The Daily Briefing For September 20th: FOMC Out With Latest Release at 2:00 p.m. EDT

Overnight Summary: The S&P 500 closed Tuesday lower by -0.22% at 4443.95 from Monday higher by 0.07% at 4453.53. The overnight high was hit at 4500.75 at 7:20 a.m. EDT while the low was hit at 4484.50 at 12:00 a.m. EDT. The range overnight was 16 points. The 10-day average of the overnight range is at 19.50 from 20  down from a peak of 31.50 on 8/15.  The average for May-August average was 21.10 from 18.81 in May through July and the August average was 26.21. Currently, the S&P 500 is higher by 10.50 points which is 0.23% at  7:20 a.m. EDT.

Earnings Out After The Close: 

• Beats: SCS +0.11 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:
  • Klaviyo (KVYO) Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering — Priced @$30.
  • RYZB: Closing of Upsized $358 Million Initial Public Offering and Full Exercise of Underwriters’ Option to Purchase Additional Shares.
• New SPACs launched/News: None of note.
• Secondaries Priced:
  • HLVX: Prices offering of 8.0 million shares of common stock at $12.50 per share.
  • MSGE: Announces Pricing of Secondary Offering and Share Repurchase.
  • PR: Prices secondary offering of 21.45 million shares of common stock at $13.05 per share.
• Notes Priced of note:
  • NIO: Prices offering of $500 million of convertible senior notes due 2029 and $500 million of convertible senior notes due 2030.
• Common Stock filings/Notes:
  • AVGR: To increase the amount available for sale under the ATM Agreement up to an additional aggregate offering price of $1,074,690.
  • FAMI: Filed Form F-3.. 21,052,629 Ordinary Shares.
  • HLVX: Announces Proposed Public Offering of $100 million in Common Stock.
  • KTRA: Form 8K – Sales Agreement up to $2.85 million.
  • PR: Secondary Public Offering of Class A Common Stock.. 20,300,000 shares. (JPM, BAC and Truist bookmanagers)
  • RBT: Form EFFECT Filed.
  • SNOA: Form S-1 Filed up to 5,000,000 shares of our common st.
  • SONN: Form S-1 Filed Offering.
• Direct Offering:
  • SCNI: Announces Closing of $1.33 Million Registered Direct Offering.
• Selling Shareholders of note: None of note.
• Private Placement of Public Entity (PIPE):
  • TKNO: Announces Closing of $22.9 Million Concurrent Registered Direct Offering and Private Placement and Amends Credit Facility.
• Mixed Shelf Offerings:
  • EPIX: Filed Form S-3.. US$200,000,000 Mixed Shelf.
  • PLYA: Filed Form S-3ASR.. Mixed Shelf
• Debt/Credit Filing and Notes:
  • FWRD: Announces Private Offering of $925 Million of Senior Secured Notes.
  • NOVA: Announces Proposed Private Offering of $400 Million “Green Bond”.
  • OII: Announces Private Offering of $200 Million of Senior Notes.
• Tender Offer:
  • CVE: Announces pricing of tender offers for certain outstanding series of notes.
• 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 Holiday:

• After Hours: 
  • Trading Up: CATC +22%, ATRA +8%, HAIN +5%, NNDM +5% of note.
  • Trading Down: SKIL -5% of note.
• News Items After the Close:
  • JP Morgan: Concern That Recent Oil Supply Cuts “are Not Finished, And The Price Of Oil Could Jump .. To As High As $120/bbl.  If This Were To Happen In The Coming Weeks .. The Global Economy Would Slow To A Near Stall Next Quarter.
  • American companies operating in China are losing their optimism about business in the once-booming economy amid bilateral political tensions and a slow post-pandemic recovery. (NIKKEI)
  • UAW President says to make a Facebook announcement at 10 a.m. EDT (Wednesday)
  • General Dynamics (GD) Electric Boat awarded $517 million for Virginia-class submarine parts.
  • Tutor Perini (TPC) awarded $47 million National Park Services project in Florida.

• Exchange/Listing/Company Reorg and Personnel News:
  • Electra (ELBM) Provides Notice of Change of Auditors.
  • Enviva (EVA) disclosed yesterday that John K. Keppler resigned as Executive Chairman effective immediately.
  • Fresh Tracks Therapeutics (FRTX) Announces Board Approval of Plan of Liquidation and Dissolution.
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announces changes to its organizational structure and executive leadership.
  • Pearson Plc (PSO) announces the appointment of Omar Abbosh as its new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.
  • Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc. (PXDT) Receives Notice of Delinquency Related to Delayed Filing of Form 20-F.
  • STMicroelectronics (STM) announces that it has asked Jean-Marc Chery, President and CEO, to be available for a reappointment in his current role.
  • Vir Biotechnology (VIR) announced that Johanna Friedl-Naderer, the Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will be leaving the Company.
  • Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) Announces Tom Baker II as President.
• Buyback Announcements or News:
  • Nano Dimension (NNDM) Resumes Its Share Repurchase Plan Immediately.
  • Pinterest (PINS) authorizes $1 billion stock repurchase program.
  • Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI) authorizes $50 million stock repurchase program through September 19, 2024.
  • Sylvamo (SLVM) Announces Share Repurchase Program. (see Dividends)
• Stock Splits or News:
  • Skillsoft (SKIL) Announces Reverse Stock Split.
  • Sonder Holdings Inc. (SOND) Announces Reverse Stock Split to Regain Nasdaq Compliance.
  • SciSparc (SPRC) Announces 1-for-26 Reverse Share Split.
• Dividends Announcements or News:
  • Argan (AGX) increases quarterly dividend by 20% from $0.25 per share.
  • JPMorgan Chase (JPM) increases quarterly dividend by 5% to $1.05 per share.
  • Sylvamo (SLVM) Announces cash dividend 20% to $0.30 per share.
• Insider Sales Of Note: None of note.

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

S&P 500 +9, Dow Jones +79,  NASDAQ +31, and Russell 2000 +8.  (as of 7:56 a.m. EDT).  Asia is lower ex South Korea while Europe is higher this morning. VIX Futures are at 15.40 from 15.45 yesterday.  Gold lower with Silver and Copper higher this morning. WTI Crude Oil and Brent Crude Oil are lower with Natural Gas lower as well. US 10-year Treasury sees yields at 4.347% from 4.319% yesterday. The U.S. Dollar is lower versus the Euro, higher versus the Pound and higher against the Yen. Bitcoin is at $27,109 from $27,123 yesterday, lower by  -0.19%.

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

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

Bond yields reached their highest levels since at least 2007, putting pressure on stocks ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision.  The specter of high bond yields lasting for an extended period dug into stocks in early trading Tuesday, though shares of tech and healthcare companies recovered later in the day. The benchmark S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, the Dow industrials lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) fell 1.7%, dragging indexes lower.   Walt Disney’s (DIS) plan to spend $60 billion to expand its theme parks and other ventures, meanwhile, pulled its stock down 3.6%, weighing on the blue-chip Dow. (WSJ – edited by QPI)

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

• Wednesday After the Close:

• Thursday Before the Open:

Earnings of Note This Morning:

• Beats: GIS +0.06 of note.
• Flat: None of note.
• Misses: None of note.
• Still to Report: None of note.

Guidance:

• Positive Guidance: None of note.
• Negative Guidance: DAVA of note.

Erlanger Research Advance/Decline Chart:

Gap Ups & Down In Early Pre-Market:

• Gap Up: CATC +22%, EXAI +18%, ATRA +6%, SCS +6%, PBYI +5%, HAIN +4% of note.
• Gap Down: SPRY -47%, HLVX -9%, TSHA -5%, IONS -4% of note.

Insider Action: No stock sees Insider buying with dumb short selling.  AUID, LOVE 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: Fed Set to Pause Rate Hikes, But Don’t Count Out Another Rate Increase. (Bloomberg)
• Bloomberg Most Shared Story: Amazon to hire 250,000 Logistics Workers For Holidays, Boost Hourly Wages. (Bloomberg)
• US Futures edge higher before Fed ; Pound Falls: Market Wrap. (Bloomberg)
• Bank of England rate hike pause back on the table as Core CPI falls. (CNBC)
• Xi’s economic policies are leaving many China watchers perplexed and confused. (CNBC)
• Here’s everything the Fed is expected to do today. (CNBC)
• Oil nearing $100 is a red flag for central banks inflation fight. (Bloomberg)
• Weekly mortgage demand increases, driven by a strange surge in refinancing. (CNBC)
• General Mills (GIS) beat estimates and affirmed guidance. (MarketWatch)
• Apple (AAPL) workers in France to strike on iPhone launch day. (Bloomberg)
• NPR Morning Report Marketplace: The race to develop earthquake warning tech. (Podcast)
• BBC Global News:  Zelensky to tell UN that Russian “evil cannot be trusted”. (Podcast) 
• NY Times The Daily: Is college worth it? (Podcast)
• Bloomberg:  It’s tough being a Blue City in a Red State. (Podcast)
• Wealthion: Collateral contagion is the big risk everyone should be worried about.  (Podcast)

Moving Average Update:

• Score deteriorates to 17% from 25%.

Geopolitical: 

• President’s Public Schedule:
  • The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing, 9:00 a.m. EDT
  • The President participates in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, 10:15 a.m. EDT
  • The President participates in a bilateral meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • The President and President Luiz Inácio Lula of Brazil launch the Partnership for Workers’ Rights, 1:45 p.m. EDT
  • The President participates in a campaign reception, 4:15 p.m. EDT
  • The President participates in a campaign reception; The Second Gentleman participates, 6:00 p.m. EDT
  • The President departs New York, New York en route to Queens, New York, 7:10 p.m. EDT
  • The President departs Queens, New York, en route to Joint Base Andrews, 7:35 p.m. EDT
  • The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to the White House, 8:45 p.m. EDT
  • The President arrives at the White House, 8:55 p.m. EDT

Economic:

• Weekly Mortgage Applications:
  • U.S MBA 30-YEAR MORTGAGE RATE ACTUAL: 7.31% VS 7.27% PREVIOUS
  • U.S MBA MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS (WOW) ACTUAL: 5.4% VS -0.8% PREVIOUS
  • MBA Mortgage Applications: Composite: +5.4%, Purchase: +2.3%, ReFi: +13.2%
• The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) will be out with its latest decision at 2:00 p.m. EDT and then a press conference at 2:30 p.m. EDT.

Federal Reserve / Treasury Speakers: See above.

M&A Activity and News: None of note.

Meeting & Conferences of Note:

• Sellside Conferences:
  • Davidson Diversified Industrials & Services Conference (09/20/23-09/22/23)
  • Evercore ISI Pet Care Summit
  • Goldman Americas Energy Commodities Conference
  • J.P. Morgan Screener Day
  • Leerink Biopharma Summit (09/20/23-09/22/23)
  • Pickering Energy Partners TE&MFest (Technology, Energy, and Mobility) Conference 2023 (09/20/23-09/22/23)
  • Pareto Securities’ Energy Conference (09/20/23-09/21/23)
  • Sidoti September Small Cap Conference (09/20/23-09/21/23)
  • SVB Securities Biopharma Summit (09/20/23-09/22/23)
  • TD Cowen Novel Mechanisms in Neuropsychiatry Summit
  • UBS Pulp and Paper Seminar 2023 (09/20/23-09/21/23)
  • Wells Fargo Consumer Conference (09/20/23-09/21/23)
  • Yahoo Finance Retail Investor
    • Previously posted and ongoing conferences:
      • Baader 12th Investment Conference 2023 (09/18/23-09/22/23)
      • Berenberg/Goldman Sachs 12th German Corporate Conference 2023 (09/18/23-09/20/23)
      • Bank of America Banking and Insurance CEO Conference 2023 (09/19/23-09/21/23)
      • JP Morgan Emerging Markets Credit Conference 2023 (09/19/23-09/21/23)
      • Northland Institutional Investor Conference (09/19/23-09/20/23)
      • Piper Sandler Heartland Summit 2023 (09/19/23-09/20/23)
      • Stephens Bank Forum (09/19/23-09/20/23)
      • Stifel Immunology and Inflammation Summit (09/19/23-09/21/23)
• Top Shareholder Meetings: DRI, GFOR, VYNT
• Fireside Chat: None of note.
• Investor/Analyst Day/Calls: AVNT, BHF, BSX, CRWD, DRVN, EBC, HUMA, JPM, OFIX, PCOR, QUIK, SSKN, VACC, VLD, VRAX, XOM 
• Update: None of note.
• R&D Day: None of note.
• Company Event:
  • Intel (INTC) Innovation
  • Oracl (ORCL) e CloudWorld (09/18/23-09/21/23)
• Industry Meetings:
  • American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) Annual Meeting 2023 (09/20/23-09/23/23)
  • European Pain Federation
    • Previously posted and ongoing conferences:
      • BioProcess International East 2023 (BIO East) (09/18/23-09/21/23)
      • Patient Experience Symposium 2023 (09/18/23-09/20/23)
      • Wi-Fi World Congress North America (WWC) 2023 (09/18/23-09/20/23)
      • Denver Gold Forum Americas 2023 (09/17/23-09/20/23)
      • International Conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials (ICSCRM) 2023 (09/17/23-09/22/23)
      • European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI) Conference 2023 (09/17/23-09/20/23)
      • European Microwave Week (EUMW) 2023 (09/17/23-09/22/23)
      • Detroit Auto Show 2023 (09/13/23-09/24/23)

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 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: