Блог компании DayTraderClub | Америка сегодня. Занятость вне сельского хозяйства (пейролы).

 

European MarketsFTSE...7347.18...+32.20...+0.40%.  DAX...12051.88...+73.50...+0.60%.

 

Marathon Oil initiated with a Outperform at FBR & Co.; tgt $22  (16.07)FBR & Co. initiates MRO with a Outperform and price target of $22. Marathon is a large-cap E&P company with a diverse portfolio highlighted by leading positions in three of the most compelling liquids resource plays in the Lower 48: the STACK/SCOOP, the Eagle Ford, and the Bakken. According to our analysis, the company has emerged as a top 10 operator in each of these plays, and its productivity gains are causing it to rise in the rankings. Additionally, Marathon just announced its entry into the prolific Permian Basin. The stock currently trades at a discount to peers, but firm expects this disconnect to resolve itself upon Street realization of Marathon's improving resource play well results and the implications for its growth profile.

 

Bill Barrett initiated with a Mkt Perform at FBR & Co.; tgt $6  (4.52)FBR & Co. initiates BBG with a Mkt Perform and price target of $6. BBG is a small-cap E&P company focused on the development of crude oil and natural gas in the Rocky Mountain region of the U.S. More recently, the company streamlined its strategy to focus on oil in the DJ Basin. While it is targeting 2018 production growth of 30% to 50%, firm is concerned that BBG's bottom-quartile well results in the DJ could hinder the stock's performance. However, an improvement in per-well productivity could cause us to reevaluate our opinion.

 

Builders Firstsource target raised to $20 at FBR & Co.  (14.85)FBR & Co. raises their BLDR tgt to $20 from $15 offering investors 36% potential upside. In addition, firm believes co has a pathway for its shares to double and reach $30 over the next few years. On February 28, Builder's FirstSource announced 4Q16 results that exceeded firm'sand consensus expectations. The company exceeded its guidance for FCF generation for the year, which it used to repay $115.9M of debt. Net debt/EBITDA has significantly improved to 4.8x, from 6.2x at YE15, and is expected to be below 4x by the end of 2017 and at 3.0x by YE18. While mgmt refocuses on growth, they believe it will remain targeted on continuing to reduce costs and pay down debt. Firm is modestly adjusting their 2017 ests and introducing 2018 ests. They reiterate Outperform rating and BLDR as an FBR Alpha Generator, as firm expects meaningful free cash flow to be used to de-lever the balance sheet, which should attractively complement a reacceleration in sales and earnings growth.

 E.ON AG upgraded to Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts  (7.50)RBC Capital Mkts upgrades EONGY to Sector Perform from Underperform. Firm feels E.ON is nearing the end of the road on nuclear uncertainty and our revised ests now fully reflect the positive EPS and DPS benefits of accounting changes on provisions. However, balance sheet repair is still necessary and over-leverage is a limiting factor on shareholder returns for now. Nevertheless, valuation metrics are now reasonable and upgrade to Sector Perform, with a revised €8.0/sh price target (€7.0/sh previously).

 Overnight Summary — World markets extend yesterday's late day momentum into overnight session

• The global equity markets are generally stronger this morning with S&P Futures up ~0.4% and trading near overnight highs. It should be noted that the June Contract becomes the front trading month today.
• The rebound in Crude has helped the Energy sector take back some of the losses seen across the globe yesterday. In Japan, the Nikkei (+1.5%) outperformed the region and was the beneficiary of the ongoing descent in the yen. As usual, exporters were among the leaders, but Financials were not far behind, with the likes of Nomura gaining 3.6% and Mizuho keeping pace with the benchmark with a gain of 1.5%.
• China continued to trade within a tight range and sputtered to a 0.1% loss on Friday. Volume was below average with traders seemingly unwilling to make any moves following no liquidity operations by the PBOC and the looming Jobs' report due out later in the US.
• European bourses opened higher and have methodically ascended since. As the case in Asia, Energy and Financials are among the best performing stocks across the board. As such, both Shell and BNP Paribas are trading in the neighborhood of 2% higher.
• Yesterday's late day reversal in Crude has carried over into the early stages of today's trading, with oil trading ~0.5% higher thus far.

Market Updates:

• S&P Futures vs Fair Value: +9.00 
• 10 yr Note: 2.6001% 
• USD/JPY: 115.39 +0.46  
• EUR/USD: 1.0608 +0.0031
• Europe: FTSE +0.5% DAX +0.6% CAC +0.7% 
• Asia: Hang Seng +0.3% Shanghai -0.1% Nikkei +1.5% 
• Commodities: Gold (1196.60 -6.60) Silver (16.90 -0.14) crude (49.58 +0.30) 

US Econ Data

February Jobs Report (8:30am)

 

Sierra Oncology upgraded to Buy from Hold at SunTrust  (1.43)

 

Consolidated Comms upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James  (22.48)

 

Advisory Board downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust  (44.95)

 Kimberly-Clark downgraded to Hold from Buy at Societe Generale  (132.71)

 

Asian Markets Close: Nikkei +1.5%, Hang Seng +0.3%, Shanghai -0.1% Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei (+1.5%) showing relative strength as the yen retreated 0.4% against the dollar to 115.40. Elsewhere, South Korea's Constitutional Court has upheld President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, which should lead to elections within 60 days. Elsewhere, the People's Bank of China defended the use of foreign currency reserves in order to prop up the yuan. In economic data: Japan's Q1 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions 1.1 (expected 8.4; last 7.5) Australia's January Home Loans +0.5% month-over-month (expected -1.0%; last 0.2%) and January Invest Housing Finance +4.2% month-over-month (last -1.0%) New Zealand's February Electronic Card Retail Sales -0.6% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; last 2.7%); +2.6% year-over-year (last 5.6%) Singapore's January Retail Sales -1.5% month-over-month (last -0.8%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus -0.5%; last 0.7%) ---Equity Markets--- Japan's Nikkei gained 1.5%, ending the week higher by 0.7%. T&D Holdings led the way with a 5.0% spike while Alps Electric, Sony, Nomura Holdings, Mazda Motor, Konami, and NGK Insulators advanced between 2.9% and 3.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3%, narrowing its weekly loss to 0.1%. Property names outperformed with Wharf Holdings surging 8.9% after hinting at a possible spin-off of its flagship properties. Peers Henderson Land, Hang Lung Properties, Sino Land, Cheung Kong Property Holdings, and China Overseas gained between 0.2% and 1.7%. China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to end the week lower by 0.7%. Guizhou Guihang Automotive Components, Shanghai Diesel Engine, Zhonglu, Phenix Optical, and COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers posted losses between 2.5% and 3.2%. India's Sensex added 0.1%, gaining 0.2% for the week. Bharti Airtel jumped 1.2% while Infosys and Wipro gained 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Financials were mixed with HDFC Bank adding 0.4% while AXIS Bank, SBI, and ICICI Bank lost between 0.1% and 1.0%. ---FX--- USDJPY +0.4% to 115.38 USDCNY +0.1% to 6.9162 USDINR -0.1% to 66.654

 

ASML upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS  (121.25)

 

Yum! Brands upgraded to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI  (63.81)

 

Guess?, Cherokee (CHKE) both downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley & Co.  (11.89)

 

Marathon Oil upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna  (16.07)

 

InterNAP upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel  (2.63)

 Joint Corp target raised to $7 from $5 at Maxim Group following better than expected Q4 results  (4.04)

 

Camden Property upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman  (79.06)

 

Fairmount Santrol upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies  (7.30)

 

Ionis Pharma downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman  (45.80)

 Loxo Oncology downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup  (42.10)

 Actuant upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Mkts  (26.45)

 

Century Casinos initiated with a Buy at Aegis Capital  (6.98)

 

VeriFone downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG Research  (20.35)

 

EnLink Midstream initiated with a Neutral at Janney  (19.50)

 

LHC Group upgraded to Buy from Hold at SunTrust  (48.43)

 

AbbVie added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman  (64.50)

 

FLY Leasing upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Compass Point  (13.30)

 

IberiaBank upgraded to Mkt Outperform from Mkt Perform at JMP Securities  (79.35)

 

MEDNAX downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan  (69.66)

 

EnLink Midstream Partners initiated with a Neutral at Janney  (18.60)

 

CoBiz upgraded to Outperform at Hovde Group; tgt $19  (16.64)Hovde Group upgrades COBZ to Outperform from Market Perform and sets target price at $19 as they believe the shares offer an attractive combination of solid loan generation, one of the best deposit mixes in the West region, positive operating leverage with management targeting 4% annual expense growth, and an asset sensitive balance sheet. Firm is increasing their 2018 EPS est to $1.03 from $1.01 based on a slightly higher NIM forecast and a lower expense est. Their 2017 EPS est remains $0.89. The shares are down 1% year-to-date and now trade at 16.2x our 2018 EPS est, or a slight discount to the West peer median. Based on co's numerous strengths, they believe a premium valuation is warranted. Firm's tgt represents 18.4x their 2018 EPS est and 14% upside from yesterday's closing price.

 

TearLab target raised to $12 from $2 at Rodman & Renshaw to adjust for the preious reverse split  (4.71)

 

InterNAP upgrade details — to Buy at Stifel; tgt raised to $5.50  (2.63)Stifel upgrades INAP to Buy from Hold and raises their tgt to $5.50 from $2 following solid 4Q results as they see potential for the new mgmt team to more than double the current share price. The new group, led by Peter Aquino, has already made significant headway in driving out redundant costs, and top-line performance has stabilized in the two quarters since taking the helm. Although further heavy lifting is required to return co to peer-level revenue growth and margins, firm believes the recent equity infusion (on highly favorable terms) provides mgmt with the necessary runway to execute its turnaround plan, which should in turn drive meaningful multiple expansion relative to current levels.

 

Surgery Partners downgraded to Hold at Stifel; tgt raised to $19  (20.95)Stifel downgrades SGRY to Hold from Buy and raises their tgt to $19 from $17 as 2017 guidance was weaker than expected. Rating goes lower on valuation as the stock is up 32.2% YTD (compared to the S&P 500 up 5.6%) and has exceeded firm's price target.

 

Winnebago downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital  (30.90)

 Unique Fabricating initiated with a Buy at B. Riley & Co.  (10.65)

 

VimpelCom initiated with a Buy at ING Group  (3.99)

 

BioLife Solutions target raised to $4 at Maxim Group  (2.24)Maxim Group raises their BLFS tgt to $4 from $3 as they believe that BioLife's media products and shipping platform offer advantages that the cell therapy space will continue to adopt, increasing revenue for BioLife; their analysis suggests that cash flow can turn positive in 2019, with just $17M in total rev.

 

Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital  (6.08)

 

Canadian Natrl Res target raised to $60 at RBC Capital Mkts  (32.05)RBC Capital Mkts raises their CNQ tgt to $60 from $55. reaffirm Top Pick. In their minds, Canadian Natural Resources' $12.7 billion acquisition of a 70% interest in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project and other assets is a good deal from a (1) strategic fit, (2) cost, and (3) financial accretion standpoint.

 

InSteel Industries initiated with a Buy at Longbow  (33.30)

 

LogMeIn resumed with a Buy at Needham; tgt $110  (98.40)Needham resumes coverage of LOGM with a Buy and sets target price at $110. With the recent closure of its Reverse Morris Trust merger with the GoTo business of Citrix, LMI has created a scale business that is a leader in a number of SaaS categories and that has over $1 billion of recurring SaaS rev, strong cash flow generation and the likelihood of improving margins and top line growth over the next couple of years. As well, the mgmt team in charge of integrating these two businesses and delivering targeted synergy and growth targets is one with a strong track record of execution and shareholder-friendly capital return policies, firm thinks suggesting potential upside to synergy targets. As such, they re-instate coverage of LOGM with a Buy rating and PT of $110, equivalent to ~13.5x EV/C'18 EBITDA and ~18.6x EV/C'18 free cash flow.

 

First Republic Bank target raised to $98 at RBC Capital Mkts  (96.28)RBC Capital Mkts raises their FRC tgt to $98 from $95, reiterates Sector Perform. Following First Republic's upsized common equity offering, they are fine tuning their estimates. They continue to view shares of the company as a very high quality core holding for long term investors.

 

Keane Group upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill  (15.30)

 

Early premarket gappersGapping up: INTT +30.6%, COGT +13.7%, ZGNX +13.6%, ESES +12.7%, AXTA +8.7%, CVGI +6.7%, CLSN +6.1%, CDXS +5.4%, ABTL +5.2%, SKLN +5.1%, MYRG +5.1%, PVG +4.3%, BT +4.2%, TEAR +4%, WLDN +4%, GST +3.5%, ING +3.1%, MOMO +2.7%, CRIS +2.6%, VRX +2.6%, MT +2.4%, DB +2.3%, ASML +2.3%, SAN +1.9%, VCEL +1.7%, JCP +1.6%, CS +1.5%, RIG +1.4%, ZFGN +1.3%, BBVA +1.2%, BAC +1.2%, ACOR +1%, SPWR +1%, C +1%, AMD +0.9%, ACTG +0.9% Gapping down: SMSI -23.6%, FNSR -15.7%, XTNT -14.8%, ZUMZ -14.3%, CARA -10.2%, SGRY -9.8%, BVX -7.9%, MED -7.8%, MEET -7.6%, FRPT -6.1%, RGSE -5.9%, ARE -5.2%, LOCO -4.4%, ULTA -4.3%, FN -4%, LITE -3.5%, SBGL -3.5%, MTL -3.4%, ALR -3.2%, OCRX -2.6%, ROKA -2.5%, WMK -2.5%, ACIA -2.3%, AAOI -2.2%, AU -2.1%, OCLR -2%, OOMA -1.7%, LUV -1.6%, SAND -1.3%, AQXP -1%, GOLD -0.8%, ATHX -0.8%, HIBB -0.8%, TRIL -0.8%, INFN -0.7%, IIVI -0.7%, PAY -0.7%, ABX -0.6%

 

Astoria Fincl: Basswood Capital Management lowers active stake to 2.01% (Prior 5.87%)  (21.32)

 

FLY Leasing target lowered to $22 at RBC Capital Mkts  (13.30)RBC Capital Mkts lowers their FLY tgt to $22 from $24, reiterates Outperform. Fleet expansion and sizable share buybacks driving significant EPS/book value accretion, or acquisition by BBAM remain the two most likely paths ahead, according to the company — both could lead to substantial share upside to above book value, in their view. Shares still offer deep value at 0.72x 4Q16 book value (0.64x 4Q17E book), relative to their 11%+ pre-tax ROE outlook.

 On The Wires

• Soligenix (SNGX) will present results from its ricin toxin vaccine development program at the Society of Toxicology 56th Annual Meeting on March 12-16, 2017. The poster presentation focuses on the further optimization of the primate ricin challenge model that is important to facilitating future approval of RiVax under the FDA «Animal Rule».
• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (KTOS) announced today that its Microwave Electronics Division recently received $13.7 million in contract awards related to specialized communication systems. MED is a leading provider of integrated microwave assemblies, solid state power amplifiers, GPS immune modules and other microwave electronic products that support radar, missile, electronic warfare, guidance, unmanned aerial and other systems. Work under these contract awards will be produced in a secure Kratos manufacturing facility. Due to customer related and other considerations, no additional information is being provided related to these contract awards.
• Alkermes (ALKS) in a regulatory filing confirmed that on March 9, 2017, the United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trials and Appeal Board upheld the claims challenged via the inter partes review process of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,663,685, 8,440,703, 8,354,437 and 8,007,826, which are Orange Book-listed patents for Acorda's (ACOR) AMPYRA (dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg. These patents, as well as U.S. Patent No. 5,540,938, which was not involved in the IPR Proceeding and is also an AMPYRA Orange Book-listed patent, have also been challenged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The Court has completed the trial of the case, but not yet issued its decision.

 

Finisar: Color on Quarter  (34.90) Stifel lowers their FNSR tgt to $39 from $42. The largest negative stems from CFP technical issues with one customer — negatively weighing on the outlook. Looking to the April quarter Finisar is guiding to revenue of $370 million at the midpoint, about $20 million light of their estimate, embedding ongoing CFP technical headwinds, the Chinese New Year, and an anticipated downtick in the 10G business. Capacity constraints across the rest of the 100G portfolio (QSFP28 focus) and WSS/ROADMs are positive offsets. Beyond the April quarter the company spoke to qualification of its ROADM (Verizon) and CFP2-ACO, solid QSFP28 demand, and 3D Sensing revenue potential that have them positive on 2H17. Accordingly they maintain Buy rating. Needham is frustrated by FNSR's poor execution and a bit more seasonal sluggishness than they expected. They expected an upside surprise on Data Comm to result in upside in the quarter and guide. Instead, FNSR had an execution issue on its CFP 100G Telecom product that cut $10-15MM off the results and guide. This should be resolved by the July quarter and could bounce back. FNSR also noted the ROADM market in China seems a bit slower to ramp, though they expect a steep ramp in CY172H. But despite the lack of upside in the quarter and the sluggish guide, they believe the investment thesis and longer term story are fully intact. They are aggressive buyers of FNSR and the other Opticals on weakness. Optical stocks premarket: FNSR -15.90% FN -3.98% LITE -3.49% OCLR -2.49% ACIA -2.34% AAOI -2.20% IIVI -0.70% INFN -0.67% ADTN -0.47% NPTN +0.00% IPHI +0.23% CIEN +0.55%

 

Marathon Oil target raised to $21 at RBC Capital Mkts  (16.07)RBC Capital Mkts raises their MRO tgt to $21 from $20; reiterates Sector Perform. The acquisition and divestiture trades low growth/low margin oil production (oil sands) for a significant runway of high margin/ high growth oil production (Delaware Permian). MRO shares could «re-rate» as the company executes on a stronger growth outlook, concentrated on the higher margin assets.

 

Northern Oil & Gas: Bahram Akradi increases active stake to 6.53% (Prior 5.28%)  (2.60)

 European Markets Update: FTSE +0.5%, CAC +0.5%, DAX +0.6%

Major European indices trade higher across the board, looking for a strong finish to a generally positive week. Yesterday afternoon, Donald Tusk was elected for a second term as European council president. Mr. Tusk held his spot for another two years, even though the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) in his native Poland opposed his re-election. The opposition was due to the fact Mr. Tusk is the former leader of the Civic Platform (PO) party and is viewed as a German puppet by the Polish government. Elsewhere, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said France would face a period of grave uncertainty and end up poorer if it chooses to exit the euro. Recall that presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has threatened to re-introduce a national currency in the event of her victory.

• In economic data:
  • Germany's January trade surplus EUR18.50 billion (expected surplus of EUR18.00 billion; last surplus EUR18.30 billion). January Exports +2.7% month-over-month (expected 1.9%; last -2.8%) and January Imports +3.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.5%; last 0.1%)
  • UK's January Industrial Production -0.4% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.9%); +3.2% year-over-year (consensus 3.3%; last 4.3%). January Manufacturing Production -0.9% month-over-month (expected -0.6%; last 2.2%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 3.0%; last 4.2%). January Construction Output -0.4% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; last 1.8%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 0.2%; last 2.6%). January trade deficit GBP10.83 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.05 billion; last deficit of GBP10.91 billion)
  • France's January Industrial Production -0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last -1.1%)
  • Italy's Quarterly Unemployment Rate 11.9% (expected 11.6%; last 11.6%)
  • Spain's January Retail Sales +0.1% year-over-year (consensus 2.5%; last 2.1%)

---Equity Markets---

• UK's FTSE trades up 0.5% with energy names and select consumer stocks showing relative strength after yesterday's underperformance. Royal Dutch Shell and BP are both up near 1.6% while Paddy Power, Morrison Supermarkets, Carnival, Tesco, Sainsbury, and Burberry display gains between 0.7% and 2.2%.
• France's CAC is higher by 0.5% amid gains in more than half of its components. Financials Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole lead with gains between 1.4% and 2.5% while growth-sensitive names like Schneider Electric, Total, Michelin, and Renault are up between 0.7% and 1.6%.
• Germany's DAX has climbed 0.6%. Commerzbank has spiked 4.0% while Deutsche Bank trades up 2.9%. Exporters also outperform with Volkswagen, BMW, and Daimler rising between 0.7% and 1.2%.
• Italy's MIB outperforms, jumping 0.9%. Financials like Banco Bpm, UniCredit, Banca Pop Emilia Romagna, UBI Banca, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Mediobanca are up between 2.0% and 4.5%.

 

Public Service target lowered to $47 at RBC Capital Mkts  (43.89)RBC Capital Mkts lowers their PEG tgt to $47 from $48, reiterates Sector Perform. PSEG continues to enjoy a robust regulated growth platform, but ongoing challenges at Power remain a dampening factor in the company's outlook. While potential nuclear support in New Jersey could provide a much-needed boost, they see limited upside near-term.

 

Travelport Worldwide: HG Vora Capital Management discloses 6% passive stake  (11.88)

 GrubHub: Caledonia (Private) Investments discloses 10.81% passive stake  (33.56)

 

Signet Jewelers target lowered to $78 at RBC Capital Mkts  (70.02)RBC Capital Mkts lowers their SIG tgt to $78 from $92, reiterates Outperform. Q4 results & FY18 outlook suggest that SIG is more impacted by volatility in jewelry industry, mall traffic declines & sales shift to online than they had anticipated. Acknowledging that sales in near term will be choppier (likely Q1 comp worst since the recession), they believe with appropriately conservative guidance & potential credit portfolio sale, SIG stock could be well set up.

 

L.B. Foster: Legion Partners increases active stake to 13.2% (Prior 11.91%)  (13.85)

 

VeriFone target raised to $23 at RBC Capital Mkts  (20.35)RBC Capital Mkts raises their PAY tgt to $23 from $20, reiterates Sector Perform. Overall, they believe VeriFone's results were slightly better than expected. Management reiterated FY17 guidance, while FQ2/17 EPS guidance implies H2/17 ramp driven by new product launches and operating leverage in their estimation.

 Overnight Treasury Summary

Treasuries Tread Water Ahead of Jobs Report

• U.S. Treasuries are trading slightly higher this morning ahead of the release of the U.S. employment report for February (08:30 ET). This release has been billed as the last possible obstacle to a Fed rate hike next Wednesday but it would take a miserable report indeed for the Fed to not hike after its jawboning campaign in the first week on March. The Briefing.com consensus for nonfarm payroll growth is 188K but many forecasters have pushed their estimates above 200K after the ADP Employment Change came out at 298K on Wednesday (Briefing.com consensus 180K). International economic data out overnight showed more weakness in the eurozone and the U.K. in January. The PMI data from both economies have been very strong but Spanish annual retail sales growth fell to a multi-year low and French industrial production dipped for a second-straight month. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.44% to 2,374.2 and the U.S. Dollar Index is 0.02% higher at 101.87. WTI crude is 0.63% higher at $49.59/bbl. and gold is down 0.50% to $1,197.2/troy oz., a five-week low
• Yield Check:
  • 2-yr: unch at 1.38%
  • 5-yr: -1 bp to 2.13%
  • 10-yr: unch at 2.60%
  • 30-yr: unch at 3.19%

• International News:
  • In Japan, BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions unexpectedly fell to 1.1 for Q1 from 7.5 in Q4
  • Australian home loans grew by 0.5% m/m in January, beating estimates after a 0.2% rise in December
  • In New Zealand, Electronic Card Retail Sales fell by 0.6% m/m in February (+2.6% y/y), missing estimates after a 2.7% jump in January
  • In India, industrial production grew 2.3% m/m in January (+2.7% y/y), reversing December's 2.0% decline
  • Germany's trade surplus unexpectedly widened in January to EUR18.5 bln from EUR18.3 bln in December
    • Exports grew by 2.7% m/m (-2.8% prior) while imports rose by 3.0% m/m (+0.1% prior)
  • French industrial production fell by 0.3% m/m in January, missing forecasts after a 1.1% slide in December
  • In Spain, retail sales edged higher by 0.1% y/y in January, slowing sharply from 2.1% growth in December
  • Italy's quarterly unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 11.9% from 11.6%
  • In the U.K., manufacturing production declined by 0.9% m/m in January (+2.7% y/y), missing estimates after a 2.2% bounce in December
    • Industrial production, which adds in mining and utility output, fell 0.4% m/m in January (+3.2% y/y), matching expectations and reversing December's 0.9% gain
  • The U.K.'s trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to GBP10.83 bln in January from GBP10.91 bln in December
    • The non-EU trade deficit narrowed more than expected to GBP2.45 bln from GBP2.53 bln
  • Brazil's consumer rice index rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.33% m/m in February (4.76% y/y), slowing from January's 0.38% increase

• Data out Today:
  
  • February Employment Situation Report (08:30 ET)

 Dollar General downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research  (73.63)

 

Zumiez target lowered to $16 at Wedbush; Sluggish sales hold back 1Q17 EPS guidance; FY outlook clouded by strengthening comparisons and SG&A spend  (21.00)Wedbush lowers their ZUMZ tgt to $16 from $21 as they continue to believe EBIT margin recovery at ZUMZ hinges on comp trends accelerating toward the mid-single-digits, driven by (1) incremental SG&A investments and (2) relatively minimal merchandise margin recovery opportunity (as ZUMZ did not take aggressive markdowns LY — apart from 1Q — despite tough comp trends). February sales and 1Q guidance indicate ZUMZ is facing the same challenges peer retailers have noted, with comps guided to only +0-2% despite lapping its easiest comparison since 2009. As comparisons strengthen for the balance of the year, firm finds it unlikely comps would accelerate to the degree necessary for a meaningful EBIT margin expansion story to emerge at ZUMZ in 2017; Neutral.

 

Columbia Sportswear among stocks with favorable commentary on Thursday's Mad Money  (55.16) Stocks with favorable mention: ALK, ANET, COLM, CWH, MRVL, NFLX, REGN, TECD, URI, WYN Stocks with unfavorable mention: M, NLY, SWIR

 QAD target raised to $33 at Stifel; Buy  (28.70)Stifel raises their QADA tgt to $33 from $30 after co posted a nice close to FY17, with in-line F4Q17 total revenue, continued cloud momentum, improving cloud gross margins (up 493bps Q/Q), and solid metrics. Just as important, QAD issued above consensus FY18E revguidance and in-line cloud expectations, implying another year of 30%+ cloud growth. Mgmt also appeared upbeat around the overall demand envm't, given improvements in Europe and improving sentiment across manufacturing verticals more broadly. Overall, these results signal that QAD's shift to the cloud continues to progress, not just in terms of on-premise conversions but also in terms of attracting net new customers. Firm highlights the shift to the cloud will continue weighing on the overall model. Despite the impact to the financials, they continue to support this LT strategy given that it should help improve QAD's future growth rate, meaningfully expand co's total addressable market, and enhance customer lifetime value.

 

Energy Sector upgraded to Overweight at Evercore ISI  (70.11)

 

Himax Tech upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley  (7.59)

 

People's United Financial upgraded to Hold from Sell at Sandler O'Neill  (18.92)

 

Air Transport Services Group upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at a boutique firm  (16.44)

 S&P futures vs fair value: +11.80. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.30.

The energy sector's rebound yesterday afternoon has fostered some bullish excitement this morning as equity futures point to a solidly higher open for Friday's session. The S&P 500 futures trade 12 points (0.5%) above fair value. 

The much anticipated Employment Situation Report for February will be released shortly at 8:30 am ET. Investors will be particularly focused on nonfarm payrolls (Briefing.com consensus 188,000) and average hourly earnings (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%) as a poor reading in these categories is about the only thing that could deter the Fed from tightening policy at next week's FOMC meeting.

U.S. Treasuries trade flat ahead of the latest Jobs Report reading. The benchmark 10-yr yield is unchanged at 2.61%. 

After plunging 5.3% on Wednesday and then 2.1% on Thursday in reaction to a bearish EIA inventory report, crude oil has rebounded this morning to trade 0.7% higher at $49.61/bbl. The uptick leaves the energy component just a step above its lowest level since OPEC announced its supply cut agreement back on November 30.

In addition to the Jobs Report for February, investors will also receive the February Treasury Budget at 14:00 ET.

In U.S. corporate news:

• Ulta Beauty (ULTA 262.00, -11.77): -4.3% after slightly disappointing revenue guidance overshadowed better than expected top and bottom lines.
• Zumiez (ZUMZ 18.05, -2.95): -14.1% after below-consensus guidance outweighed better than expected earnings.
• Finisar (FNSR 29.70, -5.20): -14.9% after missing earnings and revenue estimates in addition to providing downbeat guidance.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei showing relative strength as the yen retreated 0.4% against the dollar to 115.40. Japan's Nikkei +1.5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.3%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.1%, India's Sensex +0.1%.
  • In economic data:
    • Japan's Q1 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions 1.1 (expected 8.4; last 7.5)
    • Australia's January Home Loans +0.5% month-over-month (expected -1.0%; last 0.2%) and January Invest Housing Finance +4.2% month-over-month (last -1.0%)
    • New Zealand's February Electronic Card Retail Sales -0.6% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; last 2.7%); +2.6% year-over-year (last 5.6%)
    • Singapore's January Retail Sales -1.5% month-over-month (last -0.8%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus -0.5%; last 0.7%)
  • In news:
    • South Korea's Constitutional Court has upheld President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, which should lead to elections within 60 days.
    • The People's Bank of China defended the use of foreign currency reserves in order to prop up the yuan.

• Major European indices trade higher across the board, looking for a strong finish to a generally positive week. UK's FTSE +0.5%, France's CAC +0.5%, Germany's DAX +0.6%, Italy's MIB +0.9%.
  • In economic data:
    • Germany's January trade surplus EUR18.50 billion (expected surplus of EUR18.00 billion; last surplus EUR18.30 billion). January Exports +2.7% month-over-month (expected 1.9%; last -2.8%) and January Imports +3.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.5%; last 0.1%)
    • UK's January Industrial Production -0.4% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.9%); +3.2% year-over-year (consensus 3.3%; last 4.3%). January Manufacturing Production -0.9% month-over-month (expected -0.6%; last 2.2%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 3.0%; last 4.2%). January Construction Output -0.4% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; last 1.8%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 0.2%; last 2.6%). January trade deficit GBP10.83 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.05 billion; last deficit of GBP10.91 billion)
    • France's January Industrial Production -0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last -1.1%)
    • Italy's Quarterly Unemployment Rate 11.9% (expected 11.6%; last 11.6%)
    • Spain's January Retail Sales +0.1% year-over-year (consensus 2.5%; last 2.1%)
  • In news:
    • Yesterday afternoon, Donald Tusk was elected for a second term as European council president. Mr. Tusk held his spot for another two years, even though the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) in his native Poland opposed his re-election. The opposition was due to the fact Mr. Tusk is the former leader of the Civic Platform (PO) party and is viewed as a German puppet by the Polish government.
    • IMF chief Christine Lagarde said France would face a period of grave uncertainty and end up poorer if it chooses to exit the euro. Recall that presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has threatened to re-introduce a national currency in the event of her victory.

 

Cliffs Natural Resources announces increase in maximum payment amount with respect to tender offers for certain of its unsecured notes; increases the maximum payment amount from up to $250.0 mln in aggregate purchase price to up to $500.0 mln   (8.95)

 

LHC Group Correction: Stock was upgraded, not downgraded today, to Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts; tgt raised to $58  (48.43)RBC Capital Mkts upgrades LHCG to Outperform from Sector Perform and raises their tgt to $58 from $44 after solid 4Q16 results and in light of the attractive internal and external growth prospects and what they view as a low-risk setup for the year.

 

Gapping up Gapping up In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: INTT +30.6%, (very thinly traded), COGT +16.4%, ESES +12.7%, CVGI +6.7%, CDXS +5.4%, (light volume) ZGNX +5.2%, ABTL +5.2%, VCEL +5.2%, MYRG +5.1%, PVG +4.3% TEAR +4%, (also confirms plans to explore strategic alternatives), WLDN +4%, GST +3.5% MTN +1.7%, OCUL +1.6%, ZFGN +1.3%, ACTG +0.9% M&A news: BT +3.6% (BT Group plc and OFCOM reach agreement on future governance of Openreach; to be a legally separate company within BT with its own Board) BP +2.1% (The UK's Evening Standard reports on market rumors that Exxon Mobil (XOM) has reached out to large BP shareholders regarding a potential acquisition) Select financial related names showing strength: DB +2.7%, ING +2.5%, SAN +1.6%, CS +1.6%, BAC +1.1%, C +0.9%, LYG +0.9% Other news: SPWR +7.2% (puts 100MW Chilean solar plant up for sale, according to Reuters) CRIS +5.5% (continued strength) PRKR +3.3% (completes sale of approx. 4.1 mln of its common stock at $2.46/shareg) SKLN +2.8% (light volume, schedules call to provide business update and discuss recent/upcoming milestones for March 15 at 4:30pm ET) CLF +2.2% (announces increase in maximum payment amount with respect to tender offers for certain of its unsecured notes) VRX +1.6% (prices notes offering) BCRX +1.3% (prices offering of 5,294,118 shares of its common stock at $8.50 per share) ACOR +1% (announces the PTAB has upheld four Ampyra patents) Analyst comments: SRRA +8.4% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at SunTrust) INAP +5.3% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel) TTPH +3.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital) VIP +3% (initiated with a Buy at ING Group) ASML +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS) HIMX +2.1% (upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley) ABBV +1% (added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman) YUM +0.8% (upgraded to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI)

 

FedEx upgraded to Buy from Hold at Edward Jones  (191.31)

 European Summary

Bund Yields Push Higher

• European sovereign debt yields are trading higher today with German bunds leading the way ahead of the U.S. jobs report for February. The Thursday meeting of the European Central Bank's Governing Council did not produce any hawkish headlines but traders have seized on ECB President Draghi's remark that there is no sense of urgency for the ECB to ease policy further. The 10-year German bund yield is now 10 basis points higher than it was before the ECB announcement and up 24 basis points for the month of March. With U.S. Treasury yields testing their cycle highs of mid-December, the path of least resistance for European debt yields is higher as well. Investors have brushed off this week's sharp drop in oil prices and perhaps that is reasonable. European economic data showed a series of disappointing hard economic data for January although economic sentiment in both the eurozone and the U.K. remains very strong
• Reuters reported today that France's Alain Juppe has backed Francois Fillon to be the Republican candidate in the presidential election
• New Issuance:
  • Italy sold EUR6.5 bln of 12-month BOTs at an average yield of -0.226% with a bid-to-cover of 1.58
• European Economic Data:
  • Germany's trade surplus unexpectedly widened in January to EUR18.5 bln from EUR18.3 bln in December
    
