to 7100.
S&P 500 hit its seventh All-Time Closing High of 2026 yesterday. It had been almost three months from the last new all-time high and now we have had three in a row.
Futures are lower this morning by -27.50 down by -0.38% at 7134.25 on the SP 500 at 6:15 a.m. EDT.
Bond Market is higher today on price with the 10-Year Yield at 4.264% from 4.297%.
Executive Summary:
Stocks had a third up week, gaining 4.54%, and up 11.89% in the last three weeks. We are now up 2.12% since the peak in January on the S&P 500.
U.S. moves into Week Nine of its attack on Iran. Key to this week is to see how the U.S. Blockade plays out and negotiations evolve.
Key Events of Note Today:
Economic news of note.
Weekly - None of note.
Monthly - None are out this morning.
Fed Speakers of Note today: We are back into the blackout period for next week’s meeting.
3 & 6 Month Bill Auction at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
President Trump’s schedule:
Participates in Executive Time at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Signs Executive Orders at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Notable Earnings Out After The Close:
Beats: None of note.
Misses: None of note.
Flat: None of note.
Capital Raises:
IPOs For The Week: None of note.
New IPOs/SPACs launched/News: IPOs Ahead This Week: ELMT EMI NHP XE YSWY.
IPOs Filed/Priced:
Odyssey Therapeutics files IPO prospectus with SEC; Number of shares to be offered and projected price range not yet determined.
Cerebras Systems files IPO prospectus with the SEC; Number of shares to be offered and projected price range not yet determined.
Secondaries Filed Or Priced:
EVMN files for 4,494,279 share common stock offering by selling shareholders.
CAST: Form S-1.. 5,750,000 shares of Class A common stock.
CVM: Form S-1.. Up to 3,440,367 Shares of Common Stock.
DSS: Form S-1.. Up to 8,333,333 Shares of Common Stock.
RIME: Form S-1.. Resale of Up to 10,000,000 Shares of Common Stock.
SMTK: Form S-1.. Up to 146,776,707 Shares of Common Stock.
Notes Filed Or Priced:
TLN - Pricing of Senior Notes.
Convertible Offerings Filed or Priced: None of note.
Private Placement: None of note.
Direct Offering: None of note.
Exchangeable Subordinate Voting Shares: None of note.
Private Placements:
ENVB - Closing of Up To $13.9 Million Private Placement Priced At-The-Market Under Nasdaq Rules.
Selling Shareholders:
BETR files for 211,312 share common stock offering by selling stockholder.
CV files for 2,867,089 share common stock offering by selling shareholders.
ONDS files prospectus supplement, relates to filing of 2,328,342 share common stock offering by selling shareholders.
Mixed Shelf Offerings:
AZ files for $200 million mixed securities shelf offering.
DFDV files for $1 billion mixed securities shelf offering.
News After The Close:
10K or 10Q Delays - None of note.
U.S. approves $11.9 billion sale of Aegis-based combat system to Germany. Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Raytheon (RTX) named as prime contractors.
2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting is next week and this weekend. Lots of Small Cap Companies with press releases- OLMA ACRV ADAG NUVL CRDF ORIC PYXS TOVX.
Repay Holdings (RPAY) confirms receipt of unsolicited, non‑binding proposal from Forager Capital to acquire company for $4.80/sh in cash.
Patrick Industries (PATK) confirms that it is in discussions with LCI Industries (LCII) regarding a potential merger of equals.
Celanese (CE) announces a price increase for a range of engineered materials products.
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) heads lower after hours on report DoJ is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against egg producers over pricing. (WSJ)
Dell’s EMC Corp unit (DELL) awarded a $984.3 million US Air Force contract.
AMC Entertainment (AMC) modestly higher after hours after subsidiary Odeon Finco closes $425 million loan; well-positioned to capitalize on robust box office growth in 2026.
Southern Copper (SCCO) names Leonardo Contreras Lerdo de Tejada as interim CEO, after recent CEO died this past week.
Iran has told mediators it will continue to limit the number of ships allowed to cross the Strait of Hormuz. See below that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed after Iranian gunboats fired on tanker.
Last Week’s Winners: AVNS (24.65 +73.84%),CDNA (21.15 +31.78%),CAR (493.78 +64.63%),TBI (4.18 +25.53%), BB (4.9 +27.67%), SMTC (108.04 +26.77%), ORCL (174.78 +26.57%), MXL (26.05 +25.88%),
Last Week’s Losers: QDEL(12.48 -9.89%), AA (65.39 -10.46%), LYB (66.3 -10.07%), ASIX (21.54 -10.03%), OLN (26.17 -9.6%), DOOO (58.04 -23.84%), KMX (40.85 -12.56%),BMI (115.86 -25.36%), SQQQ (56.51 -16.44%), OIS (10.24 -11.34%), DK (37.08 -11.16%), PBF (36.55 -10.14%), EQNR (35.14 -9.82%), PARR (56.71 -9.65%), PDS (83.5 -9.46%), AGRO (12.45 -13.46%).
Buybacks: None of note.
Executive, Corporate Changes:
NUAI announces the appointment of Andy Casazza as Chief Corporate Officer, effective April 28, 2026.
OpenAI Kevin Weil will depart from the company, according to Wired.
FRMI CEO Toby Neugebauer departs as CEO.
DOCS CFO Anna Bryson resigns, she had been on medical leave; co also reaffirms March Quarterly guidance.
Southern Copper (SCCO) names Leonardo Contreras Lerdo de Tejada as interim CEO, after recent CEO died this past week.
Dividends Announcements or News:
Top Names Ex-Dividend Today: CAT CL ZTS MKC KOF MNSO CMRE GBX of note.
Top Names Ex-Dividend Tuesday: None of note.
VALU increases quarterly cash dividend to $0.35 per share from $0.325 per share.
What’s Happening This Morning: (as of 7:30 a.m. EDT)
Futures S&P 500 , NASDAQ 100 , Dow Jones . Europe is lower while Asia is higher. Bond yield is at 4.264% from 4.297% on the 10-Year. Crude Oil and Brent Crude are higher with Natural Gas higher. Gold, Silver and Copper are lower. The U.S. Dollar is lower versus the Euro, higher against the Pound and higher against the Yen. Bitcoin is at $75,216 higher by 0.30% up by $$223 from $75,517 on Friday.
Sector Action:
Daily Positive Sectors: All others led the way higher.
Daily Negative Sectors: Energy and Utilities were lower.
One Month Winners: Energy of note.
Three-Month Winners: Energy, Materials, Utilities, Consumer Defensive and Industrials of note.
Six-Month Winners: Energy, Materials, Utilities, Industrials, Healthcare and Consumer Defensive of note.
Twelve-Month Winners: Materials, Energy, Industrials, Utilities, Communication Services and Technology of note.
Year to Date Winners: Energy, Materials, Consumer Defensive, Utilities and Industrials of note.
Bolded means the Sector is new to the period in which it falls.
Upcoming Earnings Of Note: (Erlanger Chartroom Software – sorted by market cap, highest to lowest with most visible names)
Today After the Close:
Tuesday Before The Open:
Notable Earnings of Note This Morning:
Beat: CMPS +23.1%, BLD +17.3%, DFTX +14.6%, PRLD +12.6%, SOC +12.3%, CATX +6%, KSPI +4.2%, GLSI +3.7%, PATK +2.4%, ZLAB +2.4%, EVMN +2.3%, WHWK +2.2%, STRO +2% of note.
Missed: SBC -27.8%, FRMI -19.7%, ASTS -13.4%, SIDU -8%, DFDV -4.4%, CV -4%, NKLR -3.6%, BTG -3.4%, QXO -3.2%, UAL -3.1%, CRDF -2.8%, DOCS -2.8%, AAL -2.6%, CALM -2.3%, OLMA -2.1%, USAR -2.1%, ONDS -2% of note.
Flat: None of note.
Still to Report: None of note.
Company Earnings Guidance:
Positive Guidance: After The Close & This Morning - None of note.
Mixed - None of note.
Negative or Mixed Guidance: After The Close & This Morning - None of note.
Advance/Decline Daily Update:
Gap Ups & Down In Early Pre-Market: (+2% or down more than -2%):
GapUp: MCBS +9%, of note.
GapDown: QDEL -16.5%, of note.
Insider Action: None sees Insider Buying with dumb short selling. None see Insider Buying with smart short sellers. Above $100,000 in purchases with high shorts but no history: None of note.
Rags & Mags: Repeated stories from prior days never listed, i.e. “rehashed news”. Sorted by Global, U.S. and stock specific.
WSJ Lead Story: Big Oil turns to Africa and South America from Persian Gulf. (WSJ)
Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds fall as Oil Jumps after Hormuz chaos. (Bloomberg)
NY Times Lead Story: Luxury Brands bet on Middle East has been damaged. (NYT)
USA Today: Companies line up for tariff refunds. (USA Today)
Iran Wavers on Peacs As U.S. Seizes Ship. (Bloomberg)
Economic & Geopolitical:
Federal Reserve Speakers of note today: Now in blackout period until next week’s FOMC meeting.
President Trump’s schedule for today:
Participates in Executive Time at 8:00 a.m. EDT.
Participates in a Policy Meeting at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
Signs Executive Orders at 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Economic Data Out -
Weekly -
None of note.
Monthly -
None of note.
M&A Activity & Daily:
Repay Holdings (RPAY) confirms receipt of unsolicited, non‑binding proposal from Forager Capital to acquire company for $4.80/sh in cash.
Moving Average Table: 100% from 100% of Equities are Positive, and 72% from 40% Bonds are Positive.
Meeting & Conferences of Note:
Sellside Conferences: None of note.
Top Analyst, Investor: CNS WFC of note.
Shareholder Meetings: AVGO DK HCC IRD TZOO of note.
Fireside Chat: None of note.
FDA Presentation: None of note.
R&D Day: None of note.
Meetings:
AACR Annual Meeting through Apr. 22
Adobe Summit
American Academy of Neurology Meeting
Upgrades & Downgrades:
The recommendations listed below in this “Upgrade/Downgrade” section are compiled from what we believe are Tier I, II and III firms. Recommendations posted are taken from a variety of sources each day and we only post upgrades or significant initiations as well as downgrades to underweight or sell. The purpose of this posting is to make the reader aware of market-moving recommendations.
Upgrades: AEP APD ECL PLXS ULTA WBI WMB of note.
Downgrades None of note.