Stocks To Watch: Eyes On The Health Of Financials, Housing Sector

Summary:

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. Stocks to Watch subscribers can also tune in on Sundays for a curated podcast that’s available on Seeking Alpha, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify.

Earnings season picks up serious steam in the final full week of April, with a host of bank earnings following Friday’s opening salvo of positive prints from JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citi (C). In particular, the beleaguered regional banks will be up to bat with Bank OZK (OZK), Zions Bancorporation (ZION), and other expected to complement reports from bigger banks like Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS). That said, the spotlight will shine on more than just financials as major players in the airline industry as well as the semiconductor, consumer packaged goods, and rail sectors, are expected to provide insight on their performance thus far in 2023. Elsewhere, investor favorites Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), and, of course, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) are expected to post quarterly updates. The latter is expected to draw considerable attention, given its place at the epicenter of ongoing price wars in the electric vehicle industry.

On the economic front, housing data will be the focal point a week after inflation and retail sales take center stage. NAHB Housing Index data, housing starts, and existing home sales are all expected to be updated during the week, offering a picture of the housing market amid a rising rate environment. Mortgage rate and application data will also be provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association in mid-week. Outside of housing, unemployment and PMI data is also anticipated on Thursday and Friday, respectively, each of which could serve to inform Fed decision-making ahead of its blackout period, which begins on Saturday.

Earnings spotlight: Monday, April 17 – The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW), State Street Corporation (STT), M&T Bank Corporation (MTB), and Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP) are expected to kick off a week packed with financial reports. Seeking Alpha contributor Stephen Simpson sees M&T Bank (MTB) as a “safe haven” among smaller banks.

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, April 18 – Netflix (NFLX), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL), Silvergate Capital (SI), and Bank of New York Mellon (BK) all due to report. Elsewhere, Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) are expected to provide quarterly updates. Seeking Alpha Investing Groups Leader Jonathan Weber advises it “might be better to wait” until after earnings to buy Lockheed Martin.

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, April 19 – Tesla (TSLA) will post its Q1 results, and financial earnings continue as Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Discover Financial (DFS), Synchrony Financial (SYF), Zions Bancorporation (ZION), Ally Financial (ALLY), and Citizens Financial Group (CFG) prepare reports. Meanwhile American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) is also due to provide a quarterly earnings update, one week after providing preliminary results. Seeking Alpha Investing Groups Leader Daniil Sereda advised against buying the dip in Tesla (TSLA) ahead of earnings.

Earnings spotlight: Thursday, April 20 – AT&T (NYSE:T) will headline another busy day of reports that includes rail operators Union Pacific (NYSE:UNP) and CSX Corporation (NASDAQ:CSX) as the first to report since high-profile derailments in February. Philip Morris (NYSE:PM), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), American Express (AXP), Stellantis (STLA), Nucor (NUE), and AutoNation (AN), and yet more financial reports from regional banks round out the day’s major reports. Seeking Alpha contributor Larry Hall recommended Bank OZK ahead of its expected print on Thursday.

Earnings spotlight: Friday, April 21 – Procter & Gamble (PG) leads a host of reports, including SAP SE (SAP), Schlumberger (SLB), Autoliv (ALV), Regions Financial (RF), and Biogen (BIIB) are among expected earnings reports. Investing Groups Leader Vladimir Dimitrov advised that while Procter & Gamble (PG) is not a Buy in his view, it does not deserve a Sell rating.

Dividend watch: Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Williams-Sonoma (WSM), IBM (IBM), and Kinder Morgan (KMI) are on the radar for potential dividend increases in the week. Procter & Gamble (PG) increased dividend payments prior to its upcoming earnings report.

Volatility Watch: Coinbase (COIN), CarMax (KMX), and GameStop (GME) top S3 Partners’ list of “most squeezable stocks” into late April. CarMax (KMX) moved sharply upward following a recent earnings result, pulling peers like Carvana (CVNA) and Lithia Motors (LAD) upward alongside it. AutoNation (AN) and Lithia are expected to post results in the upcoming week. Elsewhere, Tupperware (TUP) stock has been extremely volatile in recent days after engaging advisors and issuing a Going Concern warning.

Corporate Events: Sherwin-Williams (SHW) will host its virtual shareholder meeting. Other investor events include Imperial Oil’s (IMO) Investor Day. Airbus (OTCPK:EADSY) will also hold its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, starting at 1:30 PM local time in Amsterdam. Finally, Snap Inc. (SNAP) will host its 2023 Partner Summit, billed as an event wherein the company will “share news about our latest innovations, partnerships, and creator tools that enhance the Snapchat community’s relationships.” Other events expected include annual meetings from Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), Signet Jewelers (SIG), and Whirlpool Corporation (WHR).

Notable Conferences: The 2023 Space Symposium will kick off in Colorado on Monday and progress through the week. Sponsors include Northrop Grumman (NOC), Raytheon (RTX), Ball Corporation (BALL), Oracle (ORCL), Amazon (AMZN), BAE Systems (OTCPK:BAESY), Palantir (PLTR), and Maxar Technologies (MAXR). Speakers are expected from Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) and Intuitive Machines (LUNR) as well. Also on the week’s docket, Needham & Company has scheduled its 22nd Annual Healthcare Conference 2023 to kick off. The agenda includes Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), Shattuck Labs (STTK), and Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT), among others. Elsewhere, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting will progress through the week. Check out Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch for more events scheduled for next week.

Quant ratings: Shopify (SHOP) was upgraded from Hold to Strong Buy in recent days, joined by double-upgrades to Strong Buy on BAE Systems (OTCPK:BAESY), Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), Zymeworks (ZYME), and Weatherford International (WFRD). On the other end of the spectrum, American Airlines (AAL) was moved from Strong Buy to Hold. ContextLogic (WISH) was shifted from Sell to Strong Sell, as was Vornado Realty Trust (VNO). Dig into Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings.

Crypto Watch: Multiple speeches are expected during the week from Fed governors with respect to crypto and digital currencies. Governor Michelle W. Bowman will offer a speech entitled “Considerations for a Central Bank Digital Currency” at the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy Event at Georgetown University on Tuesday afternoon. Her speech will be followed on Wednesday by the participation of Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller in a conference entitled, “Cryptocurrency and the Future of Global Finance” at the University of Florida.

Box Office: The Super Mario Bros. Movie (CMCSA) smashed numerous records over the Easter weekend, raking in over $400M in its first week in theaters. The film, based upon the iconic Nintendo (OTCPK:NTDOY) character, will seek to retain its top spot at the box office over the weekend, with a chance to usurp Ant Man as the highest grossing film of 2023. According to IMDB, the film trails Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania by about $30M heading into the weekend.

Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters