Overnight Summary: The S&P 500 closed Friday lower by -0.50% at 4327.78 from Thursday lower by -0.62% at 4349.61. The overnight high was hit at 4374.75 at 2:40 a.m. EDT while the low was hit at 4354.50. at 4:20 a.m. EDT. The range overnight was 23 points as of 7:20 a.m. EDT. The 10-day average of the overnight range is at 24.40 from 25.30 down from a peak of 31.50 on 8/15.  The average for May-September average was 20.96 from 21.10 in May through August and the September average was 19.87. Currently, the S&P 500 is higher by +11 points which is +0.25% at  7:25 a.m. EDT.

Earnings Out After The Close: 

• IPOs Priced or News: None of note.
• New SPACs launched/News:
  • Aimfinity Investment Corp. I (AIMAU) enters into Definitive Merger Agreement with Taiwanese smart medical device developer Docter Inc.
  • ShoulderUp Technology Acquisition Corp. (SUAC) announces letter of intent for a business combination with Airspace Experience Technologies, Inc.
• Secondaries Priced: None of note.
• Notes Priced of note: None of note.
• Common Stock filings/Notes:
  • AONC: Filed Form S-1.. Primary Offering of 14,450,833 Shares of Class A Common Stock Secondary Offering of 51,161,832 Shares of Class A Common Stock 6,113,333 Warrants to Purchase Shares of Class A Common Stock.
  • FCEL: Filed Form S-3ASR.. Common Stock.
  • GRI: Filed Form S-3.. 4,134,201 Shares of Common Stock.
  • MIRM: Filed Form S-3ASR.. 7,937,448 Shares of Common Stock.
  • NUVL: Commences offering of $300.0 million of its shares of Class A common stock.
• Direct Offering:
  • LGVN: Announces Closing of $4 Million Registered Direct Offering Priced At-the-Market Under Nasdaq Rules.
• Selling Shareholders of note:
  • NN: Form S-3 Filed 4,768,491 Shares of Common Stock by selling shareholders.
• Private Placement of Public Entity (PIPE):
  • SPRC: Announces Closing of $5.026 Million Private Placement.
• Mixed Shelf Offerings:
  • AEE: Filed Form S-3ASR.. Mixed Shelf.
  • NVFY: Filed Form S-3.. $55,000,000 Mixed Shelf.
• Debt/Credit Filing and Notes:
  • TH: Announces Early Participation Results of the Exchange Offer and Consent Solicitation in respect of its Senior Secured Notes.
  • VIEW: Announces $50 Million Financing with Strategic Real Estate Investors.
• Tender Offer: None of note.
• 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 and Over the Week:

• Weekly Wrap Up: Best and Worst performing large cap stocks:
  • Trading Up: TUP 74.6%, HMY 26.1%, CMTL 25.8%, GFI 25.0%, AU 22.4%, MUX 21.0%, PGTI 18.2%, APLS 17.1%, NOC 15.7%, MTDR 15.0%, MRO 14.3%, CPE 13.9%, CDE 13.5%, KLXE 13.4%, NINE 12.9%, GPRK 12.8%.
  • Trading Down: SGH -45.9%, LXFR -27.3%, BDC -25.3%, RVNC -19.9%, OMER -18.4%, DVA -18.3%, GRTS -17.9%, ALLK -17.8%, AAOI -17.6%, SIBN -17.4%, RBBN -17.4%, FMS -17.0%, EBS -16.6%, INSP -16.1%, KRNT -16.1%, TCMD -15.9%, RYAM -15.8%, .

• News Items After the Close:
  • Republicans pick Jim Jordan as nominee for House speaker, putting job within the Trump ally’s reach. (AP)
  • Pfizer (PFE) heads -4% lower after hours as it lowers guidance, cites reduced demand related to COVID; MRNA -5%, BNTX -3% lower in sympathy. (MarketWatch)
  • Lyft (LYFT) says two board members have resigned. (MarketWatch)
  • General Dynamics (GD) awarded a $216.5 million US Navy contract for material associated with the Virginia Class Submarines.
  • RTX awarded a $156.2 million US Army contract for Patriot ground support equipment.
• News Items Over the Weekend:
  • The Score – Stocks That Defined the Week: LMT, PARA, JPM, PEP, NVO  (WSJ)
  • President Biden’s Statements on Middle East:
    • Threat Of Terrorism In The United States Has Increased Due To Unrest In Middle East.
    • It Would Be A Mistake For Israel To Occupy Gaza.
    • His Message To Iran Is Don’t Come Across The Border, Don’t Escalate The War.
  • These Companies Are Being Squeezed by Higher Rates. (WSJ)
  • Carl Icahn Bet on the ‘Big Short 2.0.’ Now He Says the Game Was Rigged. (WSJ)
  • Honeywell (HON) forecast sees strong demand for business jets over the next decade.
  •  Barron’s:
    • Positive View: USO, XLE, AAPL, AMZN, MSFT, GOOG, META, NVDA, TSLA of note.
    • Cautious View: None of note.
    • Mixed View: None of note.
• Erlanger Type 1 Short Squeezes and Type 4 Long Squeezes reporting earnings this week:

• Exchange/Listing/Company Reorg and Personnel News:
  • Index Changes: Lululemon Athletica (LULU) and Hubbell (HUBB) to join S&P 500.
  • Analog Devices (ADI) names James Mollica as interim CFO until a successor is named.
  • CVS Health (CVS) announces CFO Shawn Guertin to take leave of absence due to family health reasons.
  • DBV Technologies (DBVT) Announces Appointment of Virginie Boucinha as Chief Financial Officer.
  • Maris-Tech (MTEK) Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Minimum Price Bid Notification.
  • Palatin (PTN) Receives Notice of Non-Compliance from NYSE American.
  • Rite Aid (RAD) files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
    • Appoints Jeffrey S. Stein Chief Executive Officer.
  • Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) appoints Manmeet Soni as COO effective immediately.
  • Turkcell (TKC) names Dr. Ali Taha Koç as CEO.
  • ZK International Group (ZKIN) Announces Receipt of Nasdaq Delisting Notification and Will Request Hearing.
• Buyback Announcements or News: None of note.
• Stock Splits or News:
  • Reverse Splits: PIXY SLNH AQB.
• Dividends Announcements or News: None of note.
• Insider Sales Of Note: None of note.

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

Sector Action – (1/3/6/12/YTD Updated Weekly with Monday release):  

• Daily Positive Sectors: Energy, Utilities, Consumer Defensive of note.
• Daily Negative Sectors: Technology, Consumer Cyclical, Communication Services, Industrials of note.
• One Month Winners: None Communication Services of note.
• Three Month Winners: Energy and Communication Services of note.
• Six Month Winners: Communication Services, Technology, Consumer Cyclical of note.
• Twelve Month Winners: Technology, Communication Services, and Industrials of note.
• Year to Date Winners:  Communication Services, Technology, Consumer Cyclical of note.

The threat of broader conflict in the Middle East drove investors to safe-haven assets like U.S. Treasurys, gold and utility stocks Friday, while rising oil prices lifted energy shares. Technology stocks and shares of companies that depend on discretionary spending, including casinos, cruise lines and dating apps, fell. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.2%, while the S&P 500 shed 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, buoyed by gains in UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Chevron (CVX) and JPMorgan Chase (JPM), added 0.1%, or about 39 points.  The S&P 500 and Dow Industrials managed gains for the week, while the tech-focused Nasdaq declined slightly.   (WSJ – edited by QPI)

 

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

• Gap Up: RARE +7%, EGY +5%, MLTX +5%, LULU +5%, RAD +5%, ORLA +4%, PAX +4% of note.
• Gap Down: BNTX -6%, MRNA -4%, FCEL -4% of note.

Insider Action: AXR sees Insider buying with dumb short selling.  No stock sees Insider buying with smart short sellers.

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

• 5 Things Need To Know to Start Your Day. (Bloomberg)
• Bloomberg Lead Story:  Biden Considers Israel Visit, Warns Against Gaza Occupation. (Bloomberg)
• Bloomberg Second Most Shared Story: Rite Aid (RAD) Files For Bankruptcy as Debt Load, Piod Risk Rise. (Bloomberg)
• Futures Edge Up, Bonds Drop With Focus on Middle East: Market Wrap. (Bloomberg)
• President Biden cancels trip to Colorado today. (The Trade Exchange)
• Israel prepares for Gaza invasion as clashes in the north intensify. (WSJ)
• Treasury Secretary Yellen says higher interest rates may persist in US. (Bloomberg)
• US to tighten curbs on Chinese access to advanced chip tech. (Bloomberg)
• If the consumer is so strong, then why are consumer stocks tanking? (WSJ)
• NPR Morning Report Marketplace:  The game-changing work of Jerry Lawson. (Podcast)
• NY Times The Daily: Voices from Gaza. (Podcast)
• BBC Global News: Israel must protect citizens in Gaza – Blinken. (Podcast) 
• Bloomberg: Poland’s divisive election has Europe’s attention. (Podcast)
• Wealthion:  Is now the blood in the streets moment for bonds? (Podcast)

 

Moving Average Update:

• Score declines to 37% from 51%.

Geopolitical: 

M&A Activity and News: 

• ALB Abandons Takeover Offer For Liontown.
• PCTEL (PCTI) Announces Definitive Agreement to be Acquired by Amphenol Corporation.

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 is 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:

Previous Day’s Upgrades and Downgrades: