The Daily Briefing For April 4th: Stock Run Continues Despite Jamie Dimon's Comments On Banking Crisis Not Being Over

Overnight Summary: The S&P 500 closed Monday higher by 0.37% at 4124.51 from Friday higher by 1.44% at 4109.31. The overnight high of 4171.75 was hit at 6:40 a.m. EDT. The low was hit at 4148.25 at 6:20 p.m. EDT, a range of 23 points high to low which is below the recent range of 45. At 7:25 a.m. EDT the current price was 4165.50 which is 0.27% and 11.25 points.

Note: March Madness is over and the University of Connecticut won its 5th national championship against San Diego State University. (ESPN)

Earnings Out After The Close: 

• Beats: None of note.
• Flat: None of note.
• Misses: None of note.

Unusual Options Activity:

Daily Screen in Erlanger Chartroom that highlights unusual Call and Put Options activity in the S&P 500.  It looks for volume outliers relative to the Open interest in Calls or puts.  Usually, the stock price activity reflects the outlier situation (earnings/buyout/announcement), but once in a while, you can uncover stocks prior to a pop or drop.

Capital Raises:

• IPOs Priced or News: None of note.
• New SPACs launched/News:
  • NYSE to Suspend Trading Immediately in Tailwind International Acquisition Corp. (TWNI) and Commence Delisting Proceedings.
• Secondaries Priced: None of note.
• Notes Priced of note:
  • DUK: Prices offering of $1.5 billion of 4.125% convertible senior notes due 2026.
  • MTDR: Prices Upsized Offering of $500 Million of Senior Notes Due 2028.
• Common Stock filings/Notes:
  • LEXX: Filed Form S-1.. Unit Offering.
  • NAPA: Secondary Offering of 6,000,000 Shares of Common Stock. (GS Underwriter)
  • RKDA: Form S-3 Filed .. 2,032,319 Shares of Common Stock.
  • VKTX: Closing of Public Offering of Common Stock And Full Exercise of Underwriters’ Option to Purchase Additional Shares.
  • WBX: At-the-Market Equity Offering Program $100 million.
• Direct Offering: None of note.
• Selling Shareholders of note:
  • ARES: Files stock offering by selling shareholders.
  • VTLE: Files 1,578,948 common stock offering by selling shareholder.
• Private Placement of Public Entity (PIPE): None of note.
• Mixed Shelf Offerings:
  • DBRG: Filed Form S-3ASR. Mixed Shelf.
  • IDAI: Filed Form S-3. $50,000,000 Mixed Shelf.
  • LLAP: Files $500 million mixed shelf securities offering.
• Debt/Credit Filing and Notes:
  • VTR: Prices Cdn$600 Million of 5.398% Senior Notes Due 2028.
• Tender Offer: None of note.
• Convertible Offering & Notes Filed:
  • SUPN: Announces Repayment of Convertible Notes.

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: APE +28%, BFLY +25%, OZK +6% of note.
  • Trading Down: AMC -22%, NAPA -6%, VSTO -5%, WBX -5%, ZUO -4% of note.
• News After The Close:   
  • Tesla (TSLA): jury awards $3.2 million to ex-worker over factory racism.
  • Apple (AAPL) to Make Small Number of Job Cuts in Some Corporate Retail Teams (Bloomberg)
  • AMC stock plunges 22% after company agrees to settlement terms, opening up for APE conversion. (MarketWatch)
  • Vista Outdoor (VSTO) stock falls more than 5% after company announces layoffs, cost cuts. (MarketWatch)
  • Disney (DIS) CEO Iger Calls DeSantis’s Moves Antibusiness, Anti-Florida. (WSJ)
  • Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says OPEC+ production cut is an ‘unconstructive act’. (CNBC)
  • FDIC to market failed Signature Bank loan portfolio in the summer. (MarketWatch)

• Exchange/Listing/Company Reorg and Personnel News:
  • Advantage Solutions (ADV) Board of Directors unanimously votes to appoint Jim Kilts to the role of chairman.
  • Battalion (BATL) Announces Appointment of New Chief Executive Officer and Director.
  • NYSE to Suspend Trading Immediately in Boxed, Inc. (BOXD) and Commence Delisting Proceedings.
  • Centene (CNC): Fred Eppinger assumed role of Chairman.
  • Charah Solutions, Inc. (CHRA) Receives Notice From NYSE Regarding Continued Listing Standard.
  • Columbus McKinnon (CMCO) Announces Leadership Transition for Board of Directors.
  • Crane and Crane NXT (CXT) complete separation from Crane Holdings; Crane to trade on NYSE under ticker “CR” on April 4; Crane NXT to begin trading on NYSE on April 4 under ticker “CXT“.
  • Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC) files to delay form 10-K.
  • Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) Names Michael Hodges Chief Financial Officer and Announces Leadership Team Changes.
  • Hyzon Motors (HYZN) Receives Extension From Nasdaq For Continued Listing On Exchange.
  • Kirkland’s Home (KIRK) Announces CEO Retirement And Interim Transition Plan.
  • Loop Industries (LOOP) Appoints New Chief Financial Officer.
  • L3 Harris (LHX) Wins Us Air Force Contract Worth up to $584 million.
  • Legend Biotech (LEGN) Establishes Strategic Advisory Board.
  • Metalpha (MATH) Has Regained Compliance with Nasdaq’s Minimum Bid Price Requirement.
  • Myers Industries (MYE) announces appointment of Grant Fitz to position of CFO and Executive Vice President.
  • NETSTREIT (NTST) Announces Daniel Donlan as Chief Financial Officer.
  • Pinduoduo (PDD) appointed Mr. Jiazhen Zhao as Co-CEO, and also has elected Mr. Zhao as an executive director of the Company.
  • Sight Sciences (SGHT) appoints Alison Bauerlein as CFO.
• Buyback Announcements or News: None of note.
• Stock Splits or News:
  • BEST trading r/s price.
  • MBIO trading r/s price.
• Dividends Announcements or News:
  • Bank OZK (OZK) increases quarterly cash dividend $0.01 to $0.35 per share. (MarketWatch)
  • Thomson Reuters (TRI) launches return of $2.2 billion to shareholders.
  • CPB Goes ex div tomorrow for $0.37.
  • JPM Goes ex div tomorrow for $1.00.
  • NTAP Goes ex div tomorrow for $0.50.
  • SYY Goes ex div tomorrow for $0.49

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

S&P 500 +11, Dow Jones +31,  NASDAQ +57, and Russell 2000 +6. (as of 7:54 a.m. EDT).  Asia higher and Europe higher. VIX Futures are at 20.14 from 20.81  yesterday.  Gold lower with Silver and Copper higher. WTI Crude Oil and Brent higher with Natural Gas higher as well. US 10-year Treasury sees yields at 3.466% from 3.49% yesterday. The U.S. Dollar is lower versus the Euro, lower versus the Pound and higher against the Yen. Bitcoin is at $28,3000 from $28,288 yesterday, higher by 0.57%.

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

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

The Dow and S&P 500 both closed higher on Monday to kick off April with a 4th straight session of gains, after OPEC+ on Sunday announced surprise production cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed about 326 points, or 1% on Monday, to end near 33,600. The S&P 500 index gained 0.4%, while its energy component outperformed with a 4.9% climb. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3%. Investors piled into energy stocks after the OPEC+ Countries and its allies said Sunday they would in May cut production by more than 1 million barrels a day in an effort to support oil-market stability, including with Saudi Arabia slashing its output by 500,000 barrels a day. (MarketWatch – edited by QPI)

Click here for a video explanation of Erlanger Value Lines.

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

• Tuesday After the Close: 

• Wednesday Before the Open:

Earnings of Note This Morning:

• Beats: AYI +0.33, LNN +0.10, MSM +0.09 of note.
• Flat: None of note.
• Misses: None of note.
• Still to Report: LNN of note.

Guidance:

• Positive Guidance: GTX, CDLX of note.
• Negative Guidance: ATEN of note.

Erlanger Research Advance/Decline Chart:

Gap Ups & Down In Early Pre-Market:

• Gap Up: BFLY +26%, APE +19%, NTCO +4% of note.
• Gap Down: AMC -27%, LLAP -6%, ZUO -4%, NAPA -4% of note.

Insider Action: No stock 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 to know before the stock market opens. (CNBC)
• 5 Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day. (Bloomberg) 
• Bloomberg Lead Story: Jamie Dimon in his annual letter jabs Fed over US Bank Crisis “Hiding in Plain Sight”.  (Bloomberg)
• Bloomberg Most Read Story: Warner Bros Nears Deal for Harry Potter online TV series. (Bloomberg)
• Jamie Dimon also notes banking crisis not over and will cause “repercussions for years to come”. (CNBC)
• Stocks Advance as Concerns Over Rate Hikes Recede: Market Wrap. (Bloomberg)
• Trump prepares to Surrender Himself  – And Fight Case All The Way. (Bloomberg)
• Treasury Secretary Yellen says that banks are stabilizing after a “tumultuous March”. (Bloomberg)
• Virgin Orbit (VORB) files for Chapter 11. (CNBC)
• As retail gets choppy, Walmart (WMT) flexes its grocery muscles. (CNBC)

Moving Average Update:

• Score still sits at 91%.

Geopolitical: 

• President’s Public Schedule:
  • The President receives the President’s Daily Briefing; The Vice President attends, 11:30 a.m. EDT
  • Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, 1:30 p.m. EDT
  • The President meets with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology to discuss their ongoing work to advance American science, technology, and innovation, 2:45 p.m. EDT

Economic:

• Redbook Sales 8:55 a.m. EDT
• February Factory Orders are due out at 10:00 a.m. EDT and is expected to come in at -0.5% from -1.6%.
• JOLTS 10:00 a.m. EDT
• API Crude Oil Data 4:30 p.m. EDT

Federal Reserve / Treasury Speakers:

• Federal Reserve Board of Governors Lisa D. Cook 1:30 p.m. EDT
  Federal Reserve Cleveland President Loretta Mester 6:00 p.m. EDT

M&A Activity:

• L’Oreal (OR) agrees to buy Aesop in $2.5 billion deal. (MarketWatch)
• McGrath RentCorp (MGRC) acquires Dixie Temporary Storage.
• SPX Technologies (SPXC) Announces Acquisition of TAMCO.
• Stratasys (SSYS) Confirms Receipt of Revised Unsolicited Acquisition Proposal From Nano Dimension (NNDM).

Meeting & Conferences of Note:

• Sellside Conferences:
  • Bank of America 13th Annual Global Automotive Summit 2023 (04/04/23-04/05/23)
  • BMO CAPP Energy Symposium (04/04/23-04/05/23)
  • TD Cowen 2nd Annual Fiber-to-the-Home Symposium 2023
  • Credit Suisse Healthcare REIT Summit
    • Previously posted and ongoing conferences:
      • Cantor the Future of Oncology Virtual Symposium (04/03/23-04/05/23)
      • Guggenheim Genomic Medicines and Rare Disease Days (04/03/23-04/05/23)
      • GS Private Company Software and Internet Conference

• Company Meetings: CS, MOLN, NOK
• Fireside Chat: ICD
• Investor/Analyst Day/Calls: ACOR, ASAI, ASO, CNSP, CRWD, DCI, HDSN, NEO, PRGS, WMT, YEXT 
• Update: None of note.
• R&D Day: None of note.
• Company Event:
  • Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) Low Carbon Solutions spotlight.
  • AB InBev (BUD) Sustainability Webcast 2023
• Industry Meetings:
  • AWS Summit Paris 2023
    • Previously posted and ongoing conferences:
      • World Vaccine Congress Washington D.C. 2023 (04/03/23-04/06/23)
      • 19th Orphan Drugs & Rare Diseases Global Congress Europe 2023 (04/03/23-04/04/23)
      • Sea Air Space: The Navy League’s Global Maritime Exposition 2023 (04/03/23-04/04/23)

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:

Previous Day’s Upgrades and Downgrades: