Catalyst Watch: Economic data flurry, Micron earnings, and triple-witching day

Welcome to Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch – a breakdown of some of next week’s actionable events that stand out. Read more about the events that may impact stock prices next week.

Monday – December 15

  • Volatility Watch – Bloom Energy (BE) and Hut 8 Corp. (HUT) are set up for a volatile week of trading based on options volume. The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include CapsoVision (CV), Magnitude International (MAGH), and Photronics (PLAB). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include American Bitcoin (ABTC), Lakeland Industries (LAKE), and Rezolute (RZLT).
  • IPO watch – Medline (MDLN) is expected to price its IPO and begin trading during the week. The IPO lock-up period expires on certain blocks of shares of Slide Insurance (SLDE) and Enigmatig (EGG). The post-IPO quiet period ends on Central BanCo (CBC) and Gloo Holdings (GLOO) to free up analysts to post ratings.
  • Dividend watch – Companies that have an ex-dividend date coming next week include Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), Devon Energy (DVN), FedEx (FDX), and Disney (DIS).
  • All day – The NYC Summit 2025 is aimed at the semiconductor and related technology companies. The event will include a round-robin format of meetings between management teams and institutional investors/analysts. ACM Research (ACMR), Advanced Energy Industries (AEIS), and FormFactor (FORM) are some of the notable companies participating.
  • 10:30 a.m. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams participates in an economic growth discussion before an event organized by the New Jersey Bankers Association.

Tuesday – December 16

  • Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Lennar (LEN) and Duluth Holdings (DLTH).
  • All day – The Northland Virtual Growth Conference will include participation from SunPower (SPWR), Asure Software (ASUR), and Calix (CALX).
  • All day – Notable investor events include Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) Investor Meeting, Vital Farms’ (VITL) Investor Day, Cisco Systems’ (CSCO) annual meeting, Neurocrine Biosciences’ (NBIX) R&D Day, and Affirm Holdings’ (AFRM) Investor Meeting.
  • All day – The go-shop period on Clayton Dubilier & Rice’s offer to acquire Sealed Air (SEE) ends.
  • 8:00 a.m. Pfizer (PFE) is holding a conference call with investment analysts to provide its full-year 2026 financial guidance.
  • 8:30 a.m. The October and November jobs reports will be released. Economists expect a soft tally of ~50K job additions in November and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.4%.
  • 8:30 a.m. The U.S. Census Bureau is scheduled to release the October Retail Sales report.
  • 2:00 p.m. The Council of Institutional Investors is holding a webinar to discuss “Tesla, Texas Corporate Law, and Investors.” The topic could be intriguing for investors, as the impact of Texas business law on corporate governance and long-term shareholder value is a new wild card in the mix.

Wednesday – December 17

  • Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Micron (MU), Jabil (JBL), General Mills (GIS), and Spire (SPIR).
  • Fedspeak – New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will give opening remarks before the 2025 FX Market Structure Conference. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic will participate in a discussion on the economic outlook before the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce.
  • All day – Phillips Edison & Company (PECO) will hold a business update call.

Thursday – December 18

  • Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Accenture (ACN), Nike (NKE), FedEx (FDX), CarMax (KMX), and Darden Restaurants (DRI). Options trading implies a double-digit move for BlackBerry (BB) and Scholastic (SCHL) after they report.
  • 7:45 a.m. The European Central Bank will release its policy statement.
  • 8:30 a.m. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will hold a press conference.
  • 8:30 a.m. The Consumer Price Index report for November will be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. October components will be folded into the report.

Friday – December 19

  • Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Carnival (CCL) and Conagra Brands (CAG).
  • All day – The stock market could see extra volatility with triple witching day featuring the simultaneous expiration of stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options contracts.
  • All day – WTI crude January futures will expire. Crude oil futures have seen extra volatility over the last year on contract expiration dates.
  • All day – Shareholders with STAAR Surgical (STAA) will vote on the buyout offer from Alcon (ALC). STAAR Surgical trades well below the $30.75 deal price.
  • All day – Disney (DIS) will release Avatar: Fire and Ash across theaters in the U.S. Box office expectations are for an opening weekend tally of over $100 million, which could be a late-year positive for AMC Entertainment (AMC), Cinemark Holdings (CNK), Marcus Corporation (MCS), and IMAX (IMAX).

Seeking Alpha Editor Josh Fineman contributed to this report.

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