CAPIS Morning Note – 04/08/22: S&P 500 Futures Rise But Still Lower For The Week. Last Week Closed At 4545.86.

Overnight Summary: The S&P 500 closed Thursday at 4500.21 from 4481.15 on Wednesday. Futures have been moving higher after weakness into the midnight hour. The overnight high was hit at 4:30 a.m. EDT at 4,519.75. The low was hit at 4,491.75 at 8:30 p.m. EDT. At 7:30 a.m. EDT the current price is 4512.25 up…

Overnight Summary: The S&P 500 closed Thursday at 4500.21 from 4481.15 on Wednesday. Futures have been moving higher after weakness into the midnight hour. The overnight high was hit at 4:30 a.m. EDT at 4,519.75. The low was hit at 4,491.75 at 8:30 p.m. EDT. At 7:30 a.m. EDT the current price is 4512.25 up +16 which is 0.36%.

Earnings Out After The Close:

  • Beats: WDFC +0.39, PSMT +0.04.
  • Flat: None of note.
  • Misses: None of note.

Capital Raises:

  • IPOs Priced or News:
    • Ballantyne Strong (BTN) Announces Public Filing of Registration Statement for Proposed Initial Public Offering of Strong Global Entertainment, Inc.
  • New SPACs launched/News: None of note.
  • Secondaries Priced: None of note.
  • Notes Priced of note:
    • ESTE: Pricing of Private Offering of $550 Million of Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027.
    • Freeport Indonesia (FCX )Prices $3.0 Billion of Senior Notes.
    • Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) Announces Pricing of $2.7 Billion Senior Notes Offering.
  • Common Stock filings/Notes:
    • BTTX: Filed Form 424B3.. Up to 20,406,908 Shares of Common Stock.
    • CPT: Public Offering of Common Shares.. 5.9Million shares .. BAC and WFC Bookmanager.
  • Pricing of Over-Allotment/Notes: None of note.
  • Direct Offering: None of note.
  • Selling Shareholders of note: None of note.
  • Private Placement of Public Entity (PIPE):
    • Greenidge Generation (GREE) and B. Riley Principal Capital have terminated the Initial Purchase Agreement and have entered into a new Purchase Agreement.
    • Hannon Armstrong (HASI) Prices Private Offering of $200 Million Green Exchangeable Senior Notes.
    • Lyra Therapeutics (LYRA) Announces $100.5 Million Private Placement.
  • Mixed Shelf Offerings:
    • DINO HF Sinclair files mixed securities shelf offering.
    • DXF: Filed Form F-3.. US$300,000,000 Mixed Shelf.
    • RLMD: Filed Form S-3ASR.. Mixed Shelf Offering.
    • SLGL: Filed Form F-3.. $120,000,000 Mixed Shelf.
  • Convertible Offering & Notes Filed: None of note.

Capital Raise Summary From The TradeXchange, bringing traders and investors real time news and Squawk Box, and other sources.

News After The Close:

  • After Hours: 
    • Trading Up: WDFC +10%, NRIX +5%, PSFE +4%.
    • Trading Down: HARP -11%.
  • News Since The Close:
    • WideOpenWest (WOW) Explores Options, Including a Sale (Bloomberg)
    • Twitter (TWTR) says it is “experimenting with Unmentioning—a way to help you protect your peace and remove yourself from conversations”
    • CCL First Cruise Ship Set to Return to Canada as Country Reopens Cruising After Two-Year Absence.
    • Walmart (WMT) raises driver pay and launches private fleet development program.
    • Lockheed Martin (LMT) awarded $260 million Navy contract.
    • ANSYS (ANSS) wins NASA contract worth up to $39.1 million.
    • Russian/Ukraine News:
      • US Treasury sanctions major Russian state-owned enterprises.
      • EU agrees fifth package of restrictive measures against Russia.
      • Kremlin on planned EU ban on Russian coal, says coal is in high demand, and volumes earmarked for Europe will be redirected to alternative markets if EU refuses Russian coal.
      • Kremlin: Russia’s ‘special operation’ in Ukraine could be completed ‘in foreseeable future’ given aims are being achieved and work is being carried out by the military and peace negotiators.
      • Microsoft (MSFT) announces it is disrupting cyberattacks targeting Ukraine.
  • Exchange/Listing/Company Reorg and Personnel News:
    • AC Immune (ACIU) Reports Changes to Senior Management.
    • APVO: Form 8K.. received a letter from Nasdaq indicating that it is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550.
    • BioLife Solutions, Inc. (BLFS) Announces Change of Auditor to Grant Thornton LLP.
    • Cytokinetics (CYTK) Chairman to resign; John Henderson, M.B., Ch.B. named Chairman of Board.
    • Doma (DOMA) Announces Chief Financial Officer Departure.
    • Harpoon Therapeutics (HARP) Announces Leadership Change.
    • Gatos Silver (GATO) announces appointment of Dale Andres as CEO.
    • NYSE to Suspend Trading Immediately in LAIX Inc. (LAIX) and Commence Delisting Proceedings.
    • Paysafe (PSFE) Announces New CEO.
    • Shoals Technologies (SHLS) CFO Dr. Philip Garton intends to resign on May 4, 2022.
    • Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL) agrees on contract extension with CEO Kenneth Vecchione that runs through at least 2024.
    • Zhihu (ZH) has filed an application with the Stock Exchange of Hong King Limited in connection with a proposed dual primary listing of its Class A ordinary shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
  • Buyback Announcements:
    • Steel Partners Holdings L.P. (SPLP) Through Its Wholly Owned Subsidiary Steel Excel, Inc. to Commence Dutch Auction Tender Offer to Repurchase up to $100 Million in Value of Its Common Units.
  • Stock Splits: None of note.
  • Dividends Announcements: None of note.

What’s Happening This Morning: Futures value reflects the change with fair value.

S&P 500 +15, Dow Jones +133, NASDAQ +45,  and Russell 2000 +6.  Europe and Asian markets higher.  VIX Futures are at 24.69 from 23.45  yesterday morning. Gold lower, Silver higher along with Copper lower. WTI Crude Oil is higher and Brent Oil Futures lower with Natural Gas higher. $ is higher vs Euro, higher vs Pound and higher vs Yen. US 10 year Treasury sees yields at 2.67% from 2.605%. Bitcoin is at $43,300 from $43,706  on Thursday morning lower by 0.43% this morning. As of 8:08 a.m. EDT.

Thursday’s Action – 04/07/22 Close:  

  • Daily Positive Sectors: Healthcare, Energy, Consumer Defensive of note.
  • Daily Negative Sectors: Real Estate, Communication Services, Financial of note.
  • One Month Winners: Energy, Utilities and Basic Materials of note.
  • Three Month Winners: Energy, Utilities and Basic Materials of note.
  • Six Month Winners: Energy, Basic Materials, Utilities of note.
  • Twelve Month Winners: Energy, Utilities, and Basic Materials of note.
  • Year to Date Winners: Energy, Utilities, and  Basic Materials of note.

Stocks recovered early losses to end in the green.  SPX was up 0.43% and Russell 2000 ended down 0.35%.  UNG ended up 5.37% to close at 22.37.  Updated 04/07/22 close.

Upcoming Earnings Of Note: (sorted by market cap, highest to lowest with most visible names)

  • Friday After the Close: None of note.
  • Monday Before the Open: None of note.

Earnings of Note This Morning:

  • Beats: None of note.
  • Flat: None of note.
  • Misses: None of note.
  • Still to Report: None of note.

Guidance:

  • Positive Guidance: VIVO, QDEL, TSM of note.
  • Negative Guidance: ACMR, IMOS, ZYXI of note.

Erlanger Research Advance/Decline Chart: Updated through 04/07/22 close.

Gap Ups & Down In Early Pre-Market:

  • Gap Up: PSFE +8%, WDFC +7%, UMC +5%, CRWD +4%.
  • Gap Down: HARP -9%.

Insider Action: THO sees Insider buying with dumb short selling.  GRPN sees Insider buying with smart short sellers. 04/07/22 close.

  • Groupon (GRPN): 10% owner (Pale Fire’s Jan Barta) affirms increased holding and 7.8% active stake.

Rags & Mags: Repeated stories from prior days never listed, i.e. “rehashed news”. Sorted by Global, U.S. and stock specific.

  • Stocks Making The Biggest Moves: BIIB, SAVE, HOOD, KR, DBI, WDFC  (CNBC)
  • Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day. (Bloomberg)
  • China lockdowns continue in China as Covid-19 cases continue to rise. (WSJ)
  • Russian troops bomb a train station in Donbas and kill dozens. (WSJ)
  • Russia acknowledges “significant losses of troops” in Ukraine. (NYT)
  • Russian troops fully withdrawn from Northern Ukraine. (CNN)
  • Tesla (TSLA) sees first cars produced in Texas role off the production line. (WSJ)
  • Telsa (TSLA) to begin Cyber Truck production in 2023. (NYT)
  • KKR to take its Kokusai Electric unit public. (Reuters)
  • Intel (INTC) needs additional capacity from TSMC (TSM).
  • Robinhood Snacks looks at Levi Strauss’s (LEVI) move to company operated stores. Supply Chain in China about to feel impact of lockdowns.

Moving Average Update:

  • Score inches up to 30% from 26%.  Updated 04/07/22 close.

Geopolitical: 

  • President’s Public Schedule:
    • The President receives the President’s Daily Brief, 9:45 a.m. EDT
    • The President, The Vice President, and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson deliver remarks on the Senate’s historic, bipartisan confirmation of Judge Jackson to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, 12:15 p.m. EDT
    • Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, 2:00 p.m. EDT

Economic: 

  • Wholesale Inventories 10:00 a.m. EDT
  • Baker Hughes Rig Count 1:00 p.m. EDT

Federal Reserve Speakers:

  • None of note

M&A Activity:

  • California Water (CWT) subsidiary agrees to acquire Stroh’s Water Company.
  • Littelfuse (LFUS) to Acquire C&K Switches.

Meeting & Conferences of Note:

  • Sellside Conferences:
    • Raymond James Technology and EV Conference
      • Previously Announced  Conferences:
        • HSBC West Coast Financials Conference 2022 (04/04/22-04/08/22)
  • Company Meetings: ZSAN.
  • Fireside Chat: None of note.
  • Investor/Analyst Day/Calls: None of note.
  • Update:
    • Rubius (RUBY) Therapeutics, Inc Updated Phase 1 Clinical Results for RTX-240 in Solid Tumors & AML.
    • Cogent (COGT) Biosciences R&D Investor Event 2022.
  • R&D Day: None of note.
  • Company Event: None of note.
  • Industry Meetings:
    • American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting (AACR) 2022 (04/08/22-04/13/22)
    • IFCC-EFLM European Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicines (EuroMedLab) 2022 (04/10/22-04/14/22)
    • Society for Inherited Metabolic Disorders 43rd Annual Meeting 2022 (04/10/22-04/13/22)
      • Previously Posted and Ongoing Conferences:
        • Bitcoin 2022 Conference (04/06/22-04/09/22)
        • 35th Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) 2022 (04/06/22-04/10/22)
        • National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings 2022 (04/06/22-04/10/22)
        • American Burn Association (ABA) Annual Meeting 2022 (04/05/22-04/08/22)
        • ECRM Supplier Diversity Week 2022 (04/05/22-04/08/22)

Top Tier Sell-side Upgrades & Downgrades:

The recommendations listed below in this “Upgrade/Downgrade” section are compiled from what we believe are Tier I, II and III firms. Recommendations posted are taken from a variety of sources each day and we only post upgrades or significant initiations as well as downgrades to underweight or sell. The purpose of this posting it to make the reader aware of market moving recommendations. None of these recommendations should be interpreted as actual recommendations from CAPIS or its employees.

Today’s Upgrades and Downgrades:

      

Thursday’s Upgrades and Downgrades: