Good morning
We are approaching the end of the year and we have a big economic data week ahead, throw in progress for that tax reform bill, data coming out of the ASH conference, Bitcoin Futures that started trading today & ending the week with quadruple witching. I would suggest that It is likely going to be an eventful week.
Hard to imagine the markets tanking heading into the end of the year when the holiday season generally puts people in a positive frame of mind. However, nothing is guaranteed & anything can happen, we have to be prepared for all potential outcomes.
I will have the full list of stocks to watch and the sector wrap for the pro members in about a half hour.
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Stocks to watch
$GILD $IMDZ $MOSY PPHM $HK
Expected IPO filings: Adial Pharmaceutical (Pending:ADIL), Casa Systems (Pending:CASA) and Burger King Brasil on Dec. 14; Newmark Group (Pending:NMRK) on Dec. 15.
Star Wars: The timing for Disney's (NYSE:DIS) The Last Jedi opening on Dec. 15 is promising amid the consumer spending bounce and with the MoviePass (NASDAQ:HMNY) model generating interest with millennials. Numbers to watch include the early box office forecast for a +$200M opening weekend and the $248M mark delivered by The Force Awakens in 2015. Theater chains AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), Cinemark (NYSE:CNK), Regal Entertainment (NYSE:RGC), Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS) and IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) hope for a strong buzz factor into the weekend, while Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) eyes a Star Wars toys boom.
Bitcoin watch: **Looking for Bitcoin exposure without having to deal with tokens, mining and eye-popping volatility? Fundstrat says potential Bitcoin/Blockchain equity plays include Bitcoin Investment Trust (OTCQX:GBTC), MGT Capital Investments (OTCQB:MGTI), HIVE Blockchain Technologies (OTCPK:PRELF), U.S. Global Investors (NASDAQ:GROW), DigitalX (OTC:DGGXF), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD), CME Group (NASDAQ:CME), CBOE Holdings (NASDAQ:CBOE), Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Square (NYSE:SQ).
**Notable earnings reports: Salesforce.com on Dec. 11; Casey's General Stores (NASDAQ:CASY), VeriFone (NYSE:PAY) on Dec. 12; ABM Industries (NYSE:ABM) and Nordson (NASDAQ:NDSN) on Dec. 13; Costco (NASDAQ:COST), Oracle (NYSE:ORCL), Jabil (NYSE:JBL) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) on Dec. 14. See Seeking Alpha's Earnings Calendar for more.
Quiet period expirations: Retail upstart Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) is up over 50% from where its IPO into its quiet period expiration on Dec. 12. Other names to watch include SendGrid (NYSE:SEND) and Arsanis (Pending:ASNS) on Dec. 11, along with Bluegreen Vacations (Pending:BXG), SailPoint Technologies (NYSE:SAIL) and Level Brands (NYSEMKT:LEVB) on Dec. 12.
IPO/secondary share lockup period expirations: Athenex (NASDAQ:ATNX) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) on Dec. 11; Portola Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PTLA) and Adomani (NASDAQ:ADOM) on Dec. 12; Boston Omaha (OTCQX:BOMN), Interspace Diagnostics (NASDAQ:IDXG), Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) and Workhorse (NASDAQ:WKHS) on Dec. 13; Acushnet (NASDAQ:GOLF) on Dec. 14; Genpact (NYSE:G) on Dec. 15.
Annual meetings: The headliner of the week is Deckers Outdoor (NASDAQ:DECK) on Dec. 14 amid the heated proxy fight between the retailer and Marcato Capital. Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) and 1-800-Flowers.com (NASDAQ:FLWS) on Dec. 11, as well as United Natural Foods (NASDAQ:UNFI) on Dec. 13 are also on the calendar.
Analyst/investor meetings: Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE:AJG) on Dec. 12; TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL), Lending Tree (NASDAQ:TREE) and Jones Lang Lasalle (NYSE:JLL) on Dec. 13.
Business update/Guidance calls: American Water Works (NYSE:AWK), Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF, OTCPK:GLNCY) and Principal Financial (NYSE:PFG) on Dec. 12; Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) on Dec. 13; Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) and Prudential (NYSE:PRU) on Dec. 14; MetLife (NYSE:MET) on Dec. 15.
M&A watch: Deals are heating up in a number of sectors. The deadline for bids on Unilever's (UN, UL) spreads business is Monday, while an Apollo Global acquisition of Qdoba (NASDAQ:JACK) is said to be imminent. Disney (DIS) and Twenty-First Century Fox (FOX, FOXA) are a step closer to striking an asset deal which could include Hulu.
FCC watch: The commission will vote on repealing current net neutrality rules during a scheduled meeting. The usual media suspects such as Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Sprint (NYSE:S), AT&T (NYSE:T), Dish Network (NASDAQ:DISH) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are likely to weigh in on the consequences of the vote.
Credit card delinquency reports: American Express (NYSE:AXP), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Capital One (NYSE:COF), Discover Financial (NYSE:DFS), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) and Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) are all due to post credit card chargeoff data on Dec. 15.
**Cowen Networking & Cybersecurity Summit: **Presenters at the gathering from Dec. 12-13 include execs from Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET), MACOM Technology (NASDAQ:MTSI), NeoPhotonics (NYSE:NPTN), Check Point Software (NASDAQ:CHKP), Cisco (CSCO) and Quatenna Communications (NASDAQ:QTNA).
**Barron's mentions: **The publication cuts right to the chase to name its top picks for 2018. Alphabet (GOOG, [[GOOGl]]), Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B), Volkswagen (OTCPK:VLKAY), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD), Ally Financial (NYSE:ALLY), Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) and US Foods Holding (NYSE:USFD) all make the list. There's a less optimistic view on the off-price retail sector expressed, with Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) and TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) seen at risk for share price falls.
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Goldman unveils sector-by-sector view for 2018 stock winners
Goldman Sachs equity research analysts publish a slew of sector-by-sector outlooks for 2018:
Aerospace/Defense: Bullish on defense, more selective in commercial aerospace - top picks NOC, LLL, FLIR, HRS, LDOS, TDG.
Agriculture: Neutral overall but potential upside in nitrogen, value-added protein and biofuels - top picks CF, UAN, DAR, GPRE, TSN.
Autos: **Cautious as North America auto cycle likely continues "to cool off, on its way to a normalized SAAR by 2020" - potential strength in secular growth exposed names APTV, DLPH, VC.
**Chemicals: **Three interesting value names, including two with near-term catalysts in sight (DWDP, PAH) and one that does yet not fully reflect an underlying mix shift in earnings (NYSE:EMN).
**Construction: **Prefers building products on more dynamism driven by continued input inflation, rising rates, peak PMI and an evolving legislative environment - MHK is top pick.
**Machinery: **Group is a buy as share of industrial capex is 20% below normalized levels, used equipment inventories are lean, Street estimates are still beatable - top picks CAT, DE, AGCO, TRMB.
**Medical Technology: **Attractive view on med tech, neutral on life science tools - adds HOLX to conviction list; other top picks BAX, EW, ISRG.
**Multi-Industry: **Optimistic as bottom-up capex remains positive while tax reform could spur investment, though high quality cyclicals preferred - IR upgraded to Buy.
**Packaging, Paper & Forest Products: WRK is top pick given exposure to e-commerce growth and self-help opportunities.
Transports: Sees divergence between airfreight/logistics (attractive) and rails (cautious) due to continued strength in consumer/logistics business lines, deceleration in industrial/commodity business lines - recommends FDX, UPS, XPO, CNI.
**Sources: **EDGAR, Bloomberg, Nasdaq.com, CNBC. Seeking Alpha
