Stocks To Watch: Tesla, Rivian, Chevron, And Goldman Sachs Could See Jolts

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The calendar next week includes some wildcards with the potential to jolt key sectors. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) will hold a highly-anticipated investor event, while Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Goldman Sachs (GS) will also hold their annual strategy updates. On the macro front, Fed speakers will be back on the circuit and economic releases include the latest on durable goods orders, the FHFA Housing Price Index, the S&P Case, construction spending numbers and speeches from the Fed’s Raphael Bostic and Thomas Barkin. The earnings schedule is also active with all Target (NYSE:TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), and NIO (NIO) all due to report. On Seeking Alpha, contributor Alpha Sieve thinks Target (TGT) is at risk to see an earnings drop and Value Pendulum said Rivian Automotive (RIVN) is set up for a good year no matter what earnings bring in. Contributor Michael Fitzsimmons called out Broadcom (AVGO) for an earnings beat.

Earnings spotlight: Monday, February 27 – Li Auto (LI) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY).

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, February 28 – Target (TGT), Bank of Montreal (BMO), AutoZone (AZO), J.M. Smucker (SJM), HP (HP), Coupang (CPNG), Ross Stores (ROST), Rivian Automotive (RIVN), and AMC Entertainment (AMC).

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, March 1 – Lowe’s (LOW), NIO (NIO), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Kohl’s (KSS), Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Salesforce (CRM), Splunk (SPLK), and Snowflake (SNOW). Watch for potential fireworks with Tupperware Brands (TUP)

Earnings spotlight: Thursday, March 2 – Kroger (KR), Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Best Buy (BBY), Macy’s (M), Six Flags Entertainment (SIX), Costco (COST), Broadcom (AVGO), Dell (DELL), and C3.ai (AI).

Earnings spotlight: Friday, March 3 – Hibbett (HIBB).

Volatility watch: Offerpad Solutions (NYSE:OPAD) and PMV Pharmaceuticals (PMVP) are high on the list of stocks with the highest percentage of short interest outstanding. Options trading has spiked over the last week on Praxis Precision Medicines (PRAX).

IPO watch: Subscription healthcare provider Nava Health MD (NAVA) and Japanese asset management platform SYLA Technologies (SYT) are expected to price their IPOs and start trading next week. Analyst ratings could pour in on Structure Therapeutics (GPCR) and Lichen China (LICN) after the expirations of the quiet periods.

Dividend watch: Some of the notable companies expected to boost their quarterly dividend payouts next week include Advance Auto Parts (AAP) to $1.75 from $1.50, Travel + Leisure (TNL) to $0.45 from $0.40, and Best Buy (BBY) to $0.97 from $0.88.

Bright lights on Tesla: Tesla (TSLA) will hold an Investor Day event on March 1 in what could be one of the key days of the year for the electric vehicle giant. The event will be live streamed from the Gigafactory Texas site and is expected to include discussion on Tesla’s long term expansion plans, generation 3 platform, and capital allocation. A tour of the Austin factory will be included for those in attendance in person. Naturally, analysts are buzzing over what Elon Musk and gang will highlight at the event. The automaker’s “generation 3 platform” is anticipated to lead to cheaper electric vehicles in the future, although it is unclear if a new mass-market model will be unveiled. The tease about capital allocation has some investors focused details of a stock buyback plan. The third part of Tesla’s Master Plan (following Part 1 in 2006 and Part 2 in 2016) will be a key part of the event. The next-gen Tesla Roadster, Cybertruck, new vehicle platform, autonomous driving applications, energy storage initiatives, charging network revenue potential, and Tesla robot could all be woven into the master plan. Oppenheimer thinks Tesla (TSLA) may be more granular with the Investor Day talk and delve into cost reduction efforts, manufacturing efficiency, progress on new products like a low-cost passenger vehicle and Semi, along with a more fulsome update on FSD. Bernstein thinks the Analyst Day is likely to provide some incremental details on the next-gen vehicle platform, but noted it is unclear that Tesla will be able to adequately address the concern of bears around timing. Goldman Sachs expects CEO Elon Musk to discuss in broad strokes what is needed for the world to transition to sustainable energy. Other key topics are anticipated to be FSD, the Optimus robot, financial drivers, including EBIT margins/opex leverage capital allocation, and energy storage. “We expect the transition to sustainable energy and the outlook for Tesla’s Energy segment to be one of the most prominent parts of the event,” previewed the firm. Of note, Tesla has said that the total addressable market for energy could be larger than automotive, and the company is in the process of ramping a 40 GWh Megafactory in Lathrop California for its utility scale Megapack product. For investors, shares of Tesla have a track record of rallying in front of a publicized event and trading back down after the reveals. Seeking Alpha contributor Jonathan Weber thinks any developments surfacing from Tesla’s Investor Day may present mixed results for EV competitors Lucid Group (LCID) and BYD Company (OTCPK:BYDDF).

Target earnings preview: Target (TGT) will be the headliner in the retail sector next week. The Minneapolis-based company is projected to report revenue of $30.7B and EPS of $1.40. Comparable sales are expected to be slightly negative during the quarter, although price increases during the quarter have cut into the confidence of analysts in calling out a number. Bank of America warned that incremental mix pressure could have impacted Q4 margins with traffic being supported by sales of lower-margin, higher-frequency consumables categories as well as elevated promotions. Looking ahead, elevated food inflation is called a risk in terms of driving continued wallet share away from higher margin discretionary categories. Positive factors for Target (TGT) include incremental benefits from the announced cost savings initiative of $2B to $3B in savings over the next three years and potential market share shifts from Walmart and warehouse clubs. On the conference call, analysts will be looking for updates on consumer discretionary spending trends, inventory challenges, and supply chain challenges. The Seeking Alpha Quant Rating on Target (TGT) is at Hold due to low marks for valuation and growth.

Corporate events: The Mobile World Congress MWC will take place out of Barcelona during the week. Telecom giants Verizon (VZ), Ericsson (ERIC), T-Mobile (TMUS), and AT&T (T) will be watched closely as always, while tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) has previewed that it will discuss its extended partnership with OpenAI. In addition, Synchronoss (SNCR) will showcase an AI-powered personal cloud platform at Mobile World Congress. Other companies that will make appearances include Analog Devices (ADI), CEVA (CEVA), Airgain (AIRG), EPAM Systems (EPAM), OnePlus, Xiaomi, RealMe, ZTE, and TruPhone. Also watch Goldman Sachs (GS), Shutterstock (SSTK), Chevron (CVX), and Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) with all three companies hosting Investor Day events on February 28 with the potential to jolt shares. Frontdoor (FTDR) will follow up with an Investor Day event of its own on March 2. Check out Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch for more events scheduled for next week.

Quant ratings: Stocks with recent quant rating changes include PepsiCo (PEP) to Buy from Hold, Papa John’s International (PZZA) to Buy from Hold, and Microvast Holdings (NASDAQ:MVST) to Strong Sell from Hold. See the stocks with the very highest rated Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings.

Notable conferences: The conference schedule heats up with the Deutsche Bank Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference, KBW Fintech Payments Conference, Wolfe Research Software Conference, H.C. Wainwright Cell Therapy Virtual Conference, and Bank of America 2023 Global Agriculture and Materials Conference all scheduled.

Barron’s mentions: The publication made the case that the outlook for electric utilities is the best in decades with investments in transmission grids and renewable power needed to meet growing demand from electric vehicles, heating, and appliances. Within the sector, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) was called out as one of the best plays, with higher rates anticipated in several states. The stock is seen as undervalued by some metrics and the dividend yield of 3.9% stands about a quarter-point above the sector median. Carl Icahn and Blackstone (BX) are two prominent investors in FirstEnergy.

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.