Early Look

Friday, March 19, 2021

U.S. stock futures are looking at a modest rebound after sharp selling pressure took equities to their lows late yesterday, falling after French PM said Paris will go into lockdown as COVID-19 variant rampages as the French government imposing a 4-week lockdown on Paris and parts of the North. On a positive note, in Europe, several EU countries are said to restart AstraZeneca vaccinations after EMA says jab is safe as Italy, France, Germany, and Spain to restart AZN jabs after the EMA concluded that the vaccine is safe and effective. After falling for a 6^th straight day yesterday to its lowest levels in nearly a month at $60 per barrel, oil prices are looking higher this morning along with a bounce in U.S. stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.691% early Friday after a spike drove it to 1.75% for the first time since January 2020, putting fresh pressure on tech and other stocks as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index fell -424 points to 29,792, the Shanghai Index dropped -58 points to 3,404 and the Hang Seng Index declined -414 points to 28,990. In Europe, the German DAX is lower by over -50 points to 14,720, while the FTSE 100 is down around -40 points to 6,735. Stocks in China declined Friday as high-level talks between the U.S. and China, the first since President Joe Biden took office, got off to a rocky start. Reuters reported the first high-level U.S.-China meeting of the Biden administration left both sides leveling sharp rebukes of the others’ policies in a rare public display that underscored the level of bilateral tension. The Dow dropped 0.46% on Thursday, the S&P 500 declined 1.48% and the Nasdaq slumped 3.02% as tech stocks were hit particularly hard – but are looking to recover on the final day of trading this week.

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

·     The S&P 500 Index dropped -58.66 points, or 1.48%, to 3,915.46

·     The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -153.07 points, or 0.46%, to 32,862.30

·     The Nasdaq Composite plunged -409.03 points, or 3.02%, to 13,116.17

·     The Russell 2000 Index declined -68.81 points, or 2.94% to 2,267.59

Events Calendar for Today

·     1:00 PM EST       Baker Hughes Weekly Rig data

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

·     Nike (NKE) Q3 EPS $0.90 vs. est. $0.76; Q4 revenue $10.4B vs. est. $11.02B; qtrly gross margin increased 130 basis points to 45.6%; qtrly revenues for the Nike brand were $9.8 billion, a decrease of 2% to prior year on a currency-neutral basis; qtrly Nike brand digital sales increased 59%, or 54% on a currency-neutral basis, with strong double-digit increases in all geographies; Q3 N.A. revs fell -10% due to supply chain challenges

·     Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI) Q4 adj EPS 97c vs. est. 85c; Q4 sales $515.8M vs. est. $487.8M; quarterly comp sales rose 8.8%; not providing guidance for FY21; announces $100M share buyback

·     Scholastic (SCHL) Q3 adj EPS loss (14c) on revenue $277.5M down 6% YoY; is not providing financial outlook for the year; said school book fairs revenues declined in the quarter, as many schools were still operating in remote or hybrid mode

·     Skillz Inc. (SKLZ) 15M share secondary prices at $24.00 (Skillz sold 17M Shares, and certain selling stockholders will sell 15m shares)

·     Molson Coors (TAP) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan and Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral

Energy

·     Fed-Ex (FDX) Q3 adj EPS $3.47 vs. est. $3.22; Q3 revenue $21.5B vs. est. $20.02B; says expect demand for our e-commerce and international express solutions to remain very high for foreseeable future; sees 2021 earnings of $16.80 to $17.40 per share before year-end mtm retirement plan adjustment, debt refinancing costs that may be incurred vs. est. $17.40

·     Magellan Midstream Partners (MMP) announced the extension of its open season to solicit customer commitments for the potential expansion of the partnership’s New Mexico refined petroleum products pipeline

·     Array Technologies (ARRY) 31.05M share Secondary priced at $28.00

·     Construction Partners (ROAD) 2M share Spot Secondary priced at $31.25

·     SolarEdge (SEDG) upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna

Financials

·     NBTC Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The9 Limited (NCTY) signed a Bitcoin mining machine purchase agreement with Bitmain Technologies Limited to purchase 24,000 Antminer S19j Bitcoin mining machines

·     AFC Gamma (AFCG) 6.25M share IPO priced at $19.00

·     Extra Space Storage (EXR) 1.6M share Spot Secondary priced at $129.80

·     Stepstone Group (STEP) 8M share Secondary priced at $29.50

·     Cowen Group (COWN) boosts share repurchase pact to $25M

Healthcare

·     Idera Pharmaceuticals (IDRA) shares tumble over 60% after its ILLUMINATE-301 did not meet its primary endpoint of objective response rate (ORR); said evaluating its next steps regarding continuation of the trial toward its overall survival (OS) endpoint, which includes evaluating the full data set when it is available (downgraded by several analysts)

·     Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (KNSA) said the FDA approved its drug Arcalyst for the treatment of recurrent pericarditis; approval follows positive data from a Phase 3 trial of Arcalyst that showed meaningful outcomes associated with the significant unmet medical need in recurrent pericarditis

·     Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) is working on several next-generation versions of its Covid-19 vaccine that may be needed to bolster protection against some of the coronavirus variants that have emerged. J&J Chief Executive Alex Gorsky said he was hopeful J&J’s newly authorized vaccine and other current Covid-19 shots provide some protection against new variants, but booster shots or modified versions of original vaccines might be needed.

·     Incyte (INCY) announces results from the phase 3 Devent study evaluating ruxolitinib (Jakafi®) as a treatment for patients with covid-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome on mechanical ventilation/Devent study did not meet its primary endpoint-mortality

·     Sarepta therapeutics’ (SRPT) investigational gene therapy srp-9003 for the treatment of limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2e shows sustained expression and functional improvements 2 years after administration; results in both cohorts continue to reinforce safety and tolerability profile of srp-9003

·     Trillium Therapeutics (TRIL) reports annual operating and financial results and sets date for R&D day – wide-ranging transformation program completed; R&D day scheduled for April 28, 2021, to provide data updates, and announce strategic priorities and clinical development plan going forward; $291.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2020; files mixed securities shelf

·     Connect Biopharma (CNTB) 11.25M share IPO priced at $17.00

·     Finch Therapeutics (FNCH) 7.5M share IPO priced at $17.00

·     Instil Bio (TIL) 16M share IPO priced at $20.00

·     Solid Biosciences (SLDB) 21.74M share Spot Secondary priced at $5.75

·     vTv Therapeutics (VTVT) files to sell $250M of Class A common stock

Technology, Media & Telecom

·     The NFL announced it has signed long-term agreements with media partners Amazon (AMZN), CBS (VIAC), Disney’s (DIS) ESPN/ABC, FOX (FOXA) and Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBC to distribute NFL games across television and digital platforms, along with additional media rights. The agreements will commence at the start of the 2023 season and run through the 2033 season.

·     ViacomCBS (VIAC) and NFL reach new long-term multiplatform rights agreement through the 2033 season; all games in package to be broadcast on the CBS television network and streamed on Paramount+; expanded and flexible NFL distribution rights for paramount+ beginning with 2021 season

·     MediaAlpha (MAX) 7M share Secondary priced at $46.00