    • Exports grew by 2.7% m/m (-2.8% prior) while imports rose by 3.0% m/m (+0.1% prior)
  • French industrial production fell by 0.3% m/m in January, missing forecasts after a 1.1% slide in December
  • In Spain, retail sales edged higher by 0.1% y/y in January, slowing sharply from 2.1% growth in December
  • Italy's quarterly unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 11.9% from 11.6%
  • In the U.K., manufacturing production declined by 0.9% m/m in January (+2.7% y/y), missing estimates after a 2.2% bounce in December
    
    • Industrial production, which adds in mining and utility output, fell 0.4% m/m in January (+3.2% y/y), matching expectations and reversing December's 0.9% gain
  • The U.K.'s trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed to GBP10.83 bln in January from GBP10.91 bln in December
    
    • The non-EU trade deficit narrowed more than expected to GBP2.45 bln from GBP2.53 bln    
• Yield Check:
  • France, 10-yr OAT: unch at 1.09%
  • Germany, 10-yr bund: +3 bps to 0.46%
  • Greece, 10-yr note: -1 bp to 7.10%
  • Italy, 10-yr BTP: unch at 2.31%
  • Portugal, 10-yr PGB: unch at 3.99% 
  • Spain, 10-yr ODE: +1 bp to 1.82%
  • U.K., 10-yr gilt: +1 bp to 1.16%

 Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

• SMSI -23.6%, (very thinly traded), FNSR -16.3%, ZUMZ -16.2%, XTNT -14.8%, SGRY -14.1%
• RGSE -11.8%, CARA -9.7%, BVX -7.9%, (very thinly traded), MED -7.8%, FRPT -6.1%, EYES -5.2%
• ULTA -4.5%, LOCO -4.4%, ROKA -2.5%, WMK -2.5%, TGTX -2%, FNHC -1.7%, AQXP -1%
• TSM -0.9%, (reported Feb revs), ATHX -0.8%, TRIL -0.8%, PAY -0.5%

Select FNSR peers/related names showing weakness:

• FN -4%, LITE -3.5%, AXTA -2.7%, OCLR -2.5%, AAOI -2.2%, ACIA -1.7%, IIVI -0.7%, ADTN -0.5%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:

• SBGL -3.6%, MTL -3.4%, GFI -3.4%, AU -1.4%, SAND -1.3%, GOLD -1.3%, ABX -0.5%, GG -0.5%

Other news:

• MEET -8.1% (commences common stock offering)
• ALR -5.2% (attributed to unfavorable court hearing)
• ARE -4.8% (commences an underwritten public offering of 6,100,000 shares of common stock; updates guidance in connection with the just announced public offering)
• LUV -2.9% (reported Feb traffic)
• NVGN -2.6% (Chief Scientific Officer Dr. David Brown will leave the co to pursue new opportunities)

Analyst comments:

• IONS -5.2% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman)
• LOXO -1.1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup)
• DG -0.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research)

 Gapping up/down: MYRG +5% and MTN+2% after earnings, ASML and HIMX +2% after upgrades; FNSR -16%, ZUMZ -16%, ULTA -5% and LOCO -4% after earnings

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

• INTT +30.6%, (very thinly traded), COGT +16.4%, ESES +12.7%, CVGI +6.7%, CDXS +5.4%, (light volume)
• ZGNX +5.2%, ABTL +5.2%, VCEL +5.2%, MYRG +5.1%, PVG +4.3%
• TEAR +4%, (also confirms plans to explore strategic alternatives), WLDN +4%, GST +3.5%
• MTN +1.7%, OCUL +1.6%, ZFGN +1.3%, ACTG +0.9%

M&A news:

• BT +3.6% (BT Group plc and OFCOM reach agreement on future governance of Openreach; to be a legally separate company within BT with its own Board)
• BP +2.1% (The UK's Evening Standard reports on market rumors that Exxon Mobil (XOM) has reached out to large BP shareholders regarding a potential acquisition)

Select financial related names showing strength:

• DB +2.7%, ING +2.5%, SAN +1.6%, CS +1.6%, BAC +1.1%, C +0.9%, LYG +0.9%

Other news:

• SPWR +7.2% (puts 100MW Chilean solar plant up for sale, according to Reuters)
• CRIS +5.5% (continued strength)
• PRKR +3.3% (completes sale of approx. 4.1 mln of its common stock at $2.46/shareg)
• SKLN +2.8% (light volume, schedules call to provide business update and discuss recent/upcoming milestones for March 15 at 4:30pm ET)
• CLF +2.2% (announces increase in maximum payment amount with respect to tender offers for certain of its unsecured notes)
• VRX +1.6% (prices notes offering)
• BCRX +1.3% (prices offering of 5,294,118 shares of its common stock at $8.50 per share)
• ACOR +1% (announces the PTAB has upheld four Ampyra patents)

Analyst comments:

• SRRA +8.4% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at SunTrust)
• INAP +5.3% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel)
• TTPH +3.6% (upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital)
• VIP +3% (initiated with a Buy at ING Group)
• ASML +2.1% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS)
• HIMX +2.1% (upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley)
• ABBV +1% (added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman)
• YUM +0.8% (upgraded to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI)

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

• SMSI -23.6%, (very thinly traded), FNSR -16.3%, ZUMZ -16.2%, XTNT -14.8%, SGRY -14.1%
• RGSE -11.8%, CARA -9.7%, BVX -7.9%, (very thinly traded), MED -7.8%, FRPT -6.1%, EYES -5.2%
• ULTA -4.5%, LOCO -4.4%, ROKA -2.5%, WMK -2.5%, TGTX -2%, FNHC -1.7%, AQXP -1%
• TSM -0.9%, (reported Feb revs), ATHX -0.8%, TRIL -0.8%, PAY -0.5%

Select FNSR peers/related names showing weakness:

• FN -4%, LITE -3.5%, AXTA -2.7%, OCLR -2.5%, AAOI -2.2%, ACIA -1.7%, IIVI -0.7%, ADTN -0.5%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:

• SBGL -3.6%, MTL -3.4%, GFI -3.4%, AU -1.4%, SAND -1.3%, GOLD -1.3%, ABX -0.5%, GG -0.5%

Other news:

• MEET -8.1% (commences common stock offering)
• ALR -5.2% (attributed to unfavorable court hearing)
• ARE -4.8% (commences an underwritten public offering of 6,100,000 shares of common stock; updates guidance in connection with the just announced public offering)
• LUV -2.9% (reported Feb traffic)
• NVGN -2.6% (Chief Scientific Officer Dr. David Brown will leave the co to pursue new opportunities)

Analyst comments:

• IONS -5.2% (downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman)
• LOXO -1.1% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup)
• DG -0.5% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research)

 

Zumiez: Color on Quarter Wedbush remains at Neutral; reduces tgt to $16 from $21. The firm continues to believe EBIT margin recovery at ZUMZ hinges on comp trends accelerating toward the mid single-digits, driven by (1) incremental SG&A investments and (2) relatively minimal merchandise margin recovery opportunity (as ZUMZ did not take aggressive markdowns LY — apart from 1Q — despite tough comp trends). The firm finds it unlikely, as comparisons strengthen for the balance of the year, comps would accelerate to the degree necessary for a meaningful EBIT margin expansion story to emerge at ZUMZ in 2017. ZUMZ shares are currently down ~13% around the 18.35 level in pre-market trading.

 

Ulta Beauty: Color on Quarter  (273.77) TAG ntoes that against a growing addressable market, ULTA continues to add new brands, enhance and optimize its marketing strategies, grow its already large loyalty program, and expand its store base, helping drive traffic, ticket, and double-digit comp growth. They believe ULTA can maintain its secular growth trends, as it is benefiting from growing share in a growing category. They continue to recommend ULTA, as they believe 20%-plus earnings growth potential remains over the next several years as the company opens stores in new markets, derives leverage from its infrastructure investments, and benefits from a secular shift towards prestige beauty products Wolfe Research notes gross margin missed consensus and contracted by 10bps YoY. Gross margin came in at 34.5%, 50 bps below the Street largely due to a higher mix of e-commerce sales. E-commerce sales grew 63.4% YoY to $154.9 million vs. previously outlined guidance of +40% YoY resulting in higher DTC related expenses at the margin. 1Q17 EPS guidance is expected to be in a range of $1.75 to $1.80 (Cons. of $1.81) and FY17 EPS guidance is expected to be up in the low-twenties. Per usual, they believe mgmt's guidance is conservative. ULTA shares trade off ~5% on gross margin miss and light guidance. Buckingham Research: ULTA story remains intact as strength continues in FY17; reiterate Buy. ULTA -3.2% premarket.

 

On The Wires InterCloud Systems, Inc. (ICLD) announced that it was recently awarded approximately $2.4 million in new contracts for professional services for new and existing customers. A majority of the work is expected to begin immediately. PPG Industries (PPG) will implement customer-specific price increases and surcharges in Asia to offset a significant rise in raw material costs. The price changes will impact a select group of automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer) coatings and industrial coatings products, effective April 1 or as contracts permit.

 Jobs Report Beats Estimates… S&P futures vs fair value: +14.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.60.

The S&P 500 futures trade 14 points (0.6%) above fair value.

Just in, February nonfarm payrolls came in at 235,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 188,000. The prior month's reading was revised to 238,000 from 227,000. Nonfarm private payrolls added 227,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 185,000. The unemployment rate decreased to 4.7% (Briefing.com consensus 4.7%).

Average hourly earnings increased 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%), while the previous month's reading was revised to 0.2% (from +0.1%). The average workweek was reported at 34.4 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 34.4. The previous month's reading was left unrevised at 34.4.

 Cara Therapeutics target raised to $20 at Laidlaw; Buy  (17.49)Laidlaw raises their CARA tgt to $20 from $17 after reporting Q4 last night after the close and the old bard Mark Twain's words were never truer than with CARA and the anticipation for data in March (IV for pruritus data) and 2Q17. CARA has one of the most interesting 1H17s coming up of any name in their coverage space, with multiple data read outs that target huge markets (pain) and huge & currently unserved by approved drugs (pruritus). Outside of R&D coming in significantly higher than firm's expectations no real news on the quarter; the story remains the upcoming data read outs and the subsequent FDA meetings to determine the appropriate path forward. Given the early data in pain & pruritus CARA has already demonstrated over the past, firm continues to believe the ongoing trials have a high probability of also posting positive data positioning CARA for significant advancement through 2017.

 Dollar index drops, but oil, copper, gold and silver futures all largely showed a muted reaction initially following jobs data… now ticking a little higher though (Gold gained about $2.50/oz post jobs numbers)

Ahead of the report, copper was already higher, while precious metals were in the red.

In current trade...

• Dollar index -0.2% at 101.68
• April crude oil +0.7% at $49.61/barrel
• Apr gold -0.2% at $1200.40/oz
• May silver -0.2% at $17.00/oz
• May copper +1% at $2.61/lb

 

PennantPark Floating Rate Capital initiated with a Buy at SunTrust  (13.42)

 Filings, Offerings and Pricings

Filings:

• Blueprint Medicines (BPMC) files mixed securities shelf offering
• CytomX Therapeutics (CTMX) files for approx 10.9 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders
• EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK) files mixed securities shelf offering
• Helios & Matheson (HMNY) files for approx 3.33 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders issuable upon conversion of principal and interest under the Senior Secured Convertible Notes
• SciClone Pharma (SCLN) files for $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering
• Shiloh Industries (SHLO) files for $175 mln mixed securities shelf offering
• Western Gas Partners (WES) files for offering of 21,922,831 common units issued or issuable upon conversion of Series A Preferred units issued to selling unitholders

Offerings:

• DISH Network (DISH) plans to issue and sell $1 bln aggregate principal amount of convertible notes
• MeetMe (MEET) commences common stock offering; size not disclosed
• Western Asset Mortgage (WMC) discloses that on March 6, it entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement under which it may offer and sell up to $100 mln aggregate offering price of shares of its common stock

Pricings:

• Alexandria RE (ARE 113.70) prices offering of 6.1 mln shares of common stock at 108.55
• BioCryst Pharma (BCRX 8.74) prices offering of 5,294,118 shares of its common stock at $8.50 per share
• Ooma (OOMA 9.00) prices secondary offering of 2,861,290 shares of common stock by certain of its stockholders at $8.85 per share
• Intec Pharma (NTEC 4.75) enters into agreements with several investors for the private placement of 2,289,638 ordinary shares of at $4.40/share
• Sinclair Broadcast (SBGI 42.90) prices 12 mln share Class A common stock offering at $42/share

 

Top Image Systems target lowered to $1.50 at The Benchmark Company; Hold  (1.30)The Benchmark Company lowers their TISA tgt to $1.50 from $2 noting the Q4 print was accompanied by sequentially down recurring rev and news that 2017 cash flow is likely to be breakeven at best. Mgmt reiterated its strategy of returning the company to steady profitable growth through an accelerated focus on the cloud and an increased focus on accounts payable automation solutions. Even though the stock trades at a fire sale valuation, firm is retaining Hold rating for now because it's our experience that meaningful small cap software rebuilds often take more than one or two quarters, and they rarely happen as smoothly or as quickly as planned.

 S&P futures vs fair value: +17.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +17.90.

The S&P 500 futures trade 17 points (0.7%) above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note with Japan's Nikkei (+1.5%) showing relative strength. Elsewhere, South Korea's Constitutional Court has upheld President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, which should lead to elections within 60 days. Elsewhere, the People's Bank of China defended the use of foreign currency reserves in order to prop up the yuan.

• In economic data:
  • Japan's Q1 BSI Large Manufacturing Conditions 1.1 (expected 8.4; last 7.5)
  • Australia's January Home Loans +0.5% month-over-month (expected -1.0%; last 0.2%) and January Invest Housing Finance +4.2% month-over-month (last -1.0%)
  • New Zealand's February Electronic Card Retail Sales -0.6% month-over-month (expected -0.4%; last 2.7%); +2.6% year-over-year (last 5.6%)
  • Singapore's January Retail Sales -1.5% month-over-month (last -0.8%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus -0.5%; last 0.7%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei gained 1.5%, ending the week higher by 0.7%. T&D Holdings led the way with a 5.0% spike while Alps Electric, Sony, Nomura Holdings, Mazda Motor, Konami, and NGK Insulators advanced between 2.9% and 3.9%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.3%, narrowing its weekly loss to 0.1%. Property names outperformed with Wharf Holdings surging 8.9% after hinting at a possible spin-off of its flagship properties. Peers Henderson Land, Hang Lung Properties, Sino Land, Cheung Kong Property Holdings, and China Overseas gained between 0.2% and 1.7%.
• China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to end the week lower by 0.7%. Guizhou Guihang Automotive Components, Shanghai Diesel Engine, Zhonglu, Phenix Optical, and COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers posted losses between 2.5% and 3.2%.
• India's Sensex added 0.1%, gaining 0.2% for the week. Bharti Airtel jumped 1.2% while Infosys and Wipro gained 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Financials were mixed with HDFC Bank adding 0.4% while AXIS Bank, SBI, and ICICI Bank lost between 0.1% and 1.0%.

Major European indices trade higher across the board, looking for a strong finish to a generally positive week. Yesterday afternoon, Donald Tusk was elected for a second term as European council president. Mr. Tusk held his spot for another two years, even though the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) in his native Poland opposed his re-election. The opposition was due to the fact Mr. Tusk is the former leader of the Civic Platform (PO) party and is viewed as a German puppet by the Polish government. Elsewhere, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said France would face a period of grave uncertainty and end up poorer if it chooses to exit the euro. Recall that presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has threatened to re-introduce a national currency in the event of her victory.

• In economic data:
  • Germany's January trade surplus EUR18.50 billion (expected surplus of EUR18.00 billion; last surplus EUR18.30 billion). January Exports +2.7% month-over-month (expected 1.9%; last -2.8%) and January Imports +3.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.5%; last 0.1%)
  • UK's January Industrial Production -0.4% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.9%); +3.2% year-over-year (consensus 3.3%; last 4.3%). January Manufacturing Production -0.9% month-over-month (expected -0.6%; last 2.2%); +2.7% year-over-year (consensus 3.0%; last 4.2%). January Construction Output -0.4% month-over-month (expected -0.2%; last 1.8%); +2.0% year-over-year (consensus 0.2%; last 2.6%). January trade deficit GBP10.83 billion (expected deficit of GBP11.05 billion; last deficit of GBP10.91 billion)
  • France's January Industrial Production -0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.5%; last -1.1%)
  • Italy's Quarterly Unemployment Rate 11.9% (expected 11.6%; last 11.6%)
  • Spain's January Retail Sales +0.1% year-over-year (consensus 2.5%; last 2.1%)

---Equity Markets---

• UK's FTSE trades up 0.7% with energy names and select consumer stocks showing relative strength after yesterday's underperformance. Royal Dutch Shell and BP have added 2.2% and 3.7%, respectively, while Paddy Power, Morrison Supermarkets, Carnival, Tesco, Sainsbury, and Burberry display gains between 0.6% and 2.2%.
• France's CAC is higher by 0.8% amid gains in more than half of its components. Financials Societe Generale, BNP Paribas, and Credit Agricole lead with gains between 1.4% and 3.0% while growth-sensitive names like Schneider Electric, Total, Michelin, and Renault are up between 0.7% and 2.0%.
• Germany's DAX has climbed 0.6%. Commerzbank has spiked 4.1% while Deutsche Bank trades up 2.9%. Exporters also outperform with Volkswagen, BMW, and Daimler rising between 0.6% and 1.1%.
• Italy's MIB outperforms, jumping 1.1%. Financials like Banco Bpm, UniCredit, Banca Pop Emilia Romagna, UBI Banca, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Mediobanca are up between 2.3% and 4.8%.

 

Overseas Research Calls Upgrades:  Tullow Oil plc (TUWLF) upgraded to Add from Hold at Numis Wm Morrison Supermarkets (MRWSY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Beaufort Securities Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZOY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup Downgrades:  Ultra Electronics (UEHPY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg Hikma (HKMPF) downgraded to Add from Buy at Numis Fresnillo (FNLPF) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Randgold Resources (GOLD) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Gold Fields (GFI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Miscellaneous:  ASOS (ASOMF) initiated with an Overweight at Barclays Severn Trent (SVTRF) resumed with an Equal Weight at Barclays Inmarsat (IMASY) initiated with a Hold at Beaufort Securities

 S&P futures vs fair value: +14.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.10.

Equity futures indicate a solidly higher open for the stock market on Friday as investors look to build off the positive momentum generated by yesterday's afternoon rally in energy stocks. The S&P 500 futures trade 14 points, or 0.6%, above fair value.

The Employment Situation Report for February, which was released earlier this morning, effectively guaranteed a rate hike in March after beating consensus estimates. Most notably, the report showed that February nonfarm payrolls increased by 235,000 (Briefing.com consensus 188,000) and average hourly earnings rose 0.2% (Briefing.com consensus +0.2%).

U.S. Treasuries have seen an uptick in buying interest following the latest jobs report with the benchmark 10-yr yield trading two basis points lower at 2.59%. Meanwhile, the U.S. Dollar Index (101.51, -0.47) has extended its modest loss to 0.5% in the wake of the report.

Crude oil has rebounded this morning after suffering heavy losses in the past two sessions following a bearish EIA inventory report on Wednesday. WTI crude currently trades 0.7% higher at $49.67/bbl.

Corporate news has been relatively light this morning with only a handful of notable companies reporting their quarterly results. Of these names, Buckle (BKE 17.05, -0.25) is worth noting considering retailers have suffered this week in reaction to disappointing results. The company has continued that trend, dropping 1.5% in pre-market action, after missing both top and bottom line estimates.

Also of note, investors will receive the February Treasury Budget this afternoon at 14:00 ET.

 

National Holdings: RMB Capital management increases passive stake to 10.1% (to approximately 1.26 mln shares vs. approximately 884k shares held at the end of Q4)  (3.08)

 On The Wires

• ORBCOMM (ORBC) announced the award of a multi-year contract with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority through ORBCOMM's partner Kordia Pty Ltd. ORBCOMM and Kordia, a leading provider of mission-critical networks in New Zealand, will provide satellite Automatic Identification System data used for ship tracking and other maritime navigational and safety efforts to AMSA for designated regions and specific maritime projects.
• Ciber (CBR) confirmed that Legions Partners Asset Management submitted notice of its intent to nominate 2 candidates to stand for election to the Board at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

 Economic Summary: NFP's top expectations in Trump Administration's first full month; Unemployment rate drops to 4.7%

Economic Data Summary:

• February Nonfarm Payrolls 235K vs Briefing.com consensus of 188K; January was revised to 238K from 227K
• February Nonfarm Private Payrolls 227K vs Briefing.com consensus of 185K; January was revised to 221K from 237K
• February Unemployment Rate 4.7% vs Briefing.com consensus of 4.7%; January was 4.8%
• February Average Hourly Earnings 0.2% vs Briefing.com consensus of 0.2%; January was revised to 0.2% from 0.1%
• February Average Workweek 34.4 vs Briefing.com consensus of 34.4; January was 34.4
  • Average hourly earnings increased 0.2%, leaving them up 2.8% year-over-year and solidifying the prevailing belief that the Federal Reserve will raise the target range for the fed funds rate at its March 14-15 FOMC meeting.
  • That is the key takeaway from this report, followed closely by the encouraging understanding that the labor market is strengthening, which is aiding the prospects for stronger economic growth.

Upcoming Economic Data:

• February Treasury Budget due out Friday at 14:00 (January was -$192.6 bln)

Other International Events of Interest

• Germany's January trade surplus EUR18.50 billion (expected surplus of EUR18.00 billion; last surplus EUR18.30 billion). January Exports +2.7% month-over-month (expected 1.9%; last -2.8%) and January Imports +3.0% month-over-month (consensus 0.5%; last 0.1%).

 

China Online Education: Ariose Capital Management lowers passive stake to 4.82% (Prior 9.11%)   (14.51 +0.71)

 Opening Market Summary: All Sectors Begin Friday in the Green

The S&P 500 opens Friday's session with a gain of 0.4%.

All sectors trade in the green with the lightly-weighted real estate (+0.8%) and materials (+0.6%) sectors leading the charge. The energy space (+0.2%) underperforms as crude oil retreats from its overnight high. WTI crude currently trades just above its flat line at $49.35/bbl.

Like energy, the health care group (+0.1%) has also failed to keep pace with the benchmark index in early action as the sector's largest component by weight, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 125.56, -0.39), shows a loss of 0.3%.

 

Sunshine Heart: Choi Ki Yong discloses a 6.1% active stake  (4.02 +0.17)The reporting person acquired 100k shares of the co's common stock with personal funds distributed to him by Cathedral Hill Associates. The total amount of funds used to purchase the shares was approximately $422,500. The shares were purchased in the open market between Jan 2017 and Mar 2017.

 

Early Options Activity Taking an early look at the options market, we found the following names that may be worth watching throughout the day for further indication of investor expectations given their options volume and implied volatility movement. Stocks seeing volatility buying (bullish call buying/bearish put buying): Calls: BAC Mar 25 calls are seeing interest with 16.1K contracts trading vs. open int of 156.4K, pushing implied vol up around 1 points to ~27% — ~14.3K traded in a single transaction. Co is confirmed to report earnings April 18 before the open. Puts: ABBV May 62.5 puts are seeing interest after it was added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman with 2520 contracts trading vs. open int of 8810, pushing implied vol up around 1 points to ~22% — nearly all the volume occurred in one 2.5K contract transaction. Co is scheduled to present at a Barclays conference on March 15.  Co is expected to report earnings late April. Stocks seeing volatility selling: BKE, OCUL, MTN implied vol is lower following earnings/guidance Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 0.57… VIX: (11.17, -0.53, -4.3%). March 17 is options expiration — the last day to trade March equity options. *Please use the Talk to Us link at the top of the page to provide feedback on this comment as well as the OPTNX comments.

 

DDR Director disclosed purchase of 76000 shares, worth total of $996.1K (transaction date 3/9)  (13.15 -0.01)

 Sector Summary: Technology (XLK +0.64%) trading higher today, ahead of the broader market

The tech sector — XLK — trades ahead of the broader market. Semiconductors, meanwhile, display relative strength as the SOX index trades +1.28%. Within the SOX index, ON (+2.76%) outperforms, while NXPI (+0.13%) lags the sector yet still trades above flat lines. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.35% higher, while the QQQ +0.50% and the NASDAQ +0.31% also trade slightly higher on the session. Among tech bellwethers, ORAN (+1.75%) is showing relative strength, while HPE (-0.62%) lags.

Notable gainers following earnings:

• ABTL (+7.8%) beat market expectations on Q4 EPS and revs; guided FY17 EPS in-line, revs below market expectations, QADA (+4.4%)

Notable laggards following earnings:

• FNSR (-19.6%) reported worse than expected Q3 EPS and revs; also guided Q4 EPS and revs worse than expected, PAY (-5.5%)

Gainers on news:

• PRKR (+18.0%) co completed the sale of approx. 4.1 mln of its common stock at $2.46/share for aggregate gross proceeds of $10 mln and comments on upcoming ITC hearing.
• BT (+3.7%) co and OFCOM reached an agreement on future governance of Openreach; to be a legally separate company within BT with its own Board.
• STX (+0.9%) co committed to an additional restructuring plan in connection with the continued consolidation of its global footprint across Asia, EMEA, and the Americas.

Laggards on news:

• MEET (-11.7%) co priced an underwritten public offering of 8 mln shares of its common stock at $5.00/share.
• HMNY (-2.6%) co filed for approx 3.33 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders issuable upon conversion of principal and interest under the Senior Secured Convertible Notes.
• EDGW (-0.3%) co named Jeffrey Rutherford as Chairman and interim President and CEO, replacing Shirley Singleton effective immediately.

Among notable analyst upgrades:

• INAP (+16.7%) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel
• ASML (+2.5%) to Buy from Neutral at UBS
• CNSL (+2.0%) to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James
• HIMX (+3.0%) to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley

Among notable analyst downgrades:

• PAY (-5.5%) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG Research

Scheduled to report earnings Monday morning:

• LEJU

 Morning Commodities: Crude remains on track to close a volatile session at fresh 2017 lows for the 3rd consecutive day ahead of this afternoon's rig count

• Crude oil traded lower for a 3rd consecutive session, on track to close near fresh lows of 2017 yet again ahead of today's rig count data
  
  • April crude oil futures were down about $0.30 (-0.6%) around the $48.99/barrel level
  • Baker Hughes rig count data will be released today at 1 pm ET.
    • Last Friday's data showed the total active US rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, rose by 2 to 756 rigs, following the previous week's increase of 3 rigs.
    • Of this total, US rigs drilling for oil rose by 7 to 609 rigs. This marked the 7th weekly increase in a row for US oil rigs.
• Natural gas futures traded nearly flat in morning pit trading after yesterday's notable advance post-EIA
  • April natural gas futures were up less than $0.01 (+0.2%) around the $2.98/MMBtu level
• In precious metals, gold steadied just under yesterday's 5-week low, silver traded nearly flat following the Feb non-farm payrolls report
  • April gold futures were down about $0.70 (-0.1%) around the $1202.40/oz level
  • May silver futures were down about $0.05 (-0.3%) around the $16.99/oz level
• The dollar index was -0.2% around the 101.62 level
  
  • Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, were -0.04% around the 84.54 level

 Notable movers of interest: MTN +6.6% on Q2 EPS and revenue beats

The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).

Large Cap Gainers

• BP (34.42 +2.75%): The UK's Evening Standard reports on market rumors that Exxon Mobil (XOM) has reached out to large BP shareholders regarding a potential acquisition.
• ABBV (66.15 +2.56%): Added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman.

Large Cap Losers

• ARE (108.76 -4.34%): Prices offering of 6.1 mln shares of common stock at 108.55.
• LUV (54.56 -3.19%): Lowers Q1 operating rev per ASM guidance.
• DISH (62.23 -2.02%): Plans to issue and sell $1 bln aggregate principal amount of convertible notes.

Mid Cap Gainers

• MTN (192.3 +6.57%): Reports Q2 EPS and revenue beats; increases quarterly dividend.
• FIZZ (70.59 +6.42%): Shares continue to after yesterdays Q3 EPS and revenue beats.

Mid Cap Losers

• FNSR (28.12 -19.43%): Reports Q3 EPS and revenue misses; guides Q4 EPS and revenues below consensus.
• IONS (40.89 -10.72%): Downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman.
• PAY (19.37 -4.82%): Shares fall on Q2 EPS guidance below consensus.

 Sector Summary: S&P Consumer Discretionary Index +0.2%, in-line with the broader marketThe consumer discretionary group is in-line with the broader market. The retail group is slightly outperforming with the Retail HOLDRS Trust (RTH) +0.4% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) +1%.

Notable earnings/guidance: 

• Trading higher following earnings/guidance: CTRN +14%, GCO +12.2%, BKE +8.6%, HIBB +7.6%, MTN +6.4%, KIRK +4.8%, ULTA +3.2%, SWK 0.7% (Stanley Black & Decker completes purchase of the Craftsman brand from Sears Holdings; updates guidance)
• Trading lower following earnings/guidance: ZUMZ -12.1%, SHOS -8.2%, LOCO -1.2%

Earnings/guidance secondary plays: 

• Discount/off-price retailers are higher with CTRN leading the way: SMRT +1.1%, BURL +0.8%, ROST +0.5%, SSI +2.2%

In the news:

• Leaders: 
  • BPI 4.8% (Bridgepoint Education enters into agreement with Warburg Pincus Private Equity VIII, L.P. to repurchase 18,072,289 shares of common stock in a private transaction at $8.30/share)
  • RCKY 1.2% (appoints Thomas Robertson as CFO and announces new $7.5 mln share repurchase program)
  • CL 0.9% (increases quarterly dividend to $0.40/share from $0.39/share)
  • SNAK 1.3% (schedules Q4 earnings release, expects it will not be able to timely file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2016)
  • DIN 1.3% (announces 25-year industry veteran and former Applebee's Chief Marketing Officer John Cywinski returns as President of Applebee's effective today)
  • EL 3.5% (Ulta Beauty also confirmed the addition of the Estée Lauder's MAC brand — will launch on Ulta.com and begin to roll out to stores this spring)
  • HOG 3.8% (strength being attributed to favorable sell side checks for Q1 sales)
• Laggards:
  • BBY -0.2% (Boy Genius Report suggests BBY's Geek Squad may have conspired with the FBI to execute warrantless searches)
• M&A related:  LGF.A 0.2% and VIAB -0.8% (Viacom and Lionsgate may sell stakes in Epix to MGM — Reuters sources)

Other notable trends:

• Homebuilders are notably higher across the board: TPH +3.8%, MHO +3%, LEN +3%, CHCI +2.8%, TOL +2.3%, PHM +2.1%, UCP +2%, BZH +2%, CAA +1.8%, DHI +1.8%, MTH +1.8%, TMHC +1.6%, ITB +1.5%, KBH +1.4%, HOV +1.4%, CSTE +1.4%, WLH +1.3%, XHB +1.2%, MDC +0.9%, LGIH +0.3%
• Casino/gaming names are mostly higher today: CNTY +6.7%, PENN +2.2%, IGT +1.8%, ISLE +1.4%, BYD +1.3%, BJK +1.1%, WBAI +0.8%, LVS +0.8%, WYNN +0.7%, 

Analyst related:

• Upgrades: YUM 0.8% (upgraded to Outperform from In-line at Evercore ISI)
• Downgrades: WGO -6% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital), DG flat (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Buckingham Research), GES 0.8% (higher despite being downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley), CHKE -4.6% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley)

Looking ahead:

• On the earnings front: TACO reports earnings Monday before the open, BREW Monday after the close, DSW Tuesday before the open, FOGO Tuesday after the close.

 

Hearing YY was upgraded to Buy from Hold at T.H. Capital  (46.25 +0.31)

 

SM Energy Director disclosed purchase of 1,500 shares worth about $35K (transaction date 3.8)  (22.49 -0.01)

 European Markets Closing PricesEuropean markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE: + 0.4%
• Germany's DAX: -0.1%
• France's CAC: + 0.2%
• Spain's IBEX: + 0.1%
• Portugal's PSI: -0.3%
• Italy's MIB Index: + 0.5%
• Irish Ovrl Index: + 0.2%
• Greece ASE General Index: 0.0%

 

YY upgrade details — to Buy at T.H. Capital ahead of the Q4 print; tgt $55  (46.27 +0.33)T.H. Capital upgrades YY to Buy from Hold and sets target price at $55. Firm's proprietary data suggest that YY's 4Q16 rev might reach RMB2,630.0M, implying 42.0% Y/Y growth vs. consensus at RMB2,432.3M or 28.0% Y/Y growth. Of the business lines, they predict that live streaming may reach RMB2,372.0M (within streaming, YY Live is at RMB2,150.2M), online games rev at RMB104.5M, membership rev at RMB72.3M and others rev at RMB81.1M. Their data is based on the following: 1) YY Live up Q/Q — hourly average concurrent users (ACU) increased 37.6% Q/Q and hourly average concurrent hosts (ACH) increased 24.5% Q/Q in 4Q16; 2) Average daily unique hosts increased 3.9% Q/Q, and average monthly unique hosts increased 3.0% Q/Q in 4Q16.

 Sector Summary: The Healthcare sector (+0.33%) is trading higher today, outperforming the S&P 500 (+0.15%)Gainers on news:

• CytomX Therapeutics (CTMX +11.19%) files for approx 10.9 mln share common stock offering by selling shareholders
• Prothena (PRTA +6.79%) will present results from its Phase 1b Multiple Ascending Dose Study of PRX002/RG7935 in Patients with Parkinson's Disease in an webcast on April 2, 2017 at 9:00 AM ET
• IsoRay (ISR +1.96%) announces that the previously announced Stipulation of Settlement has been approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington

Decliners on news:

• Radius Health (RDUS -10.84%) receives FDA notification of PDUFA extension for Abaloparatide-SC until June 30, 2017
• Argos Therapeutics (ARGS -10%) approves workforce action plan designed to streamline operations and reduce the Company's operating expenses
• BioCryst Pharma (BCRX -1.72%) prices offering of 5,294,118 shares of its common stock at $8.50 per share

Gainers on earnings:

• Tetraphase Pharma (TTPH +16.45%) misses by $0.01, misses on revs
• Zafgen (ZFGN +15.44%) beats by $0.12, reports no revenue
• Providence Service Corp (PRSC +11.9%) misses by $0.12, misses on revs

Decliners on earnings:

• Ocera Therapeutics (OCRX -21.22%) reports Q4 EPS of ($0.22) vs ($0.33) Capital IQ Consensus; revs 512K versus 24K last year.
• TearLab (TEAR -17.2%) beats by $0.09, misses on revs; to explore strategic alternatives
• Second Sight Medical Products (EYES -10.32%) misses by $0.07, misses on revs

Upgrades/Downgrades:

• LHC Group (LHCG +5.75%) RBC Capital Mkts Upgraded to OUTPERFORM (from Sector Perform) — Price Target: 58 (from 44)
• Sierra Oncology (SRRA +5.24%) upgraded to Buy from Hold at SunTrust
• AbbVie (ABBV +2.56%) added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman
• Ionis Pharma (IONS -11.88%) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman
• Surgery Partners (SGRY -8.23%) downgraded to Hold at Stifel; tgt raised to $19

 Today's biggest point gainers/losersBiggest point gainers: MTN 193.48(13.04), ULTA 283.23(9.46), MSG 204.34(6.56), WLDN 33.67(5.79), GCO 61.8(5.4), PII 91.01(4.14), FIZZ 70.26(3.93), PANW 118.2(3.15), ASML 124.29(3.04), AVGO 224.89(2.88), EL 85.45(2.57), LRCX 119.89(2.34), HOG 60.94(2.19), HIBB 29.6(2.18), WHR 178.55(2.15), BPMC 38.36(2.13), DPZ 186.79(2.1), INCY 139.93(1.91), AMGN 180.81(1.89), RMP 25.71(1.71), ATRA 20.45(1.7), EQIX 377.7(1.69), ROK 153.85(1.67), RCL 97.17(1.67), ABBV 66.14(1.64)

Biggest point losers: TDG 233.5(-8.13), FNSR 27.83(-7.07), IONS 40.06(-5.74), ARE 108.96(-4.74), RDUS 38.53(-4.58), SAM 148.4(-3.4), ZUMZ 18.03(-2.98), NTES 288.36(-2.92), TSRO 170.49(-2.57), FN 40.46(-2.04), PXD 185.77(-1.98), SBGI 41.02(-1.89), WGO 29.03(-1.88), AAOI 50.79(-1.87), UHS 122.08(-1.86), SGRY 19.15(-1.8), TD 50.04(-1.73), BA 178.84(-1.73), ACIA 50.91(-1.72), CECE 10.13(-1.63), ACOR 28.63(-1.53), KRC 70.61(-1.41), LUV 55.01(-1.35), PAY 19.09(-1.26), BIIB 291.89(-1.17)

 

SemGroup CEO disclosed purchase of 7,500 shares worth about $252K (transaction date today)  (33.25 -0.25)

 Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session — New highs (126) outpacing new lows (75)Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: A, ABT, ADBE, ADS, AEHR, AEIS, AF, AFG, AJRD, AKAO, ALGN, AMAT, AMGN, APFH, AQMS, ATSG, ATVI, AUPH, AVGO, AXTA, BAX, BCR, BCRX, BLD, BLKB, BMCH, BPMC, BWEN, CAVM, CBAY, CEB, CHE, CNI, CORT, CRL, CRTO, CUK, CYD, CYOU, DD, DGX, DHR, EA, EPZM, ESLT, EXFO, FATE, FB, FISV, FIZZ, FTSM, FWONK, GBT, GDOT, GLPG, GOOG, GPM, HCSG, HOLX, HRC, ICE, IDXX, INAP, INCY, ING, IT, JNJ, KBH, KEYS, KITE, KLAC, LEN, LH, LHCG, LMOS, LRCX, MAN, MASI, MDC, MMM, MO, MSG, MTD, MTN, MYRG, NEWT, NOVT, OA, OC, PCLN, PCO, PFIE, PGNX, PHM, PLAY, PLSE, POOL, QBAK, QTEC, RCL, RMP, RSG, SAN, SAP, SKM, SOXX, SPGI, SPXX, SWKS, SYMC, SYUT, TER, TGS, TGTX, TNET, TOL, TRU, TTPH, TWNK, UL, ULTA, V, VCYT, VDTH, VRNT, WLDN

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACET, ADPT, AFH, AFSI, AKR, ASNA, BFZ, BKE, BKN, BKS, BRX, BW, CDR, CERC, CHKE, DCTH, DRWI, ECOM, EPRSQ, EYES, FNCX, FRT, GBSN, GEC, GLF, IMNP, KIM, KRG, MAC, MAV, MEMP, MHI, MN, MRIN, MUI, NADL, NAO, NEV, NH, NIHD, NLST, NQP, NVIV, PEI, PMF, PPP, QUMU, RDY, REG, RELY, RPAI, RPT, RRD, SBH, SHIP, SHOS, SKT, SMSI, SOL, SPG, SPH, SRC, STOR, SVU, TAHO, TANH, TLT, TOPS, TTI, ULTRQ, VGLT, WAIR, WPG, WRI, XCOMQ

Thinly-Traded Stocks (ADV below 45k) that traded to 52 week highs on High Volume: BBC, CHMG, CWAY, CYRX, DXJS, ESGD, FEUZ, FSZ, GCH, ICBK, ISTR, MLP, NSSC, NVR, PBNC, RFDI, RFEU, SCKT, SGF, SPLP, TRCB

Thinly-Traded Stocks (ADV below 45k) that traded to 52 week lows on High Volume: AKP, BBK, BSD, DFBG, FMN, LKOR, LUB, MBSD, MNE, MYC, MYJ, NTC, NUM, REIS, SGOC, TEAR, VJET

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: EWG, EWN, EWO, EWQ, EZU, ITB, IYH, SMH, SOXX, XHB, XLK, XLV

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: MBB, TLT, USCI

 Sector Summary: Energy trades lower while the broader market rallies, crude drops to fresh 2017 lows for the 3rd consecutive session, & natural gas remains on track to extend yesterday's post-EIA gains

The Energy Sector (XLE, -0.2%) continues its slide while the broader market (SPY, +0.2%) rallies in early afternoon trading. Crude oil (USO, -1.6%) futures remain on track to close at a fresh low of 2017 for the 3rd day in a row ahead of today's rig count data. The significant drop over the past 3 days comes on the heels of Wednesday's EIA data, which showed that US crude oil inventories have swelled to fresh all-time highs for the second week in a row. Lastly, natural gas (UNG, +0.7%) futures extend yesterday's post-EIA gains & remain on track to close the week +5.7%, compared to last Friday's pit trading close level.

Factors weighing on the price of oil this week:

• The significant drop to fresh 2017 lows over the past 3 days comes on the heels of Wednesday's EIA data, which showed that US crude oil inventories have swelled to fresh all-time highs for the 2nd week in a row.
• Although we are at the tail-end of 'shoulder season', a time when refineries shut down for maintenance to begin producing a summer blend of gasoline, the persistent crude oil builds over the past several weeks have been consistently larger-than-expected, eventually leading to Wednesday's sell-off.
• Note, the initial downward move on Wed after the EIA data was further exacerbated by short-term trading conditions. Specifically, As noted in last week's Mar 2 morning commodities summary, data last week from the CFTC showed that investors held 951,312 lots worth of U.S. & Brent crude futures/options, equivalent to nearly 1 bln barrels of oil at a value of about $52 bln at the time and representing a record net long position. This was pointed out as a factor that could potentially exacerbate a move to the downside, given a negative catalyst (negative catalyst realized with the release of Wednesday's bearish EIA data).
• Also weighing on crude is the lack of clear direction from OPEC regarding whether or not they will extend the production cuts another 6 months, or potentially push for deeper cuts. At Ceraweek taking place from Mar 6-10, the OPEC Secretary General Barkindo discussed that it is still too early to talk about extending the production cut agreement. This stance was also reiterated by the Saudi minister in his presentation. Lastly, it is worth noting that today Alexander Novak expressed this very same stance, confirming that he is in agreement that at this time it is still too early to discuss production cut extensions.

Reminder: Baker Hughes (BHI, -0.4%) rig count data will be released today at 1 pm ET.

• Last Friday's data showed the total active US rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, rose by 2 to 756 rigs, following the previous week's increase of 3 rigs.
• Of this total, US rigs drilling for oil rose by 7 to 609 rigs. This marked the 7th weekly increase in a row for US oil rigs.

Notable Gainers:

• Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration: Approach Resources (AREX, +7%)
• Equipment and services: Willbros Group (WG, +7%)
• Independent oil & gas: Fieldpoint Petroleum (FPP, +6%)
• Major-integrated: Statoil (STO, +1%)
• Refining & Marketing: BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust (BPT, +9%)
• Pipelines: Star Gas Partners (SGU, +2%)

Notable Laggards:

• Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration: Seadrill (SDRL, -7%)
• Equipment and services: Gulfmark Offshore (GLF, -19%)
• Independent oil & gas: Houston American Energy (HUSA, -10%)
• Major-integrated: YPF (YPF, -0.3%)
• Refining & Marketing: Ferrellgas Partners (FGP, -7%)
• Pipelines: Blueknight Energy Partners (BKEP, -2%)

In current trade:

• April WTI crude oil futures: down about $0.39 around the $48.89/barrel level (-0.8%)
• April natural gas futures: up about $0.02 around the $2.99/MMBtu level (+0.5%)
• April RBOB gasoline futures: down about $0.02 around the $1.61/gallon level (-1.0%)
• April heating oil futures: down about $0.01 around the $1.52/gallon level (-0.7%)

Earnings/News

• Tahoe Resources (TAHO, -7.3%) missed by $0.08, missed on revs
  • Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.06 per share, $0.08 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.14; revenues rose 22.3% year/year to $189.4 mln vs the $228.25 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Gastar Exploration (GST, +0.4%) reported EPS in-line, beat on revs; guided Q1, FY17 production
  • Reported a Q4 loss of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.06); revenues fell 19.5% year/year to $18.2 mln vs the $17.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• MRC Global (MRC, -0.3%) signed a 5-year agreement to be the primary global provider of valve and valve automation products and services to ExxonMobil (XOM, %)
• Western Gas Partners (WES, -0.1%) filed for an offering of 21,922,831 common units issued or issuable upon conversion of Series A Preferred units issued to selling unitholders.

Broker Calls

• EnLink Midstream Partners (ENLK, -1.6%) initiated with a Neutral at Janney
• Forum Energy Tech (FET, +0.3%) upgraded to Buy at Gabelli & Co
• Keane Group (FRAC, +0.2%) upgraded to Buy at BofA/Merrill
• Marathon Oil (MRO, -1.9%) upgraded to Positive from Neutral at Susquehanna

 Today's biggest % gainers/losersThe following are today's top 20 percentage gainers and top 20 percentage losers, categorized by sectors (over $300 mln market cap and 100K average daily volume).

Today's top 20 % gainers

• Healthcare: EPZM (16.5 +8.55%), ATRA (20.25 +8%), CFMS (5.29 +7.52%), PRTA (53.94 +6.54%), CORT (10.57 +6.23%), BPMC (38.29 +5.69%)
• Materials: GORO (4.46 +6.44%)
• Industrials: SALT (7.68 +10.43%)
• Consumer Discretionary: SHLD (9.16 +14.39%), GCO (61.78 +9.53%), HIBB (29.7 +8.3%), PIR (7.04 +7.57%), MTN (193.17 +7.05%), VRA (9.42 +5.84%)
• Information Technology: CMCM (10.74 +6.23%), CYOU (31.25 +6.04%)
• Energy: BPT (17.65 +12.42%), RMP (25.62 +6.75%)
• Consumer Staples: FRPT (10.98 +11.42%), FIZZ (70.37 +6.09%)

Today's top 20 % losers

• Healthcare: IONS (40.22 -12.18%), RDUS (38.39 -10.95%), SGRY (19.15 -8.59%), NH (4.17 -8.35%), CRIS (2.84 -7.79%), CARA (16.48 -5.77%)
• Materials: CSTM (6.2 -9.49%), TAHO (7.42 -6.67%)
• Industrials: CECE (10.15 -13.62%)
• Consumer Discretionary: ZUMZ (18.03 -14.17%), WGO (28.85 -6.63%), WTW (16.48 -5.83%)
• Information Technology: FNSR (27.79 -20.37%), NPTN (8.9 -7.96%), PAY (19.02 -6.56%), OCLR (8.66 -6.23%)
• Financials: GCAP (7.66 -7.26%)
• Energy: SDRL (1.25 -7.09%)
• Telecommunication Services: NIHD (1.25 -21.88%)
• Utilities: FGP (5.95 -6.59%)

 Today's most active stocksThe following are today's most active stocks ranked by volume and relative volume, categorized by sectors (over $300 mln market cap and 100K average daily volume).

Today's top 20 volume

• Materials: MT (12.18 mln -0.77%), VALE (11.44 mln +0.9%), FCX (10.92 mln -0.73%), X (9.44 mln -1.95%)
• Consumer Discretionary: F (12.98 mln +0.16%), SIRI (9.19 mln +0.29%)
• Information Technology: AMD (26.98 mln +2.03%), FNSR (17.17 mln -20.37%), MU (12.99 mln -0.83%), INTC (9.91 mln +0.28%), FB (8.96 mln +0.39%), OCLR (8.83 mln -6.23%)
• Financials: BAC (43.44 mln -0.1%)
• Energy: CHK (16.79 mln -0.78%), MRO (11.81 mln -1.9%), BP (11.61 mln +2.79%), WFT (9.29 mln +1.34%)
• Consumer Staples: ABEV (10.58 mln +1.68%), RAD (9.45 mln +3.11%)
• Telecommunication Services: FTR (16.23 mln +3.08%)

Today's top relative volume (current volume to 1-month average daily volume)

• Healthcare: CRIS (3.2x -7.79%), RDUS (3.15x -10.95%), ADAP (2.93x +4.02%), SGRY (2.65x -8.59%), IONS (2.45x -12.18%)
• Industrials: RENX (2.87x -0.45%)
• Consumer Discretionary: DFRG (7.39x +0.29%), ZUMZ (6.6x -14.17%), SBGI (5.63x -4.43%), ULTA (4.7x +3.74%), GCO (2.51x +9.53%), MTN (2.24x +7.05%), SBH (2.18x +2.27%)
• Information Technology: FNSR (5.9x -20.37%)
• Financials: TD (2.55x -4.33%), JPC (2.19x -0.26%)
• Energy: RMP (3.98x +6.75%)
• Consumer Staples: SAM (4.24x -2.24%), SYUT (2.83x +0.86%)

 

Market Internals The broader market is fitting to close the week with modest gains on Friday, as the three major averages all hover slightly above flat lines at the moment; leading the modestly higher bias, the Nasdaq Composite adds about 17 points (+0.28%) to 5855, the S&P 500 is up about 6 (+0.23%) to 2370, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 23 (+0.11%) to 20880. Action has come on mixed average volume (NYSE 289 vs. avg. of 312; NASDAQ 837 mln vs. avg. of 792), with advancers outpacing decliners (NYSE 1743/1216, NASDAQ 1636/1102) and new highs outpacing new lows (NYSE 65/59, NASDAQ 83/30). Relative Strength: Indian Rupee-ICN +6.6%, S. Africa-EZA +2.3%, Egypt-EGPT +2.1%, Cocoa-NIB +2.1%, Brazil-EWZ +1.8%, Turkey-TUR +1.8%, Netherlands-EWN +1.6%, Poland-EPOL +1.4%, US Home Constr.-ITB +1.2%, Jr. Gold Miners-GDXJ +1.1%, Copper Miners-COPX +1.0%, Homebuilders-XHB +1.0%, Retail-XRT +1.0%, Gold Miners-GDX +0.9%. Relative Weakness: US Diesel/Heating Oil-UHN -2.2%, US Oil-USO -1.5%, US Gasoline-UGA -1.4%, Short-Term Futures-VXX -1.2%, Grains-JJG -0.9%, Corn-CORN -0.9%, Cotton-BAL -0.8%, Reg. Banking-KRE -0.7%, Banking-KBE -0.6%, Philippines-EPHE -0.6%, Thailand-THD -0.3%, India-INP -0.2%, British Pound-FXB -0.1%, Japanese Yen-FXY -0.1%.

 Rumor Round Up

Rumor Activity was active today

• Reuters reported that SunPower (SPWR 7.04 -0.18) puts 100MW Chilean solar plant up for sale.
• The UK's Evening Standard reported on market rumors that Exxon Mobil (XOM 81.76 +0.09) has reached out to large BP shareholders regarding a potential acquisition
• GNC Holdings (GNC 7.61 +0.17) M&A speculation circulated.
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW 118.34 +3.29) M&A chatter made the rounds.
• Sprint (S 8.25 -0.06) recent weakness followed report suggesting T-Mobile (TMUS 61.13 -0.03) merger with another company.
• Kohl's (KSS 40.62 +0.83) LBO chatter circulated.
• FD NL discussed that PPG Industries (PPG 102.64 -0.29) might make second bid for Akzo Nobel (AKZOY 27.07 +1.73).

While many rumors circulate during the day, and the validity of the source of these rumors can be questionable, the speculation may increase volatility in the near term

 Sector Summary: Industrials trade in-line with the broader market

The Industrials sector (XLI) is trading 0.2% higher today, in-line with the broader market (SPY +0.2%). In the Industrial Sector, Southwest (LUV -2.2%) lowers Q1 operating revenue per ASM guidance, and JetBlue (JBLU +4.6%) and Alaska Air (ALK +1.2%) report February Traffic.

Earnings/Guidance

• United Technology (UTX -0.2%) repeats guidance for FY17 seeing EPS of $6.30-6.60 vs. $6.54 consensus; sees FY17 revenues of $57.5-59 bln vs. the $58.73 bln consensus.
• Regal-Beloit (RBC +2.5%) confirms adj. FY17 EPS $4.50-4.90 vs $4.72 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Through the execution of the enterprise strategy over the next three years, the Company expects to achieve:
  • Organic sales compounded annual growth rate of 2% to 4%.
  • Adjusted operating margin improvement of 200 to 250 basis points.
  • Free cash flow of 100% to 125% percent of net income.
  • Return on invested capital improvement of 300 to 400 basis points.
• Ply Gem Holdings (PGEM +4%)
  • Reports Q4 earnings of $0.14 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the consensus of $0.15; revenues rose 7.4% year/year to $462.3 mln vs the $441.81 mln consensus.

Additional Industrials reporting earnings/guidance: MYRG +14.4% NVEE +4.3% WLDN +18.7% ACTG -10.9% ERI -0.3% BOOM +0.8% CVGI -1.2%

News

• Southwest Air Airlines (LUV -2.2%) lowers Q1 operating rev per ASM guidance
  • ASMs increased 1.2% to 11.0 bln in Feb 2017, compared with Feb 2016 ASMs of 10.9 bln.
  • A better-than-expected Feb trip completion rate and the loss of traffic from the heavy rainfall in California are contributing factors to this revised RASM outlook.
• JetBlue Airways (JBLU +4.6%) reports February prelim traffic; co expects 1Q17 RASM to decrease 4-5% Y/Y.
  • Traffic in February +0.1% Y/Y, on a capacity +0.7%.
  • Load factor for February 2017 was 82.6%, -0.5 points Y/Y.
  • Co's preliminary revenue per available seat mile (RASM) for February increased ~1.5% Y/Y.
    • Excluding the impact of winter storms Niko and Orson, February RASM decreased ~1.5& Y/Y.
  • March RASM is expected to be negatively impacted by ~6% due to Easter calendar placement.
• Alaska Air (ALK +1.2%) reports a 1.7% increase in traffic on a 1.2% increase in capacity compared to February 2016. Load factor increased 0.3 points to 80.4%.
  • Reports a 1.5% increase in traffic on a 0.6% increase in capacity compared to February 2016. Load factor increased 0.7 points to 81.4 %.

Broker Research

Upgrades

• Actuant (ATU +4.4%) upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Mkts.
• FLY Leasing (FLY +0.8%) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Compass Point.
• Air Transport Services Group (ATSG +4.3%) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at a boutique firm.
• FedEx (FDX +0.3%) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Edward Jones.

Downgrades

• Advisory Board (ABCO +0.3%) downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust.

Other

• FBR & Co. raises their Builders Firstsource (BLDR +1%) tgt to $20 from $15; reiterate outperform.
• InSteel Industries (IIIN +4.9%) initiated with a Buy at Longbow.
• RBC Capital Mkts lowers their FLY (FLY +0.7%) tgt to $22 from $24, reiterates Outperform.'
• Stifel lowers their Finisar (FNSR -20.3%) tgt to $39 from $42.

 Currency Commentary: Strong Jobs Report Clears the Path for Rate Hike

• The Dollar Index has been under selling pressure despite a solid jobs report. The DXY has been unable to hold the 102 level ahead of next week's expected rate hike. Considering the dollar rolled following the last two rate hikes (December 2015 and 2016) it suggests that sellers are looking to get out ahead of a potential roll over. Full focus will be on Fed Chair Janet Yellen as she will hold her quarterly press conference on Wednesday following the rate decision.
• The euro has been able to maintain its momentum from yesterday. The DXY roll has helped push the single currency higher. However it is headlines that the ECB discussed raising rates before it tapers its asset purchase program that is garnering the most attention. The move would certainly help boost inflation and growth but there is a bit of confusion on how that would impact rates given that the whole purpose for buying the bonds is to drive the rates lower. The euro has broken above the 100-sma at this and is preparing to test the 1.07 area for the first time in a month.
• The pound remains under pressure as it holds the low end of 1.21. It was a busy morning on the economic front in the U.K. highlighted by a big miss in its Manufacturing Production. The Trade Balance deficit was lower than expected as it was helped by a weaker pound. Industrial Production and Consumer Inflation Expectations were in line. The Bank of England meets next Thursday but the focus will remain on Brexit.
• The yen continues to slip lower as it comes in for a test of 115. The Bank of Japan meets next Wednesday after the Fed. Given the banks inability to hit its inflation targets it is expected to remain aggressive in its easing policies.
• The yuan is working its way higher after holding the 6.90 area. The yuan has not seen much of a reaction from its National Peoples Congress. Next week we will see an update for key economic data including Industrial Production, Fixed Asset Investment and Retail Sales (Mon). (BONDX, FOREX)

 

Broadcom target raised to $250 at Barclays; Overweight — A sustainable and profitable model  (224.60 +2.59)Barclays raises their AVGO tgt to $250 from $240 following meetings with mgmt. It's been a year since the BRCM deal and it's noticeable how in some ways it's the same story — collect dominant franchises at opportunistic prices (target 10%+ returns), partner with strategic customers who will pay for IP/Technology, and eliminate spending on unproven products and/or general overhead waste, but in many ways the story is in a much different place. AVGO is now the second largest semi name with the BRCM fully integrated, generating $6B+ of FCF and paying a 2% dividend, which likely doubles over time. This is not a cost cutting rollup like some other semi names are pursuing, but a sustainable franchise where AVGO's IP portfolio is intertwined with the roadmaps of its strategic customers and backed by strategic LT agreements. Net net, this is still one of firm's favorite ideas with still more room to run as this business model continues to prove out.