$WDFC

Wednesday, October 20, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow -6.00 0.02% 35,317 S&P 500 -0.25 0.02% 4,510 Nasdaq 3.50 0.02% 15,401 U.S. equity futures are mostly flat across the board ahead of another busy morning of quarterly earnings, with the recent 5-day winning streak bringing the S&P 500 to within 1% of its September all-time highs with solid corporate earnings offsetting persistent inflation concerns and a jump in Treasury bond yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury is at morning lows around 1.63% but falling from overnight highs of 1.67%. Surging energy prices, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages are adding cost and margin pressures to a host of companies this earnings season. In earnings overnight, Netflix (NFLX) is little changed after a quarterly beat while airline UAL rises on a narrower loss. U.S. stocks climbed on Tuesday as large cap companies continued to report strong third-quarter earnings. The S&P 500 index posted its 5th straight day of gains, led by healthcare and technology stocks as the NYFANG posted a record-high close. That said, with 10 of 11 major S&P 500 sectors higher on the day, value actually slightly outperformed growth. The Dow rose 0.57%, the S&P 500 was up 0.74% and the Nasdaq moved up 0.71%. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 40 points to 29,255, the Shanghai Index slipped a few points to 3,587, and the Hang Seng Index jumped 348 points to 26,136. In Europe, the German DAX is up about 20 points to 15,540, while the FTSE 100 is little changed at 7,220. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index gained 33.17 points, or 0.74%, to 4,519.63 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 198.70 points, or 0.56%, to 35,457.31 The Nasdaq Composite jumped 107.28 points, or 0.71%, to 15,129.09 The Russell 2000 Index advanced 8.07 points, or 0.36% to 2,275.91 Events Calendar for Today 7:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications Data 10:30 AM ET Weekly DOE Inventory Data Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: ABT, ANTM, BIIB, BKR, BOKF, CFG, CMA, FCFS, FHN, KNX, LAD, MKTX, MSM, MTB, NDAQ, NEE, NEP, NTRS, TZOO, UNF, VZ, WGO, WSO Earnings After the Close: BANR, CCI, CNS, CSX, CVLG, DFS, EFX, FR, GGG, GL, GSBC, HCCI, HLX, IBM, KALU, KMI, LRCX, LSTR, LVS, MMLP, NVEC, PMF, PFBC, PPG, REXR, RLI, RUSHA, SEIC, SLG, SLM, STL, TBK, TCBI, THC, TSLA, UFPI, UMPQ, VMI, XM Other Key Events: Samsung announces Unpacked 2 event for Wednesday Oct 20th, right after Apple and Google Needham Dispensary Bus Tour: AYRWF, CURLF, GTBIF, VRNOF, in Las Vegas, 10/20 The European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) Congress 2021 is taking place virtually this year from October 19-22 Needham Virtual Global Access Inaugural Needham Biotech Private Company Virtual 1×1 Forum, 10/19-10/20 Macro Up/Down Last Nymex -0.92 82.04 Brent -0.94 84.14 Gold 8.50 1,780.90 EUR/USD -0.0004 1.1628 JPY/USD 0.09 114.46 10-Year Note +0.006 1.64% World News College enrollments plunged in 2020 to the lowest level since 2007. According to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday, enrollment in schools dropped by 2.9 million from 2019 to 2020 and colleges by 615,000. Sector News Breakdown Consumer Ford ($F) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse and up tgt to $20 from $15 saying has seen a “significant turnaround” at Ford as the company has ended its cycle of quarterly earnings disappointments and its transition to electric vehicles has sharply accelerated Vinco Ventures ($BBIG) slides after the company reported the resignations of Chief Executive Officer Christopher Ferguson and Chief Financial Officer Brett Vroman Uber Technologies ($UBER) files prospectus supplement related to offering of 16.5M shares of common stock by selling stockholders United Airlines ($UAL) 3Q ADJ eps (1.02) vs est. ($1.67) on revs $7.8B vs est. $7.85B, says on track to meet 2022 targets, poised to capitalize on international reopening, says on track to reduce CASM-EX next year below 2019 levels, expects 4Q CASM-EX +12-14% vs 4q19, sees 4Q capacity to be -23% vs 4Q19; says remains on track to achieve long-term financial targets Stride ($LRN) Q1 EPS loss (-0.15) vs. est. loss (-$0.14); Q1 revs $400.2M vs. est. $359.48M; Q1 adj EBITDA $25.5M vs. $39.2M last year; Q1 total enrollment 189.6K, down 5.8% yoy; sees Q2 revs $390M-$400M vs. est. $365M WD-40 ($WDFC) 4Q EPS $0.61 on sales $115.2Mm vs est. $117.5Mm; guides FY EPS $5.24-5.38 below est. $5.76, sees FY sales $522-542Mm vs est. $517.4Mm Energy, Industrials and Materials The American Petroleum Institute (API) shows a build of 3.29M barrels of oil for the week ending October 15, gasoline inventories show a draw of 3.5M barrels, distillate inventories show a draw of 3M barrels and Cushing inventories show a draw of 2.5M barrels. Canadian National ($CNI) Q3 adj EPS C$1.52 as revs rose 5% to C$3.6B; reaffirms 2021 outlook; says on track to achieve strategic plan 2022 targets with operating performance improvements and cost initiatives well underway; qtrly operating ratio of 62.7%, up 2.8 points; said CEO to retire Marten Transport ($MRTN) Q3 EPS $0.26 vs. est. $0.25; Q3 revs $251.3M vs. est. $237.37M Vale ($VALE) said Q3 iron ore production increased 18.1% Q/Q and 0.8% Y/Y to 89.4 M mt, while output of iron ore pellets, a premium product, rose 4.1% Q/Q while falling 2.6% Y/Y to 8.3M mt Financials Citizens Financial ($CFG) Q3 EPS $1.22 vs. est. $1.16; Q3 revs $1.66B vs. est. $1.64B; provision for credit losses a benefit of $33 mln Hancock Whitney (HWC) 3Q EPS $1.46 vs est. $1.29, NII $237.5Mm vs est. $235.7Mm; qtrly pre-provision net revs $134.8Mm Interactive Brokers ($IBKR) Q3 EPS $0.78 vs. est. $0.75; Q3 revs $650M vs. est. $640.87M; Q3 customer accounts increased 57% from the year-ago quarter to 1.54M as customer equity grew 52% YoY to $353.8B; total DARTs increased 24% YoY to 2.26M and cleared DARTs increased 24% from the year-ago quarter to 2.02M United Community Bank ($UCBI) Q3 EPS $0.82 vs. est. $0.66; return on assets (ROA) was 1.48% and its return on common equity was 14.3% for the quarter; quarter benefited from an allowance release of $11.0 million, reflecting continued improvement in economic conditions and forecasts; Total loans decreased by $200 million during the quarter Wintrust Financial ($WTFC) Q3 EPS $1.77 vs. est. $1.52; Total deposits increased by $1.1 billion, including a $459 million increase in non-interest-bearing deposits; net interest income increased by $7.9 million as compared to Q2 Stronghold Digital Mining ($SDIG)69M share IPO priced at $19.00 Healthcare Novavax ($NVAX) slides around -20% on reports the company is facing production delays as the methods it used to test the purity of its COVID-19 vaccine have fallen short of U.S. regulators’ standards, Politico reported on Tuesday. NVAX, in a filing in Aug, said that U.S. govt has asked co to prioritize alignment with FDA on its analytic methods before manufacturing more doses https://politi.co/3FWQAOW Anthem ($ANTM) Q3 adj EPS $6.79 vs. est. $6.37; Q3 revs $35.5B vs. est. $35.3B; raises FY21 adj EPS view to greater than $25.85 vs. est. $25.65 (prior view was greater than $25.50); for FY21, says operating cash flow is now expected to be greater than $6B; Medical enrollment totaled approximately 45.1M members at September 30, 2021, an increase of 2.4M or 5.7% YoY ATI Physical Therapy ($ATIP) cuts FY21 revenue view to $620M-$630M from $640M-$670M (est. $652.72M) and cuts FY21 adjusted EBITDA view to $40M-$44M from $60M-$70M due to lower-than-expected patient volume Akero (AKRO) receives FDA fast track designation for Efruxifermin for the treatment of NASH Context Therapeutics (CNTX) 5M share IPO priced at $5.00 Technology, Media & Telecom Netflix ($NFLX) 3Q EPS $3.19 vs est. $2.56 on revs $7.5Mm vs est. $7.48Mm, net adds 4.38Mm vs est. 4Mm; sees 4Q net adds 8.5Mm vs est. 8.3Mm, sees 4Q revs $7.71Mm vs est. $7.68Mm, sees 4Q op margin about 6.5%; guides FF positive on annual basis in 2022 and beyond; said it believes no longer needs to raise external financing to fund day-to-day ops Omnicom ($OMC) Q3 EPS $1.65 vs. est. $1.37; Q3 revs $3.435B vs. est. $3.44B; Q3 operating margin increased to 15.8% compared to 15.6% same period last year; qtrly increase in revenue from organic growth of 11.5%; says global economic conditions may continue to be volatile as long as covid-19 remains, which could negatively impact clients’ spending plans ASML Holding NV ($ASML) reported a Q3 profit rise of 64%, beating analysts’ consensus, and said that demand continues to be high; net profit for the quarter ended Oct. 3 rose to 1.74 billion euros ($2.02 billion) compared consensus of EUR1.63 billion; net sales for the quarter were EUR5.24 billion compared with guidance of between EUR5.2 billion and EUR5.4 billion Samsung ($SSNLF) and Intel ($INTC) are both seeking to win orders for Apple’s ($AAPL) in-house developed Mac processors, but industry sources believe TSMC (TSM) will remain the sole supplier for the next-generation Mac series – Digitimes Facebook ($FB) is set to announce a rebranding that could see the creation of a newly-named parent company — in the sprit of Alphabet and Google — that sits atop its network of social media and communications apps. – The Verge reports

Tuesday, October 19, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow 125.00 0.34% 35,254 S&P 500 2o.25 0.45% 4,497 Nasdaq 52.50 0.34% 15,343 U.S. stock markets are looking to open higher, extending the winning streak for the S&P 500 to 5-days ahead of a busy morning of quarterly earnings, including vaccine maker and Dow component Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Procter & Gamble (PG). A modest pullback in 10-year Treasury note yields, which traded at 1.584% overnight, and a weaker U.S. dollar are also providing early support Tuesday. Oil prices look to extend gains, with WTI crude and Brent pushing higher. In Asian markets overnight, The Nikkei Index jumped 190 points to 29,215, the Shanghai Index rose 25 points to 3,593, and the Hang Seng Index climbed 377 points (1.49%) to 25, 787. In Europe, the German DAX is up a few points to trade just under 15,500, while the FTSE 100 also edges higher above the 7,200 level. U.S. stocks finished higher on Monday as investors prepare for strong earnings this week with 72 of the S&P 500 expected to report this week while overlooking worries over inflation, supply-chain issues and energy supply as oil prices closed higher again. Data Sunday night showed growth in China slowed to 4.9% for 3Q, hurt by a crackdown on tech, and real estate as well as power-shortage and supply-chain problems. Heavy weight tech stocks helped paced gains again on Monday ahead of key earnings from Netflix tonight and Tesla, Intel later this week. Small cap stocks, banks and energy were among underperformers as the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Monday lower. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index gained 15.09 points, or 0.34%, to 4,486.46 The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -36.15 points, or 0.10%, to 35,258.61 The Nasdaq Composite spiked 124.47 points, or 0.84%, to 15,021.81 The Russell 2000 Index advanced 2.19 points, or 0.10% to 2,267.84 Events Calendar for Today 7:45 AM ET ICSC Weekly Retail Sales 8:30 AM ET Housing Starts MoM for September 8:30 AM ET Building Permits MoM for September 8:55 AM ET Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: BK, CBSH, DOV, FITB, FMBI, HAL, IRDM, JNJ, KSU, MAN, MRTN, ONB, PG, PM, SBNY, SI, SNV, SYF, TRV Earnings After the Close: EQBK, FULT, IBKR, ISRG, LRN, NFLX, OMC, PZN, SMBK, UAL, UCBI, WDFC, WTFC Other Key Events: Google ($GOOGL) announced a virtual event for October 19th at 1PM ET / 10AM PT, officially introducing the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro The European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) Congress 2021 is taking place virtually this year from October 19-22 Needham Virtual Global Access Inaugural Needham Biotech Private Company Virtual 1×1 Forum, 10/19-10/20 Macro Up/Down Last Nymex 0.99 83.43 Brent 0.53 84.86 Gold 14.10 1,781.70 EUR/USD 0.0055 1.1663 JPY/USD -0.21 114.09 10-Year Note +0.008 1.592% World News Senate Democrats on Tuesday will unveil a scaled-back version of a Biden administration proposal to crack down on wealthy tax cheats after conservative groups and the bank industry raised major privacy concerns, three people with knowledge of the coming announcement said, the Washington Post reported. Initially, the Department of Treasury and Senate Democrats had proposed requiring financial institutions to provide the Internal Revenue Service with additional information on bank accounts with more than $600 in annual deposits or withdrawals RBA Minutes of Oct Meeting: Reiterates they won’t hike rates until CPI is stably in 2-3% target band, central estimate is that economy will return to growth in Dec Qtr of this year & to pre Delta path in H2 2022, Delta interrupted Australian economic recovery, less accommodative policy would all else equal , see lower housing prices/credit growth but would also result in fewer jobs & lower wages Sector News Breakdown Consumer Tupperware Brands Corporation ($TUP) announces the entry into a definitive agreement for the sale of its House of Fuller beauty business in Mexico Energy, Industrials and Materials Halliburton ($HAL) Q3 adj EPS $0.28 vs. est. $0.28 on revs $3.86B vs. est. $3.9B Hexcel Corp. ($HXL) Q3 adj EPS $0.13 vs. est. $0.08; Q3 sales rise 16% YoY to $333.8M vs. est. $348.7M; commercial aerospace sales rise 30% YoY to $167.2M, space & defense sales up 1.5% YoY to $110.4M and industrial sales rise 14% YoY to $56.2M Steel Dynamics ($STLD) Q3 adj EPS $4.96 vs. est. $4.57; Q3 revs $5.1B vs. est. $4.98B; believe shipments could be in range of 2.0 mln tons to 2.2 mln tons in 2022; Record steel and steel fabrication operating income of $1.4 billion and $89 million, respectively; record cash flow from operations of $631 million and record adjusted EBITDA of $1.4 billion TechnipFMC ($FTI) and Talos Energy ($TALO) announced that they have entered into a long-term strategic alliance to develop and deliver technical and commercial solutions to Carbon Capture and Storage projects along the United States Gulf Coast AgEagle Aerial Systems ($UAVS) entered into a definitive agreement to buy Sensefly from Parrot at a valuation of $23M in cash and stock Financials Crypto stocks ($COIN, $MARA, $RIOT, $MSTR) in the spotlight as Bitcoin continued its climb toward all-time highs (last above $62K), bolstered by optimism over the launch of the first Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund in the U.S. on Tuesday Silvergate Capital ($SI) Q3 EPS $0.88 vs. est. $0.71; did not record a provision for loan losses for the Q3, Q2 or Q3 of FY20 as a result of management’s assessment of the level of the allowance for loan losses, and the amount and mix of the loan portfolio, among other factors; book value per common share was $33.10, compared to $32.84 at June 30, and $15.18 at September 30, 2020 Bank of New York ($BK) Q3 EPS $1.04 vs. est. $0.99; Q3 revs $4.0B vs. est. $3.95B; qtrly total noninterest expense of $2.9 billion, increased 9%; at qtr end, aum of $2.3 trillion, increased 13%; qtrly total fee and other revenue of $3.39 bln vs $3.14 bln; qtrly asset servicing fees $1.22 bln vs $1.17 bln Commerce Bancshares ($CBSH) q3 eps $1.05 vs. Est. $0.99, q3 revenue $351.54m vs. Est. $349.85m Fifth Third ($FITB) Q3 EPS $0.97 vs. est. $0.91; raises dividend by 11%; Q3 NII $1.19B vs. $1.17B Synovus ($SNV) Q3 adj EPS $1.20 vs. est. $1.08; Q3 net charge-off ratio declined 6 bps from prior quarter to 0.22%; the non-performing loan and asset ratios each fell 1 bp to 0.41% and 0.45%, respectively; and criticized and classified loans declined 22% Credit Suisse ($CS) is in discussions with the U.S. government to settle a criminal investigation regarding the bank’s role in a $42B Mozambique bond scandal – Bloomberg Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. ($BHLB) has entered into a partnership with Upstart (UPST), a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform designed to improve access to affordable credit while reducing the risk and costs of lending. Equity LifeStyle Property ($ELS) 3Q adj FFO/share $0.65 vs. est. $0.62 on revs $332.9Mm vs est. $171.1Mm EverQuote ($EVER) guides 3Q revs $106.5-107.5Mm vs est. $110.2Mm; sees 3Q net loss $6.0-5.5Mm vs est. net loss $4.7Mm; plans to implement approx 10% structure reduction in non-marketing op exp FB Financial ($FBK) 3Q adj EPS $0.89 vs est. $0.81, NII on tax-equivalent basis $89.2Mm vs est. $88.5Mm PacWest Bancorp ($PACW) 3Q EPS $1.17 vs est. $1.03; NII $279.8Mm vs est. $278.4Mm ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. ($SFBS) Q3 EPS $0.96, in-line with estimates; Total loans grew $163.1 million, or 8% annualized, during the quarter, while loans, excluding the impact of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan forgiveness, grew $370.4 million, or 18% annualized; Book value per share increased to $20.56, a 17% increase year-over-year Zions Bancorp ($ZION) Q3 EPS $1.45 vs. est. $1.33; loan growth excluding PPP loans, was 5.6% on an annualized basis; reported continued strong deposit growth at an annualized pace of 9.3%; announced $46 million reversal of loss reserves into income (compared to positive +$55 mln); qtrly net interest income remained stable at $555 million Healthcare Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) Q3 adj EPS $2.60 vs. est. $2.35; Q3 revs $23.34B vs. est. $23.72B; maintained its 2021 sales forecast for its COVID-19 vaccine at $2.5 billion and reported $502 million in sales of the single-dose shot in Q3; raises FY21 adjusted EPS view to $9.65-$9.70 from $9.50-$9.60 and boosts FY21 revenue view to $94.1B-$94.6B from $93.8B-$94.6B (est. $94.3B) Sage Therapeutics ($SAGE) and Biogen ($BIIB) announce plans to submit a new drug application (NDA) for Zuranolone to the U.S. FDA in the second half of 2022 with rolling submission expected to start in early 2022 Following the pre-NDA meeting, the companies confirmed the current efficacy and safety databases are expected to be adequate for filing with confirmed pathways for MDD and PPD. The planned initial submission package will be for the treatment of MDD with an anticipated PPD filing thereafter The FDA intends to allow Americans to get a different COVID-19 vaccine as a booster from the one that originally had, The New York Times’ reported, which could reduce the appeal of Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) vaccine and provide flexibility to doctors and other vaccinators The U.S. FDA has approved Reddy’s Laboratories’ ($RDY) generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s ($BMY) multiple myeloma treatment Revlimid (lenalidomide) capsules. Calithera Biosciences ($CALA) is acquiring two clinical-stage compounds from Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) to bolster its precision oncology pipeline in a cash and stock deal; Calithera will pay $10M upfront cash and $35M in Calithera Series A preferred stock. Entasis Therapeutics ($ETTX) announces positive topline results for sulbactam-durlobactam (SUL-DUR) from Phase 3 ATTACK trial; SUL-DUR first to achieve statistical non-inferiority in 28-day all-cause mortality in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter ($CRAB) patients; Statistically significant difference in clinical cure at Test of Cure vs. colistin; targeting NDA submission in mid-2022 Paratek Pharmaceuticals ($PRTK) announces enrollment of first patient in phase 2b study evaluating Nuzyra® (omadacycline) for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease caused by mycobacterium abscesses complex Technology, Media & Telecom Micron ($MU): Commodity DRAM prices likely to fall 15-20% in 1Q22. Following peak shipments in the second and third quarters, the memory sector has entered a period of correction in the fourth quarter of 2021 that may last for 1-2 quarters, and commodity DRAM prices, in particular, will face higher downward pressure – Digitimes.com https://bit.ly/3G2l5D5

Thursday, October 14, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow 205.00 0.60% 34,461 S&P 500 28.25 0.67% 4,384 Nasdaq 116.50 0.79% 14,880 Stock futures are jumping overnight, extending yesterday’s gains ahead of key earnings reports and inflation data. Stocks advanced on Wednesday as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq outperformed after a choppy session, with Big Tech doing much of the heavy lifting, led by shares of Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia. Minutes from the September Federal Reserve policy meeting showed central bankers signaled they could start reducing crisis-era support for the economy in mid-November, although they remained divided about how soon they may need to raise interest rates. Inflation data was in-line with forecast for consumer prices ahead of today’s producer price index at 8:30 AM ET. Banks the other top story with earnings this week, with JPMorgan falling after its third-quarter earnings beat expectations. Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley are set to report results this morning. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 410 points to 28,550, while the Shanghai Index was little changed at 3,558. In Europe, the German DAX is rising 130 points to 15,380, while the FTSE 100 gains about 50-points to move just below the 7,200 level. Market sentiment improving after a rough start to the week, helped yesterday on news Port of Los Angeles to go 24/7 joining neighboring Port of Long Beach as the expanded operations would nearly double the hours that cargo can move and help remove the glut at ports and improve inventory for retail and food stores. Oil prices rose by about 1% after the International Energy Agency said that record natural gas prices will boost demand for oil and top oil producer Saudi Arabia dismissed calls for additional OPEC+ supplies. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index gained 13.15 points, or 0.30%, to 4,363.80 The Dow Jones Industrial Average little changed, or 0.00%, to 34,377.81 The Nasdaq Composite jumped 105.71 points, or 0.73%, to 14,571.63 The Russell 2000 Index advanced 7.70 points, or 0.34% to 2,241.97 Events Calendar for Today 8:30 AM ET Weekly Jobless Claims…est. 319K 8:30 AM EST Continuing Claims…est. 2.675M 8:30 AM ET Producer Price Index (PPI) Headline MoM for September…est. +0.6% 8:30 AM ET PPI Core: Ex Food & Energy MoM for September…est. +0.5% 8:30 AM ET Producer Price Index (PPI) Headline YoY for September…est. +8.7% 8:30 AM ET PPI Core: Ex Food & Energy YoY for September…est. 7.1% 10:30 AM ET Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data 11:00 AM ET EIA Weekly Inventory Data Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: BAC, C, CMC, DPZ, MS, PGR, UNH, USB, WBA, WFC Earnings After the Close: AA, DCT, TACO Other Key Events: Piper Insurance Summit in New York, 10/14 Macro Up/Down Last Nymex 0.87 81.31 Brent 0.97 84.15 Gold 4.90 1,801.60 EUR/USD 0.0014 1.1606 JPY/USD 0.17 113.41 10-Year Note -0.017 1.532% World News China sept. consumer prices rise7% y/y vs. est. 0.8%; China sept. producer prices rise 10.7% y/y vs. est. 10.5% Oil demand is set to jump by half a million barrels per day (bpd) as the power sector and heavy industries switch from other more expensive sources of energy, the IEA said, warning that the energy crunch could stoke inflation and slow the world’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. In its monthly report, the IEA increased its global oil demand growth forecast by 170,000 bpd to 5.5 million bpd for 2021 and by 210,000 bpd to 3.3 million bpd for 2022. The agency now expects total oil demand in 2022 to reach 99.6 million bpd Sector News Breakdown Consumer Bed Bath & Beyond ($BBBY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley Wayfair ($W) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley Esports Entertainment Group ($GMBL) rises after forecasting higher revenue in FY22 saying it expects net revenue to increase by at least 490% to $100 mln to $105 mln in FY22 driven primarily by the multiple acquisitions completed in calendar 2021 Good Times Restaurants ($GTIM) said Q4 YoY same store sales ended sept. 28, 2021 decreased 0.2% for its good times brand & increased 22.8% for its Bad Daddy’s brand Hyzon Motors ($HYZM) said in 2022, expects to increase capacity to up to 1,000 trucks/year through operational updates, addition of second shift in Europe facility Winnebago ($WGO) announces new $200M share repurchase authorization Energy, Industrials and Materials Occidental ($OXY) agreed to sell its interests in two Ghana offshore fields for $750 million to Kosmos Energy (KOS) paying $550M and Ghana National Petroleum Corporation paying $200M, prior to closing adjustments to reflect an April 1, 2021 effective date The American Petroleum Institute (API) WD-40 ($WDFC) approves new $75M share repurchase plan Matrix Nac ($MTRX) awarded multiple contracts for electrical infrastructure work that, in aggregate, totals about $50 mln The American Petroleum Institute (API) showed a build of 5.21M barrels of oil for the week ending October 8, a draw of 4.58M barrels, distillate inventories show a draw of 2.71M barrels and Cushing inventories show a draw of 2.28M barrels. Steel Dynamics ($STLD) CEO said steel prices, driven to nosebleed highs by surging demand, should start to “erode” by the first part of next year as COVID-related supply bottlenecks ease and new domestic production comes online. UPS ($UPS) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel The Biden administration unveiled plans to hold as many as seven government auctions of offshore wind development rights in the next four years (watch shares of AGR, RDSA) Financials S.-listed Chinese online brokerages Futu Holding ($FUTU) and UP Fintech Holding ($TIGR) face regulatory risks as China’s personal data privacy law takes effect Nov. 1, the official People’s Daily said in an analysis on its website. Such brokerages could violate data privacy rules and also runs compliance risks, the article said. S. Bancorp ($USB) Q3 EPS $1.30 vs. est. $1.16; Q3 revs $5.89B vs. est. $5.77B; return on average assets 1.45% vs. 1.17% y/y; return on average equity 15.9% vs. 12.8% y/y; net charge-offs $147 million, -71% Yoy Healthcare UnitedHealth ($UNH) Q3 adj EPS $4.52 vs. est. $4.41; Q3 revs $72.34B vs. est. $71.19B; Q3 beat helped by a jump in revenue from its Optum unit that manages drug benefits, rising 14%; raises FY21 adjusted EPS view to $18.65-$18.90 from $18.30-$18.80 (est. $18.75) Perrigo ($PRGO) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James with a $59 price target saying the recently announced acquisition of leading branded consumer play HRA Pharma is expected to immediately boost the company’s profitability back to 2019 levels while delivering on its goal of becoming a pure-play consumer health company by 2023 Sarepta ($SRPT)17M share secondary priced at $81 per share Lucid Diagnostics ($LUCD) 5M share IPO priced at $14 per share Agilent Technologies Inc. ($A) said its Ki-67 IHC MIB-1 pharmDx (Dako Omnis) is now FDA approved as an aid in identifying patients with early breast cancer (EBC) at high risk of disease recurrence Turning Point Therapeutics ($TPTX) and EQRx announced a clinical collaboration to evaluate elzovantinib or TPX-0022, Turning Point’s drug candidate targeting MET, SRC, and CSF1R, in combination with aumolertinib, EQRx’s drug candidate targeting EGFR for NSCLC Technology, Media & Telecom Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. ($TSM) lifted its revenue growth forecast for 2021, citing an “industry megatrend” of strong chip demand after Q3 rev climbed 22.6% to $14.88B, in line with co’s prior estimated range of $14.6B-$14.9B and vs. est. $14.83B; Q3 profit rose 14% from a year earlier to 156.26 billion New Taiwan dollars (US$5.57 billion) AT&T ($T) upgraded to Sector Weight from Underweight at KeyBanc saying that it appears more difficult to justify further downside from current levels given simplification of the business, reduced leverage, and peers that trade at premiums GitLab ($GTLB)4M share IPO priced at $77.00 Rambus ($RMBS) announced that Rahul Mathur, senior vice president and CFO, will resign from Rambus effective November 15 to pursue another opportunity outside of the semiconductor industry; co affirmed its previously issued guidance for the third quarter fiscal year 2021. E2open ($ETWO) raises FY22 revenue view to $470M-$474M from $369M-$371M (est. $417.13M); adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $161M-$163M vs. prior guidance of $158M provided at the announcement of the BluJay transaction.

Thursday, July 8, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow -494.00 1.43% 34,074 S&P 500 -60.25 1.40% 4,289 Nasdaq -196.50 1.33% 14,606 Stocks slide around the globe, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite tumble following fresh all-time highs on Wednesday. A delayed reaction? Stocks were little changed late afternoon following the release of the FOMC Minutes from its prior meeting, where Fed officials saw a tightening of monetary policy potentially happening sooner than expected as the economy recovers from the pandemic, but no move to taper asset purchases seems imminent. At the same time, worries about the economic recovery continue to weigh as the Covid-19 delta variant has spread rapidly in countries with lagging vaccination rates, as the WHO urged caution on worldwide reopenings. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index dropped -248 points to 28,118, the Shanghai Index slid -28 points to 3,525 and the Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.9% or 800 points to settle at 27,153. In Europe, markets are broadly lower as the German DAX drops over 270 points to 15,420, while the FTSE 100 slides around 2% to hold just above the 7,000 level. European equities are deep in the red with most indexes printing fresh lows for the week. Eurostoxx 50 drops as much as 1.9%, while all Stoxx 600 sectors are in the red, with miners, retail and banks performing the worst. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index gained 14.59 points, or 0.34%, to 4,358.13 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.42 points, or 0.30%, to 34,681.79 The Nasdaq Composite edged higher 1.42 points, or 0.01%, to 14,665.06 The Russell 2000 Index declined -21.66 points, or 0.95% to 2,252.85 Events Calendar for Today 8:30 AM ET Weekly Jobless Claims…est. 350K 8:30 AM EST Continuing Claims…est. 3.335M 10:30 AM ET Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data 11:00 AM ET Weekly DOE Inventory Data 3:00 PM ET Consumer Credit for May…est. $18.4B Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: $HELE Earnings After the Close: $ACCD, $DCT, $KSHB, $LEVI, $PSMT Other Key Events: China Producer Price Index and Consumer Price Index for June Macro Up/Down Last Nymex -0.80 71.40 Brent -0.66 72.77 Gold 7.10 1,810.75 EUR/USD 0.0036 1.1826 JPY/USD -0.82 109.84 10-Year Note -0.066 1.255% Sector News Breakdown Consumer GAN ($GAN) rises after saying sees Q2 revs between $34-$35M, beating the consensus of $23.98M; positive Adj. EBITDA to be $3-$7M as higher than expected revenue more than offset strategic investments in talent and technology Overstock ($OSTK) initiated with a Buy and $150 tgt at Needham WD-40 ($WDFC) Q3 EPS $1.52 vs. est. $1.15; Q3 sales rose 39% to $136.4M vs. est. $108.33M; sees FY sales $475m-$490m vs. rest. $461.85M; do not expect to see sales growth of current magnitude over long-term Tesla ($TSLA) introduced a new, lower-priced version of the Model Y to the China market; the Standard Range Model Y starts at 276,000 yuan ($42,600) after government subsidies and incentives; Tesla began taking orders for the vehicle on Thursday. Didi ($DIDI) shares on track for a 4th straight decline after IPO last week, extending the losses suffered as Asian stocks listed in New York also drop following a day of declines for tech companies in Hong Kong. Stellantis ($STLA) slips after saying adjusted operating income margins in 1H are expected to exceed previously communicated FY margin guidance range of 5.5% to 7.5%; said expects negative industrial free cash flows in 1H Energy, Industrials and Materials American Petroleum Institute ($API) showed a draw of 7.98M barrels of oil for the latest week; gasoline inventories showed a draw of 2.74M barrels, distillate inventories show a build of 1.09M barrels and Cushing inventories show a build of 152K barrels. Freeport McMoRan ($FCX) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays Rio Tinto ($RIO) and South Korean steelmaker POSCO agreed to jointly develop technologies to transition to a low-carbon emission steel value chain. Maxar Technologies ($MAXR) contracts for WorldView Legion satellite constellation capacity through an expanded agreement with a key international defense and intelligence customer (multi-year, $35M contract) Sonoco ($SON) updates $115 million project horizon progress; announces intentions to close 70,000 tons/year of capacity at Hartsville mill complex; investment to convert Hartsville, S.C., corrugated medium machine to urb scheduled to be completed in q2 of 2022 The Federal Aviation Administration issued an emergency directive requiring main rotor inspections for ~400 Textron ($TXT) Bell helicopters after Canadian and U.S. investigators discovered a possible flaw while probing a fatal crash last week. Financials Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks like $RIOT, $MARA, $MSTR, looking sharply lower in premarket trading with Bitcoin sinking back below $33,000 per token, down over 5%, with Ethereum down over 7% to slip below $2,200 Charles Schwab ($SCHW) downgraded to Neutral from Conviction Buy at Goldman Sachs Pzena Investment Management Inc. ($PZN) preliminary total AUM as of June 30, 2021 was $53.1 bln Healthcare Amgen ($AMGN) said the U.S. FDA has accepted a Biologics License Application ($BLA) and granted Priority Review for Tezepelumab in the treatment of asthma; Tezepelumab is being developed by Amgen in collaboration with AstraZeneca ($AZN) Ideaya Biosciences ($IDYA)64M share Secondary priced at $17.25 SeaSpine Holdings ($SPNE) said the U.S. FDA has granted a 510k clearance for the company’s 7D Percutaneous Spine Module for minimally invasive surgery Technology, Media & Telecom Alphabet Inc’s ($GOOGL) slides as thirty-seven U.S. states and district attorneys general sued Google on Wednesday, alleging the search giant bought off competitors; also alleged that the co was using restrictive contracts to unlawfully maintain a monopoly for its app store on Android phones Tessco Technologies ($TESS) shares jump over 30% after the company said Wednesday evening it expects 2022 1Q total revenue of $105M, 9% higher than a year earlier

Wednesday, July 7, 2021 Futures Up/Down % Last Dow 30.00 0.09% 34,490 S&P 500 8.00 0.18% 4,342 Nasdaq 77.00 0.52% 14,852 Stock futures are looking higher, as the Nasdaq Composite looks to extend its record-breaking streak following large cap tech outperformance yesterday (all-time highs for AMZN, GOOGL), aided by plunging Treasury yields as the fear of inflation has subsided greatly the last few weeks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year falls another 2 bps, hitting lows around 1.33% today (lowest since February). The S&P 500 looks to get back on track after having its 7-day win streak snapped yesterday, also stopping a string of record closing highs as investors await minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting later today for clues on the central bank’s next policy moves. China is widening its clampdown on tech firms listed overseas and regulators are now planning to change overseas listing rules. Oil prices looking at a healthy rebound after yesterday’s pullback. Seven of the 11 S&P sectors closed down on Tuesday, with Energy the weakest through the session as crude fell, while Financials also struggled in the face of lower rates. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index declined -276 points to 28,366, the Shanghai Index rose 23 points to 3,553 and the Hang Seng Index lost -112 points to settle at 27,960. In Europe, the German DAX is higher by 125 points to 15,635, while the FTSE 100 is up about 35 points to 7,140. Market Closing Prices Yesterday The S&P 500 Index slipped -8.80 points, or 0.20%, to 4,343.54 The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -208.98 points, or 0.60%, to 34,577.37 The Nasdaq Composite gained 24.32 points, or 0.17%, to 14,663.64 The Russell 2000 Index declined -31.26 points, or 1.36% to 2,274.50 Events Calendar for Today 7:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications Data 10:00 AM ET JOLTs Job Openings for May 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data Earnings Calendar: Earnings Before the Open: $MSM Earnings After the Close: $SAR, $WDFC Other Key Events: FOMC minutes are released from the last meeting of the policy-making committee Macro Up/Down Last Nymex 1.31 74.68 Brent 1.20 75.73 Gold 10.40 1,807.50 EUR/USD -0.0002 1.1822 JPY/USD 0.16 110.79 10-Year Note -0.024 1.346% Sector News Breakdown Consumer Didi Global ($DIDI) extends yesterday declines after China stepped up scrutiny over its data security and widened a crackdown on companies listing abroad Boston Beer ($SAM) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse and raise tgt to $1,490 from $1,304 Asur ($ASR) announced that that total passenger traffic for June reached a total of 4.6M passengers, 5.1% below the 4.8M passengers reported June 2019 which reflects a lower demand for travel in general International Game Technology ($IGT) signs a contract with the Western Canada Lottery to provide 700 CrystalDual 27 video lottery terminals. LGI Homes ($LGIH) said it closed 997 homes in June 2021, up from 760 homes closed in June 2020, representing year-over-year growth of 31.2%; announced record-breaking quarterly closings of 2,856 during Q2 compared to 2,005 closings same period a year ago, a 42.4% increase year-over-year Energy, Industrials and Materials TechnipFMC ($FTI) said it was awarded a “significant” integrated engineering, procurement, construction and installation contract from Tullow Oil for the Jubilee South East development offshore Ghana; the company defines a “significant” contract as $75M-$250M Steel Dynamics ($STLD) board authorizes a buyback of $1B in additional shares following the previous $500M program which had $51M remaining available for repurchase Oasis Petroleum ($OAS) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Royal Dutch Shell ($RDSA) said it will boost returns to shareholders via share buybacks or dividends earlier than expected after a sharp rise in oil and gas prices helped it reduce debt; said it will increase its distribution to shareholders to 20% to 30% of cash flow from operations beginning in Q2, the company said in a trading statement before quarterly results. MSC Industrial ($MSM) Q3 adj EPS $1.42 vs. est. $1.37; Q3 revs $866.29M vs. est. $847.2M; Q3 average daily sales rose 2.2% NASA has awarded Mechanical Integrated Services and Technology II contract worth $531M to a joint venture between Aerodyne and KBR ($KBR). Financials S. District Judge Reggie Walton said he can’t schedule a summer trial in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust suit challenging Aon’s ($AON) proposed takeover of Willis Towers Watson (WLTW) – WSJ. The judge instead said he intends to hold trial proceedings for a few days starting November 18, and then again during an opening in his schedule from December 20-22 Ellington Financial ($EFC) 6M share Spot Secondary priced at $18.22 MarketAxess ($MKTX) recorded $567B in trading volume for June 2021, of which $239.5B was credit volume and $327.5B rates volume; total credit average daily trading volume and total credit trading volume dropped 10.1% Y/Y to $10.89B and $239.52B, respectively. Healthcare OncoSec Medical Inc. ($ONCS) said it has entered into a collaboration and supply agreement with Merck & Co. (MRK) to evaluate the combination of its interleukin-12 Tavo with Merck’s anti-cancer immunotherapy Keytruda in a global clinical trial. Dare Bioscience ($DARE) rises after revealing on June 30, entered into an agreement with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for development of DARE-LARC1 implant, its experimental user-controlled, long-acting reversible contraceptive (awarded grant of up to $48.95M) Savara ($SAVA) files $250M mixed securities shelf Technology, Media & Telecom Smart Global ($SGH) 3Q adj EPS $1.39 vs. est. $1.09 on sales $437.7Mm vs. est. $415.6Mm; guides 4Q net sales $440-480Mm vs. est. $439.4Mm, sees 4Q adj EPS $1.60 +/- $0.15 vs. est. $1.23 Samsung Electronics ($SSNLF) said it expects more than 53% growth in Q2 operating profit, driven by strong demand for memory chips and operations resuming at a key US factory; sees sales of ~KRW63T and operating profit of ~KRW12.5T China’s top market regulator has fined a slew of companies, including subsidiaries of Didi Global Inc. ($DIDI), for what it said was monopolistic behavior linked to nearly two dozen deals. Turkcell ($TKC) to acquire Boyut Grup Enerji, which owns the Izmir Karadag Wind Power Plant for an enterprise value of $29.6M

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