Stocks To Watch: Big Week On Tap For Anheuser-Busch, Snap, Cisco And Aptiv

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The week ahead will be dominated by talk of inflation and interest rates with the consumer price index and producer price index reports due out. The Consumer Price Index report for January is forecast to show a 0.5% month-over-month rise with energy prices higher again. The headline year-over-year inflation reading is expected to drop to +6.2% from +6.5% in December. Food prices are seen bumping up from December, while some cooling with air fares and lodging is anticipated. The inflation reads will be accompanied by a heavy slate of Federal Reserve speakers next week, which will ramp up discussion on the pace of interest rate hikes. Bank of America has a central thesis that inflation will not return to 2% without some material softening in labor market conditions, while Seeking Alpha contributor Damir Tokic warned transitory disinflation could be transitory. The conference schedule heats up next week with the European Blockchain conference, the AI Summit West conference, and a key cancer symposium with data and trial results to be presented. Meanwhile, Snap (NYSE:SNAP) and Aptiv (NYSE:APTV) will hold investor events. It is also that time of the quarter for hedge funds and investment managers to disclose their portfolio positions. As for the earnings slate, key reports include updates from Coca-Cola (KO), Deere (DE), DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG), and Shopify (SHOP). On Seeking Alpha, contributor Leon Laake thinks Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) will likely meet guidance with its earnings report and benefit from growth in cybersecurity and its transformation to software over the long term. Contributor Danil Sereda tips Palantir Technologies (PLTR) may beat market exceptions with its earnings report, but still but faces long-term challenges. Contributor Stocks and Savings think Airbnb’s (ABNB) report will be a reminder that despite the tough going for tech, the online travel marketplace continues to deliver for investors. A final wildcard to watch next week will be a potential Department of Transportation announcement on a rule change that will pressure Tesla (TSLA) to add competitor chargers to the EV giant’s Supercharger network.

Earnings spotlight: Monday, February 13 – Arista Networks (ANET), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS).

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, February 14 – Coca-Cola (KO), Airbnb (ABNB), Marriott International (MAR), GlobalFoundries (GFS), and Suncor Energy (SU).

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, February 15 – Cisco Systems (CSCO), Analog Devices (ADI), Biogen (BIIB), Shopify (SHOP), Energy Transfer (ET), and Kraft Heinz (KHC).

Earnings spotlight: Thursday, February 15 – Applied Materials (AMAT), Vale S.A. (VALE), DraftKings (DKNG), US Foods (USFD), Datadog (DDOG), and DoorDash (DASH).

Earnings spotlight: Friday, February 17 – Deere (DE), CenterPoint Energy (CNP), and AutoNation (AN).

Volatility watch: Virgin Galactic (SPCE) and Nordstrom (JWN) are positioned again for a volatile week with short interest at a very high level. AMC Entertainment (AMC) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) top the list of stocks with the highest implied volatility based on options trading.

IPO watch: Japanese asset management platform Syla Technologies (SYT) and Immune therapeutics developer Alopexx (ALPX) could launch their IPOs next week. The IPO lockup period expires on blocks of shares of Meihua Med Tech (MHUA), Graphex Group (GRFX) and GigaCloud Technology (GCT). Looking ahead, the IPO market could heat up later in the year in the restaurant sector with Panera Brands, Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava Group, and Fogo Hospitality (FOGO) all reportedly eyeing going public.

Dividend watch: Some of the notable companies expected to boost their quarterly dividend payouts next week include Whirlpool (WHR) to $2.10 from $1.75, Mercer International (MERC) to $0.09 to $0.075, Bruker (BRKR) to $0.06 from $0.05, Extra Space (EXR) to $1.75 from $1.50, and Analog Devices (ADI) to $0.85 from $0.76.

Corporate events: Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (NASDAQ:FFIE) will hold a pre-recorded Global Investor Communications and Proxy Voting Webinar. Aptiv (APTV) will hold an investor conference in Boston. Massachusetts and Ardmore Shipping Corporation (ASC) will host its 2023 Investor Day on February 14. On February 16, Shell (NYSE:SHEL) will hold a live LNG outlook event and Snap Inc. (SNAP) will hold an Investor Day with financial analysts and institutional investors. Check out Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch for more events scheduled for next week.

All things Super Bowl: The NFL Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs is expected to be the most-watched event of the year. Advertisers this year are paying as much as $7M to get in front of the +100M somewhat captive viewers. The list of advertisers is very light on crypto this year, but includes a doubleshot of alcoholic beverage companies. Molson Coors (NYSE:TAP) and DraftKings (DKNG) are running a unique Super Bowl promotion that will see fans able to win money by predicting the details of the advertising for the Coor Light and Miller Lite brands during the game. Of note, the High Stakes Beer Ad’s $500,000 prize pool is the largest for any free-to-play non-sport contest offered in DraftKings’ (DKNG) history. Molson Coors (TAP) returns to the Super Bowl this year for the first time in 30 years due to Anheuser-Busch’s (BUD) exclusivity contract running out. Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) will still have a large presence at the Super Bowl this year even though the beer giant gave up its exclusivity deal that kept other alcohol brands on the sidelines. The beer giant landed three minutes of air time and will include advertising spots for the traditional Michelob Ultra and Bud Light brands, instead of Bud Light Seltzer or a craft brand. Of note, Busch Light will make its first appearance in Super Bowl ads since 2017 after experiencing double-digit growth for the past five years. Other alcohol companies stepping into the Super Bowl spotlight include Heineken N.V. (OTCQX:HEINY) with an ad for a nonalcoholic beer and Diageo (DEO) with the first Super Bowl spirits ad. Also in the mix, French company Rémy Cointreau (OTCPK:REMYF) has locked up a 60-second ad for its Rémy Martin cognac. Other notable advertisers during the game will include travel site Booking.com (BKNH), online shopping site Rakuten, DexCom (DXCM), Procter & Gamble’s (PG) Downy, Unilever’s (UL) Hellman’s, PepsiCo’s (PEP) Popcorners and Pringles, DraftKings (DKNG), Uber (UBER), Workday (WDAY), and a unique combo spot between General Motors (GM) and Netflix (NFLX) to highlights their EV partnership. A notable change this year will be with the halftime show with Apple (AAPL) taking over for PepsiCo (PEP) as the main sponsor. The Cupertino tech giant will be aiming for exposure for its Apple Music product with Rihanna leading the halftime entertainment. Naturally, the Super Bowl is forecast to set a record for legalized betting volume due to the new states with casino and mobile betting. The American Gaming Association expects 30M Americans plan to place a traditional wager online, at a retail sportsbook, or with a bookie, while another 28M plan to bet casually with friends or part of a pool or squares contest. Macquarie forecast $1.0B to $1.5B will be bet legally on the Super Bowl, which is not far off from a normal NFL regular season weekend tally. However, analyst Chad Benyon said the high volatility from just one game outcome can be material to monthly/quarterly GGR figures for sports betting operators like DraftKings (DKNG), Barstool (PENN), Caesars Sportsbook (CZR), and BetMGM (MGM) (OTCPK:GMVHF).

Quant ratings: Stocks with recent quant rating changes include Deckers Outdoor (DECK) to Strong Buy from Hold, Planet Fitness (PLNT) to Strong Buy from Hold, and Curaleaf Holdings (OTCPK:CURLF) to Strong Sell from Hold. See the stocks with the very highest rated Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings.

Notable conferences: Healthcare companies due to present data and trial results at the ASCO GU Cancers Symposium include Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM), Lava Therapeutics (LVTX), Bicycle Therapeutics (BCYC), and BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI). Some other big conference during the week include the BTIG MedTech, Digital Health, Life Science & Diagnostic Tools Conference, the SVB Securities Global Biopharma Conference, the BofA Financial Services Conference, the Cowen Aerospace/Defense & Industrials Conference, the Global Space and Technology Convention, the Wolfe Research Global Auto, Auto Tech, and Mobility Conference, and Baird’s Vehicle Tech & Mobility Conference.

Barron’s mentions: Hertz Global (NASDAQ:HTZ) is recommended this week with the stock called cheap at a single-digit earnings multiple and the company seen as being run well. Other factors working in Hertz’s favor are the partnership with Tesla (TSLA) and the acceleration in buyback activity. Toast (NYSE:TOST) also earned a call-out this week with the restaurant tech stock seen as an intriguing long-term pick. Sales are expected to soar over the next three years to take the company to profitability in 2026. While near-term valuation may look high, the case is made that Toast has potential to rapidly expand market share.

Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters

Editor’s Note: This article covers one or more microcap stocks. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.