Get ahead of the market by subscribing to Seeking Alpha’s Stocks to Watch, a preview of key events scheduled for the coming week. The newsletter keeps you informed of the biggest stories set to make headlines, including upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports and conference presentations.
The economic calendar is light in the week ahead, but will still include updates on consumer credit, initial jobless claims, and consumer sentiment. Following a blackout period, Federal Reserve members are back on the speaking circuit. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari, and Chicago Federal Reserve Bank President Austan Goolsbee will all participate in events during the course of the week. The Federal Reserve will also release its Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices. The Fed’s SLOOS release is watched closely for banking trends and expectations on loan performance. Read the Seeking Alpha Analysts Roundtable for recent predictions on when the central bank will first cut interest rates.
In corporate earnings, some of the major reports to watch include those from Tyson Foods (TSN), Disney (NYSE:DIS), Coupang (NYSE:CPNG), Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN), and Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER). Meanwhile, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will hold a special event on May 7 to showcase new iPad products and hardware accessories. In addition, one of the bigger spring conferences in the healthcare sector will take place in Baltimore on May 7-11 as the latest gene and cell therapy developments are presented and critically discussed at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Conference.
Earnings spotlight: Monday, May 6 – Tyson Foods (TSN), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), Palantir (PLTR), and Realty Income (O). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, May 7 – Disney (DIS), McKesson (MCK), Ferrari (RACE), GlobalFoundries (GFS), Coupang (CPNG), Electronic Arts (EA), Rivian Automotive (RIVN), and Datadog (DDOG). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, May 8 – Uber Technologies (UBER), Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD), Airbnb (ABNB), Shopify (SHOP), Arm (ARM), Energy Transfer (ET), Trade Desk (TTD), Beyond Meat (BYND), Affirm (AFRM), and AMC Entertainment (AMC). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, May 9 – Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), US Foods (USFD), Hyatt Hotels (H), Roblox (RBLX), Dropbox (DBX), and Genpact (G). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Friday, May 10 – AMC Networks (AMCX) and Enbridge (ENB). See the full earnings calendar.
Volatility watch: Options trading volume is elevated again on Trump Media & Technology (DJT). Short interest moved even higher over the last week on Luminar Technologies (LAZR) and Zynex (ZYXI). The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index include Vivos (OTCQB:RDGL), Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (DCPH), and Macatawa Bank (MCBC). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include Cabaletta Bio (CABA), Kopin (KOPN), and Kinsale Capital (KNSL).
IPO watch: The week ahead is relatively light in terms of market debuts, with the largest one anticipated to be a $229.3M IPO by specialized freight company Proficient Auto Logistics (PAL). The Jacksonville, Fla.-based firm is planning to sell 14.3M shares at an expected IPO price between $14/share to $16/share. The company provides auto transportation and logistics services, primarily focused on moving finished vehicles from automotive production facilities, marine ports of entry, or regional rail yards to auto dealerships. Silvaco Group’s (SVCO) $114M IPO is also expected next week. Silvaco (SVCO) is a provider of technology computer-aided design software, electronic design automation software and semiconductor intellectual property. Elsewhere, the IPO lockup periods expire for blocks of shares of Cargo Therapeutics (CRGX) and Hamilton Insurance (HG).
Investor events: Notable speakers at the four-day Milken Institute Global Conference include Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, Tesla’s (TSLA) Elon Musk, and SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda. New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams will also participate in a conversation at the event. IBM (IBM) subsidiary Red Hat will hold its annual summit in Denver, Colorado on May 6-9. The five-day American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Meeting will begin in Baltimore, Maryland. Analysts have identified Azitra (AZTR), Fate Therapeutics (FATE), CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), Editas Medicine (EDIT), and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) as some of the companies to watch for drug data or new abstracts that could impact share prices.
Disney earnings preview: Disney (DIS) will be in the spotlight on May 7 when its highly-anticipated earnings report is released. Analysts expect revenue of $22.2B, EPS of $1.10, and operating income of $3.51B to be disclosed. The Entertainment segment is forecast to pull in $10.32B in revenue, followed by $8.16B for the Experiences segment, and $4.33B for the Sports segment. On the streaming side, investors will be watching the net subscriber addition numbers for Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. Disney (DIS) is seen as needing to rely on subscriber growth over price increases due to heightened competition and macroeconomic pressures. With the proxy process behind it, Morgan Stanley thinks Disney (DIS) management will focus on operational excellence, financial rigor, management succession, and the implementation of a consistent long-term strategy. “There’s been a distinct lack of sparkle at Disney and investors will be keen to see the magic return,” highlighted Hargreaves Lansdown’s Susannah Streeter. On Seeking Alpha, Investing Group Leader Howard Jay Klein sees a potential buying opportunity on Disney if an earnings miss triggers a notable share price decline. He highlighted that FQ3 is setting up well for Disney due to the potential that the slate of movies does well, DTC shows hefty subscriber growth, and the summer parks season has a healthy surge. “Even an uptick in linear with the massive pouring of campaign money flooding the electorate can bring a positive tone to the stock,” he noted.
Apple event: Apple (AAPL) will hold a special event that is anticipated to include announcements on new iPad products and hardware accessories. While the Cupertino company has not released any specific details in advance of the event, the image on the company’s invitation for the “Let Loose” event includes a colorful picture of an Apple Pencil. There is some speculation that Apple will unveil a new tablet as the company’s first truly AI-powered device, and could update on the highly anticipated M4 chips.