QPI Daily Note - 04/04/24: Stocks Futures Near The High Of The Morning As We Approach 8:00 a.m. EDT

Overnight Summary: The SP 500 closed Wednesday higher by 0.11% at 5211.49 from Tuesday lower by -0.72% at 5205.81. The overnight high was hit at 5,285.25 at 7:00 a.m. while the overnight low was hit at 5265.25 at 4:05 p.m. EDT. The range overnight is 20 points as of 7:00 a.m. EDT.  Currently, the S&P 500 is higher by +18.75 points  at 7:00 a.m. EDT.

Executive Summary: Action so far in Q2 is sloppy at best. Tomorrow though we get the first Jobs Number of the new quarter and could set the direction for the rest of the month. This will be followed next week by both CPI and PPI giving an update on inflation. The key question is can the yield on the 10-year break above 4.50%?

• Mainland China and Hong Kong markets are closed on Thursday for the Ching Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day.

• February Trade Balance is due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT and is expected to improve to -$66 billion from $-67.4 billion.

• Federal Reserve Chicago President Austan Goolsbee 12:45 p.m. EDT

• Federal Reserve Cleveland President Loretta Mester 2:00 p.m. EDT

• Federal Reserve Board of Governors Adriana D. Kugler 7:30 p.m. EDT

Unusual Options Activity:

Daily Screen in Erlanger Chartroom that highlights unusual Call and Put Options activity in the S&P 500.  It looks for volume outliers relative to the Open interest in Calls or puts.  Usually, the stock price activity reflects the outlier situation (earnings/buyout/announcement), but once in a while, you can uncover stocks prior to a pop or drop.

Earnings Out After The Close: 

• Beats: RGP +0.15, SPWH +0.11, BB +0.07, LEVI +0.05, SLP +0.01 of note.

Capital Raises:

• IPOs Priced or News:

  • Zhibao Technology Inc. (ZBAO) Announces Closing of Initial Public Offering.

• New SPACs launched/News: None of note.

• Secondaries Priced:

  • REPX: priced its previously announced underwritten public offering of 2,100,000 shares of its common stock at $27.00 per share.

• Notes Priced of note:

  • NEXA: Prices Offering of US$600 Million 6.750% Senior Unsecured Notes Due 2034.

• Common Stock filings/Notes:

  • APRE: FORM S-3 - 4,389,576 Shares of Common Stock.

  • BRTX: FORM S-1 - 2,513,686 Shares of Common Stock.

  • CTO: Commencement of Public Offering of 6.375% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock.

  • IRMD: Files $75 million common stock offering.

  • KWE - Proposed United States Public Offering.

  • PLSE: Form S-3.. Subscription Rights to Purchase Up to 6,000,000 Units at the Initial Price Each Unit Consisting of One Share of Common Stock and Two Warrants.

  • IRMD: FORM S-3 - $75,000,000 Common Stock.

  • VERO: FORM S-1 - 874,990 Shares of Common Stock.

• Direct Offering:

  • BIOR: Closing of $6 Million Registered Direct Offering Priced At-the-Market Under Nasdaq Rules.

• Selling Shareholders of note:

  • AVGR: Filed Form S-1.. 2,046,943 Shares of Common Stock Offered by the Selling Stockholder.

  • IMNM: FORM S-3ASR - 2,175,489 Shares of Common Stock - 2,298,586 Shares of Common Stock - by selling shareholder.

  • JAKK: Files 571,295 common stock offering by selling shareholders.

  • REPX: Public Offering of Common Stock - 2,100,000 shares of its common stock by selling shareholders. (Truist and Roth Bookmangers)

• Private Placement of Public Entity (PIPE): None of note.

• Mixed Shelf Offerings:

  • AQST: Files $250 million mixed shelf securities offering.

• Debt/Credit Filing and Notes: None of note.

• Tender Offer: None of note.

• Convertible Offering & Notes Filed: None of note.

Capital Raise Summary From The TradeXchange, bringing traders and investors real time news and Squawk Box, and other sources.

News After The Close :

• After Hours Movers: 

  • LEVI: +8% Earnings 

  • BB: +8% Earnings 

  • SLP: +7.5% Earnings 

  • LUNR: +5% Intuitive Machines-led Moon RACER Team Awarded NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Contract to Support the Agency’s Artemis Campaign

  • CASA: -18% Restructuring Support Agreement

  • RELI: -11% Earnings 

• News Items After the Close:

  • Fed Governor Adriana Kugler says "if disinflation and labor market conditions proceed as I am currently expecting, then some lowering of the policy rate this year would be appropriate"

  • Nearly half of Levi’s (LEVI) sales are happening online and in stores. (CNBC)

  • DJT: Trump Media is the most expensive U.S. stock to short — by far. (CNBC)

  • Women’s Final Four tickets are reselling for average of $2,300 — twice as much as men’s tickets. (MarketWatch)

• Exchange/Listing/Company Reorg and Personnel News:

  • Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) Announces Nasdaq Delisting Notification.

  • KBR appoints Shad E. Evans, current Chief Accounting Officer, to CFO role.

  • Moatable (MTBL) Announces Delisting Proceedings of the ADS by NYSE.

  • Spotify (SPOT) names Christian Luiga as CFO.

  • Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) CFO Ankur Dhingra resigned on April 2; appoints COO Manmeet Soni to additional role of CFO.

  • Thermon Group (THR) CFO Kevin Fox to step down, effective April 12; Corporate Controller Greg Lucas to serve as interim CFO.

• Buyback Announcements or News: 

  • Murano Global Investments (MRNO) announces a new share repurchase program of up to $2 mln of common shares until the end of the last business day of the third quarter in 2024.

  • Red Violet (RDVT) approved an additional $5.0 million available under the Stock Repurchase Program.

• Stock Splits or News:

  • Palisade Bio (PALI) Announces 1-for-15 Reverse Stock Split effective 4/08/2024.

  • Smith Micro (SMSI) Announces 1-for-8 Reverse Stock Split.

  • STKH reverse split for today 1/10.

• Dividends Announcements or News:

  • GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL) Announces 10% Increase to Quarterly Dividend.

What’s Happening This Morning: Futures value reflects the change with fair value.

S&P 500 +19, Dow Jones +124, NASDAQ +91, Russell +6.  (as of 7:52 a.m. EST).  Asia and Europe are higher this morning. VIX Futures are at 14.79 from 15,33.  Gold is lower while Silver and Copper higher this morning. WTI Crude Oil and Brent Crude Oil are lower with Natural Gas lower as well. US 10-year Treasury sees its yield at 4.361% from 4.367%. The U.S. Dollar is lower versus the Euro, lower versus the Pound and lower against the Yen. Bitcoin is at $66,210 from $65,869 higher by +0.51% this morning.

Sector Action –  

• Daily Positive Sectors: Basic Materials, Energy, Industrials, Communication Services of note.

• Daily Negative Sectors: Consumer Defensive, Utilities of note.

The S&P 500 edged higher Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell offered reassurance on likely interest-rate cuts, snapping a two-day losing streak yet the gains came before he spoke.  The broad stock-market index rose 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 43 points, or 0.1%. Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished the day in the green.  Powell said Wednesday that a strong economy hasn’t changed the central bank’s expectation that interest rate cuts will be warranted later this year.   (WSJ - edited by QPI)

Upcoming Earnings Of Note:

• Thursday After the Close: None of note.

• Friday Before the Open:

Earnings of Note This Morning:

• Beats: LNN +0.08, RPM +0.06, SMPL +0.02 of note.

• Still to Report: LW, RDUS, of note.

Company Earnings Guidance:

• Positive Guidance: AYI, STAA of note.

• Negative Guidance: SPWH, ABBV, BB, RPM, SMPL of note.

Erlanger Research Advance/Decline Chart: 

Gap Ups & Down In Early Pre-Market (+2% or down more than -2%):

• Gap Up: LEVI +9%, SLP +9%, MGNX +8%, BB +7%, LUNR +6% of note.

• Gap Down: REPX -13%, AQST -4% of note.

Insider Action: CODI see Insider buying with dumb short selling.  BRT, CVV see Insider buying with smart short sellers.

Rags & Mags: Repeated stories from prior days never listed, i.e. “rehashed news”. Sorted by Global, U.S. and stock specific.

• 5 Things To Know Before the Stock Market Opens Today. (CNBC)

• What You Need To Know To Start Your Day. (Bloomberg)

• Bloomberg Lead Story:  Apple explores Home Robotics as potential "Next Big Thing". (Bloomberg)

• Stocks and bonds gain on Powell's reassurance of rate cuts later this year: Markets Wrap. (Bloomberg)

• Walt Disney (DIS) beats back activist investor Peltz in retaining all its board seats. (CNBC)

• Volvo had a record sales month and quarter, up 22% for the quarter and 34% in March. (CNBC)

• Nine colleges now cost more than $90,000 a year. Maybe this inflation should be looked at closer! (CNBC)

• Bloomberg: Odd Lots:  Bank of America's Subramanian says stocks can go higher. (Podcast)

• Bloomberg: The Big Take: How Hert'z bet on Teslas (TSLA) went horribly wrong. (Podcast)

• NYT The Daily:  Israel's deadly airstrike on World Central Kitchen. (Podcast)

• Marketplace:  Fake obituaries on Google, what's up with that? (Podcast)

• Wealthion:  75-80% chance of a hard landing says Joe LaVorgna. (Podcast)

• Adam Taggart's Thoughtful Money: Election uncertainty to cause market correction by summer. (Podcast)

Moving Average Update: Score goes to 57% from 54%.

Geopolitical: 

• President’s Public Schedule:

  • The President receives the President’s Daily Brief, 10:00 a.m. EDT

  • Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, 1:30 p.m. EDT

  • The President hosts a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day, 5:00 p.m. EDT

Economic:

• Challenger Job Cuts Report 7:30 a.m. EDT

  • U.S Challenger Job Cuts (YOY) Actual: 0.7% VS 8.8% Previous

• February Trade Balance is due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT and is expected to improve to -$66 billion from $-67.4 billion.

• Jobless Claims 8:30 a.m. EDT

• EIA natural Gas Report 10:30 a.m. EDT

Federal Reserve / Treasury Speakers:

• Federal Reserve Chicago President Austan Goolsbee 12:45 p.m. EDT

• Federal Reserve Cleveland President Loretta Mester 2:00 p.m. EDT

• Federal Reserve Board of Governors Adriana D. Kugler 7:30 p.m. EDT

M&A Activity and News: None of note.

Meeting & Conferences of Note:

• Top Shareholder Meetings: CDTX, FCEL, MCRB, RIO

• Investor/Analyst Day/Calls: ATXI, EVGO

Top Tier Sell-side Upgrades & Downgrades: