Блог компании DayTraderClub | Америка сегодня. Торговый баланс и потребительское кредитование.

 

European MarketsFTSE...7211.05...+38.90...+0.50%.  DAX...1149.98...+40.10...+0.40%.

 

Boardwalk Pipeline target raised to $21 at RBC Capital Mkts — Strong 4Q16; cash flow ramp on the horizon  (18.67)RBC Capital Mkts raises their BWP tgt to $21 from $19 on higher 2017E EBITDA and lower debt vs their previous expectations. BWP's 4Q16 results exceeded expectations. BWP continues to execute on growth projects and is in discussions with potential shippers to re-contract 2018/2019 contract expirations. They expect BWP to increase its distribution in 2018 as it lowers leverage to low-4x Debt/EBITDA.

 On The Wires

• Manchester United (MANU) confirmed season & match ticket prices for the 2017-18 campaign, which will see prices frozen for the sixth consecutive year, along with additional reductions for young Season Ticket holders.  The Club has reduced the cost of Season Tickets by a minimum of 50% for Under 16s in East Stand Tier 2, Sir Alex Ferguson Stand Tier 2 and Quadrants Tier 2. This is in addition to the dedicated Family Stand and Sir Alex Ferguson Stand Tier 3 which will remain at just £10 per game.  There will also be a 25% reduction applied to EFL home match tickets next season, in addition to the 25% discount already applied to UEFA Europa League games (if applicable), providing further savings.  The seventh price freeze in eight years will see Season Ticket prices start from £532 for adults, with a variety of concessionary tickets available.
• Fluor Corporation (FLR) announced its joint venture team, KPJV, has been selected by Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO) to execute the front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Multi-Phase Pump Project in Kazakhstan. Fluor booked its share of the contract value in the fourth quarter of 2016.
• EnSync (ESNC) announced they are working with ENMAX Energy Corporation at the District Energy Centre site in Calgary, Alberta, to integrate Solar and Energy Storage with a Combined Heat and Power system using EnSync's patented Matrix technology. ENMAX will utilize EnSync's Matrix Supply Response on Demand capability as part of the system integration and test several operating scenarios for optimal system performance and efficiency. ENMAX will provide the combined heat and power and purchase the energy storage from EnSync. EnSync will provide the Matrix technology in combination with EnSync's new proprietary control platform for complete system integration and testing at the District Energy Centre.
• Clean Energy Fuels Corp (CLNE) announced that it has signed a fueling agreement with Mountain Valley Express, an express shipping company based out of Manteca, California, that has purchased nine Heavy-Duty trucks equipped with the new CWI 9L ISL G Zero NOx natural gas engine. The fueling agreement will allow Mountain Valley to use Clean Energy's Redeem brand of renewable natural gas (RNG) vehicle fuel for the new trucks. These revolutionary engines reduce smog forming NOx emissions by 90% over the current EPA standard, and when combined with Redeem, have 70% less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than diesel trucks.
• Lombard Medical (EVAR) announced that physicians in Japan have successfully treated the first 15 patients using its innovative new IntelliFlex LP Delivery System for the Aorfix Endovascular Stent Graft since launch on February 1, 2017.

 

W.R. Grace upgrade details — to Outperform at Robert W. Baird; tgt raised to $85  (71.00)Robert W. Baird upgrades GRA to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $85 from $76. They believe GRA is well positioned for EBITDA growth in 2017/2018 given its recent acquisitions and ramp of Takreer, and GRA's strong free cash flow and balance sheet should enable investment in organic growth, future acquisitions, or return of capital to shareholders. Firm's numbers are lower than Street ests, but the 2017 guide should be a de-risking event. They also believe GRA's high-quality Catalyst business is undervalued at current levels, and would be buyers of the stock.

 

Achaogen initiated with a Buy at Stifel; tgt $27 — CREating longer-term upside  (17.46)Stifel initiates AKAO with a Buy and price target of $27 as they believe plazomicin represents a revival for aminoglycosides — an antibiotic class once considered a backbone of gram-negative therapy which has been rendered increasingly ineffective against multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens due to widespread resistance. They also believe recently announced EPIC and CARE data provide a clear regulatory path forward and establish wholly-owned plazomicin as a desperately needed treatment option in the fight against expanded spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), respectively. Firm believes current valuation fails to reflect what they expect to be a disconnect from historical antibiotic launch trajectories and longer-term optionality on the legislative/strategic/pipeline fronts.

 Overnight Summary — World markets rising with the greenback this morning

• The global equity markets are doing little more than treading water this morning, with a mixed bag across the equity landscape. With that said, US futures are trading on the positive side, with S&P Futures trading near the highs of the session. Most of the currency pairs are weaker against the dollar this morning. The Dollar Index is up 0.8%, thus far and equity markets have seemed to echo its movement overnight.
• The trading in Asia's major indices was unexciting and saw small net changes across the board. Japanese equities struggled gain any traction on Tuesday, with the Nikkei closing 0.4% lower after suffering from notable strength in the yen against the dollar on Monday. The Shanghai also sputtered throughout the session with traders seemingly uninspired by the lack of participation by PBOC, refraining from adding any liquidity to the markets today.
• As a side note, the Reserve Bank of Australia met today, but left interest rates unchanged at 1.50%. India's Central Bank is on deck with a policy update due out tomorrow. The Sensex was off by 0.3% with traders taking some money off the table following a 4-day rally.
• In Europe, the major bourses are trading slightly higher in the early stages of today's action. France's CAC is lagging its regional peers, stymied by BNP Paribas' soft quarter. The French lender is trading ~5% lower and limiting gains across the financial sector. The FTSE is trading 0.4% higher and shrugging off weakness in energy names. BP (-2%) is among the worst stocks of the group after the co posted Q4 results.

Market updates: 

• S&P Futures vs Fair Value: +5.00 
• 10 yr Note: 2.4207% 
• USD/JPY: 112.47 +0.75
• EUR/USD: 1.0669 -0.0080
• Europe: FTSE +0.4% DAX +04% CAC +0.1% 
• Asia: Hang Seng -0.1% Shanghai -0.1% Nikkei -0.4% 
• Commodities: Gold (1230.40 -1.70) Silver (17.59 -0.10) crude (52.85 -0.16) 

US Econ Data

• December Trade Balance (8:30am)
• JOLTS- Job Openings (10am)
• 3-year Note Auction (1pm)
• December Consumer Credit (3pm)

 

JRjr33: Huckleberry Investments discloses 8.75% passive stake  (0.77)

 

Biogen upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup  (264.91)

 

Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings: Aberdeen Asset Management discloses 5.3% passive stake  (18.95)

 

Costamare initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $5.50  (5.38)

 On The Wires

• Essent Guaranty (ESNT) announced today that ordering Essent MI services through the Mortgage Cadence Enterprise Lending Center  loan origination solution (LOS), is now even easier for underwriters. The Essent MI integration, already available to lenders through Mortgage Cadence's LOS, now provides even greater efficiency.
• SK Telecom (SKM) will determine dividend amounts with respect to the 2017 fiscal year in light of the business environment and the Company's financial condition, among other factors. Currently, the Company expects that the dividend amounts with respect to the 2017 fiscal year will be similar to the dividend amounts with respect to the 2016 fiscal year.
• On February 6, 2017, Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) signed a negotiated note repurchase agreement with one of its directors and significant stockholders, T. Boone Pickens (the «Holder»), pursuant to which the Company agreed to purchase from the Holder the 7.5% Convertible Note due July 2018 having an outstanding principal amount of $25.0 million issued by the Company and held by the Holder (the «Note»). The Company agreed to pay to the Holder a cash purchase price of $21.75 million for the Note, reflecting a 13% discount on the outstanding principal amount of the Note. The Company offered to purchase the other outstanding 7.5% Convertible Notes due July 2018, which have an aggregate outstanding principal amount of $25.0 million, from the holders of such notes on the same terms and for the same purchase price, but such holders declined to participate in the note repurchase transaction.
• Farmer (FARM) previously reported that Isaac N. Johnston, Jr. resigned as Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective January 6, 2017 to pursue another opportunity. While the Company's search for a permanent Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer is ongoing, on February 1, 2017, the Board of Directors of the Company appointed Rene E. Peth to perform the functions of interim principal financial and accounting officer, effective immediately. Ms. Peth is currently the Company's Vice President, Corporate Controller and has served in this role since December 2013, responsible for the Company's financial statements, general ledger, managing all accounting functions, and communications with external auditors.
• International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that its subsidiary, IGT Global Services Limited, has signed contracts with Norsk Tipping to provide interactive casino and Instant Win game libraries and custom games through a Remote Game Server as part of a recent competitive procurement process. Norsk Tipping, Norway's state lottery operator and a World Lottery Association member, has been a valued customer of IGT, previously legacy GTECH, since 2013.
• The Reels Division of Sonoco (SON) announced it is implementing a general price increase for both new and recycled molded wooden plugs in the United States and Canada. Sonoco has not increased prices for its plug products since 2011. The price increase is expected to be in the range of 6-8%.
• The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of two Cargill oilseed processing facilities by Bunge (BG) of the Netherlands. The two Cargill oilseed facilities are an oilseed crushing and seed oil refining facilities located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and an oilseed crushing and storage facilities located in Brest, France. The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns because of the presence of several alternative competitors in the soybean meal and oil markets, including importers.

 Asian Markets Close: Nikkei -0.4%, Hang Seng -0.1%, Shanghai -0.1%

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly lower note, but trading ranges were fairly narrow. Japan's Nikkei (-0.4%) saw a modest downtick while the yen began retreating at the end of the Tokyo session. The yen is currently down 0.6% against the dollar at 112.43, erasing the bulk of yesterday's advance. The Reserve Bank of Australia made no changes to its policy stance, keeping its key rate at 1.50%, as expected. Elsewhere, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler said he plans to retire at the end of his term in late September.

In economic data:

• Japan's December Leading Index 105.2 (expected 105.6; previous 102.8) and December Coincident Indicator +0.1% (last 1.6%)
• China's FX Reserves fell to $2.99 trillion for the first time since early 2011 (expected $3.00 trillion; last $3.01 trillion)
• Australia's January AIG Construction Index 47.7 (last 47.0)
• New Zealand's Inflation Expectations 1.9% (last 1.7%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.4%, returning to last week's lows. Japan Steel Works, Sony Financial Holdings, Toyota Motor, J Front Retailing, Yamaha, Suzuki Motor, Japan Tobacco, Konami, and Fast Retailing ended among the laggards with losses between 1.5% and 5.2%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%. Gaming and casino names struggled with Tencent Holdings, Sands China, and Galaxy Entertainment falling between 1.6% and 2.0%. BoC Hong Kong, Bank of East Asia, and HSBC lost between 0.2% and 0.8% while property names held up well. New World Development, Henderson Land, Hang Lung Properties, and Cheung Kong Property Holdings added between 0.6% and 1.0%.
• China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1%. Wanhua Chemical Group, Shenzhen Geoway, Sinochem International, North Electro-Optic, and Phenix Optical lost between 2.0% and 2.5%.
• India's Sensex settled lower by 0.4% amid losses in most components. Tata Motors fell 3.5% while financials like AXIS Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank lost between 0.5% and 0.9%. Infosys outperformed, climbing 1.1%.

---FX---

• USDJPY +0.6% to 112.43
• USDCNY +0.3% to 6.8835
• USDINR +0.3% to 67.424

 

Natl Oilwell Varco initiated with a Hold at Loop Capital  (37.46)

 

Asanko Gold downgraded to Hold from Speculative Buy at Canaccord Genuity  (3.77)

 

Archer-Daniels increases quarterly dividend to $0.32/share from $0.30/share  (44.02)

 

Anavex initiated with a Buy at Noble Financial; tgt $16  (5.10)

 

Bioverativ initiated with a Strong Buy at Raymond James; tgt $59  (42.83)

 

XPO Logistics initiated with a Buy at Seaport Global Securities; tgt $60  (45.89)

 

Tivity Health initiated with a Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; tgt $30  (25.95)

 

UnitedHealth initiated with a Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; tgt $200  (160.51)

 

Telus upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at National Bank Financial  (33.40)

 

Restoration Hardware downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Buckingham Research  (26.32)

 Early premarket gappersGapping up: PIP +26.7%, ADHD +11.5%, DRYS +8.2%, RE +8.1%, JLL +7.8%, PMD +7.2%, MFIN +7.1%, HQY +6.4%, GLBS +6.2%, ACM +5.7%, NOV +5.3%, ALSN +5.1%, AVXL +4.9%, FN +4%, GPS +2.7%, PAHC +2%, NOK +1.9%, EMR +1.8%, CHD +1.4%, CAT +1.1%, BIIB +1%, CNC +1%, QSR +0.8%, RIO +0.7%, NVDA +0.6%, TWO +0.6%

Gapping down: GIGA -26.6%, KTOV -24.3%, AUPH -8.1%, KORS -6.7%, YRCW -4.8%, FMC -4.4%, KN -4.3%, ALLT -3.4%, ARWR -3.2%, BP -3.2%, MAC -2.9%, HLI -2.6%, TEVA -2.5%, LMNX -2.4%, KGC -2.2%, AM -2.1%, AUY -2%, TLLP -2%, STO -1.9%, BMI -1.8%, AU -1.7%, CLLS -1.6%, ABX -1.4%, HMY -1.4%, GFI -1.4%, ING -1.4%, NEM -1.2%, CS -1.1%, GAIN -1.1%, GDX -1%, EBAY -0.9%, GOLD -0.8%, SLV -0.7%, AG -0.7%, FOXA -0.7%

 

Nat gas futures perking up this morning, currently +1.8% (+0.05 at 3.10), showing relative strength in an otherwise negative commodities complex  (7.63)

 

Athersys initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $7 — Potentially transformative treatment for stroke  (1.16)Needham initiates ATHX with a Buy and price target of $7. Athersys is developing MultiStem, an off-the-shelf cell therapy that promotes tissue repair. The lead indication is ischemic stroke. Existing stroke treatments, which focus on removing the offending blood clot, can only be used in a short window of time, but MultiStem has shown efficacy in a longer time window (24-36 hours) and can thus address far more patients. Athersys' Japanese partner Healios will start a 220-patient pivotal trial shortly. Data is expected in mid-2018. While there is some controversy around the Phase II data, firm believes the trial has a favorable risk:reward in what they see as a blockbuster opportunity.

 

Credicorp LTD shares lower by 1% overseas following Q4 results  (182.46) Co reported Q4 EPS of S / 11.22 vs S /9.17 last year; net interest income +5.9% YoY to S / 1.975 bln (no comparable ests). The lowest QoQ loan growth of the year (+0.5%); nevertheless the portfolio mix reported more significant growth in higher-margin segments such as Retail Banking, Mibanco, and BCP Bolivia. Net provisions for loan losses increased +18% QoQ after registering in 3Q16 the lowest level in the last three years. In this context, the cost of risk rose to 1.94%, which coupled with the satisfactory evolution of NIM translated into an increase of +16 bps in NIM after provision.

 

Target initiated with a Outperform at Bernstein; tgt $77  (63.42)

 

On The Wires Entegris (ENTG) announced it has introduced a new platform for advanced gas purification that improves wafer yields for semiconductor and LED applications. The new family of GateKeeper Gas Purification Systems (GPS) applies new purification media to provide best-in-class gas purity at a wide range of flow rates with a reduced equipment footprint. With expanded capacity in South Korea, Entegris now manufactures GateKeeper GPS systems in both North America and Asia. ProSiebenSat.1 (PBSFF) PULS 4 plans to take over the Austrian TV group ATV from Tele München Fernseh GmbH & Co. Produktionsgesellschaft. Correspondent contracts were completed on February 6, 2017. The acquisition must be approved by the responsible media and antitrust authorities in Austria. Performance Sports Group (PSGLQ) announced that it has obtained the approval of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for the sale of substantially all of the assets of the Company and its North American subsidiaries to an acquisition vehicle co-owned by affiliates of Sagard Holdings Inc. and Fairfax Financial (FRFHF) for a base purchase price of U.S. $575 million in aggregate, subject to certain adjustments, and the assumption of related operating liabilities pursuant to the «stalking horse» asset purchase agreement. As previously announced, effective February 1, 2016, the named executive officers and the Board of Directors of Abraxas Petroleum (AXAS) took a voluntary reduction in salary and fees of 20%, respectively. Due to increased levels in activity and required duties, effective February 1, 2017, the voluntary reductions were terminated and the named executive officers and Board of Directors returned to full salary and fees. Mitek (MITK) has launched in the UK with a new office established in London. The US-based company works with over 5,500 organisations providing its technology to 70 million consumers across the globe. Mitek provides financial institutions and other highly regulated businesses with mobile verification technology underpinned by artificial intelligence that establishes an individual's identity remotely to accelerate the digitisation of Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence processes around on boarding and payments. Amazon (AMZN) announced that more than 33 million customers have used Amazon Payments to make a purchase. Amazon Payments makes it easy for customers around the world to pay on thousands of merchant websites using the information already stored in their Amazon account. In 2016, Pay with Amazon payment volume nearly doubled, with expansions into France, Italy and Spain and new verticals including government payments, travel, digital goods, insurance, entertainment, non-profits and charities helping fuel this growth. Amazon Payments also introduced new in-store experiences with Moda Operandi and Amazon Books. Garmin International (GRMN) announced European Aviation Safety Agency approval of the G5 electronic flight instrument for installation in select certified fixed-wing general aviation aircraft in Europe. The G5 electronic flight instrument boasts state-of-the-art reliability and enhanced safety benefits over failure-prone, mechanical gyro-driven instruments as a standalone primary source of aircraft attitude or turn coordination information. Installation approval is accomplished via supplemental type certificate (STC) with a comprehensive approved model list (AML) containing hundreds of individual aircraft models. This STC is representative of EASA's initiative to better support the certification efforts of general aviation aircraft, while also authorizing specific aircraft upgrades that enhance safety among the general aviation fleet in Europe.

 

European Markets Update: CAC +0.1%, DAX +0.5%, FTSE +0.6% Major European indices trade in the green with the UK's FTSE (+0.6%) showing relative strength. The IMF commented on Greece, but the remarks were similar to what the Fund has said in the past. The Fund noted that Greece has made progress towards unwinding imbalances, but non-performing loans need to be reduced and tax evasion still needs to be addressed. In economic data: Germany's December Industrial Production -3.0% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last 0.5%) UK's January Halifax House Price Index -0.9% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last 1.6%); +5.7% year-over-year (consensus 6.0%; last 6.5%) France's December Current Account deficit EUR1.10 billion (expected deficit of EUR1.40 billion; last deficit of EUR2.80 billion). Trade deficit narrowed to EUR3.40 billion from EUR4.40 billion (expected deficit of EUR4.20 billion) Swiss Q1 SECO Consumer Climate -3 (expected -11; last -13) ---Equity Markets--- France's CAC is higher by 0.1% as gains in most components offset losses among financials. Nokia, Klepierre, Airbus Group, Danone, and L'Oreal are up between 0.9% and 2.3%. On the downside, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole show losses between 1.6% and 3.5%. Germany's DAX has climbed 0.5%. Heavyweights Siemens, BASF, Bayer, Adidas, and SAP are among the leaders with gains between 1.0% and 1.6%. Exporters are mixed with BMW rising 0.5%, Volkswagen adding 0.1%, and Daimler shedding 0.3%. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are both down near 0.5%. UK's FTSE trades up 0.6%. DCC has surged 5.8% after acquiring Esso Retail Norway. Homebuilders also outperform with Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Barratt Developments rising between 2.2% and 2.5%. BP has given up 2.7% in reaction to disappointing results.

 

IntercontinentalExchange increases quarterly dividend to $0.20/share from $0.17/share and notes it has $950 mln remaining in its share repurchase authorization  (58.51)

 Overseas Research Calls

Upgrades: 

• Caixabank (CAIXY) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman
• Bankia (BNKXF) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman
• ThyssenKrupp AG (TYEKF) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie
• Randgold Resources (GOLD) upgraded to Buy from Add at Numis
• Smiths Group (SMGZY) upgraded to Buy from Add at Numis
• Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY) upgraded to Add from Hold at Numis
• Cairn Energy (CRNCY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank

Downgrades: 

• AstraZeneca (AZN) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Shore Capital
• Premier Oil plc (PMOIY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
• Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY) downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital Mkts

Miscellaneous: 

• Worldpay (WDDYF) initiated with a Hold at Deutsche Bank
• Svenska Cellulosa (SVCBY) resumed with an Overweight at JP Morgan

 

Stage Stores upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Northcoast  (2.45)

 

Gapping up Gapping up In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: RE +8.1%, JLL +7.8%, PMD +7.2%, AVXL +6.5%, HQY +6.4%, GWPH +6%, ACM +5.7%, ALSN +5.1%, (also will buyback all of ValueAct's holdings) WWW +4.4%, (announces leadership appointments; indicates quarterly results were in-line with expectations), FN +4.4%, NOV +3.2%, ITUB +3.2% GPS +2.7%, (Gap sees Q4 EPS of $0.50-0.51 ex items, vs $0.45 consensus and reports prelim Q4 sales of $4.43 bln vs $4.39 bln CapIQ consensus; January same store sales +1% (Banana Republic -4% and Old Navy +2% vs -8.0% (BR -17%, ON -6%) year ago and +3% (BR -7%, ON +12%) last month) TDG +2.2%, PAHC +2%, EMR +1.8%, GM +1.5%, CHD +1.4%, CNC +1%, QSR +0.8% Other news: PIP +22.8% (continued strength following yesterday's 159% move) ADHD +11.5% (announces FDA meeting on its ADAIR product candidate defined a 505(b)(2) development path, to be funded with existing cash balance, and targeting a 2H 2018 NDA submission) DRYS +6.6% (after closing near highs — up 30% on the day) GLBS +4.6% (after closing near highs — up 20% on the day) Analyst comments: ATHX +8.6% (initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $7) NOK +2.1% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley) CAT +1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays) BIIB +1.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup)

 

Aetna initiated with a Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; tgt $140  (120.79)

 

Primoris Services initiated with an Equal Weight at a boutique firm; $26 tgt  (24.52)

 Overnight Treasury Summary

Treasuries Slip as Dollar and Stocks Rebound

• U.S. Treasuries are trading lower this morning as global equities bounced and the U.S. Dollar Index rallied 0.66% to 100.57. On Monday afternoon, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said that a rate hike is on the table at the March 15 FOMC meeting although the Fed funds futures market only implies a 9% probability of a hike, according to the CME website. Internationally, the Reserve Bank of Australia held its bank rate at 1.50% and signaled that it may be at the end of its easing cycle. German industrial production unexpectedly fell 3.0% in December and U.K. house prices declined 0.9% in January. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.22% to 2,297.6 and WTI crude is off by 0.49% to $52.75/bbl., firmly within its two-month range. Gold is up just 0.07% to $1,233/troy oz. as the greenback strengthens
• Yield Check:
  
  • 2-yr: +1 bp to 1.16%
  • 5-yr: +1 bp to 1.86%
  • 10-yr: +1 bp to 2.42%
  • 30-yr: +2 bps to 3.06%

• International News:
  
  • Philadelphia Fed President Harker (FOMC voter) said on Monday that a rate hike should be on the table at the March 15 FOMC meeting
    
    • Harker said that a precondition for a rate hike would be further output growth and strengthening in the labor market, «not just in terms of the job numbers but also seeing continued wage growth and income growth because that will ultimately feed into inflation»
    • Those words have added meaning after last Friday's release of the January employment report showed nonfarm payrolls growing rapidly but wage growth decelerating
    • Harker also said that he is still supportive of three 25-basis point rate hikes in 2017, data dependent
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia held its main policy rate at 1.50% today, as expected, but indicated that further easing is done for the time being
    
    • The RBA is currently navigating between the Scylla of below-target inflation and the Charybdis of a strong housing market. The RBA's statement noted that lending standards strengthened
    • Separately, Australia's AIG Construction Index rose to a four-month high of 47.7 in January (47.0 in December)
  • Japan's Leading Index increased by a smaller-than-expected 2.6% m/m in December (+1.9% in November)
    
    • Japan's Coincident Index ticked up by 0.1% m/m in December (+1.6% in November)
  • Switzerland's SECO Consumer Climate Index jumped more than expected to -3 for Q1 from -13 in Q4 2016
  • German industrial production dropped 3.0% m/m in December, missing estimates for modest growth after a 0.5% increase in November
  • France's current account deficit narrowed more than expected to EUR1.1 bln for December from EUR2.8 bln for November
    
    • France's budget deficit narrowed to EUR69.0 bln for December from EUR93.3 bln for November
  • The U.K.'s Halifax House Price Index fell 0.9% m/m in January (+5.7% y/y), missing forecasts after 1.6% growth in December
    
    • The U.K.'s BRC Retail Sales Monitor slipped by 0.6% y/y in January, missing expectations after a 1.0% rise in December

• Data out Tuesday:
  
  • December Trade Balance (08:30 ET)
  • December JOLTS — Job Openings (10:00 ET)
  • December Consumer Credit (15:00 ET)
• Treasury Auction:
  
  • $24 bln 3-year Treasury auction (results at 13:00 ET)

 On The Wires

• BMO Harris Bank is expanding its ATM branding relationship with Cardtronics (CATM) to provide its customers with surcharge-free ATM access at more than 60 BMO Harris Bank-branded ATMs at Speedway convenience stores in Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee metro area.
• Zix Corporation (ZIXI) has modernized its company brand to strengthen its communication to customers and prospects and enable the brand to advance with future growth opportunities. The rebrand includes an evolution of the company's name and logo from ZixCorp to Zix and reflects a modern and fresh design with messaging that affirms Zix as the gold standard in email encryption.  With the company rebrand, Zix's goals were to build on its trusted reputation and energize customers, prospects, partners, employees and shareholders around the company's purpose and vision.

 

S&P futures vs fair value: +4.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.90. After finishing Monday's session with a modest decline, equity futures are recouping yesterday's loss and pointing to a modestly higher start this morning. The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value. The risk-on sentiment has led to a downtick in the Treasury market this morning. The benchmark 10-yr yield currently sits one basis point higher at 2.42%. Crude oil also trades lower amid a 0.7% uptick in the U.S. Dollar Index (100.54, +0.70). The energy component is down 0.5% at $52.73/bbl. Today's economic data will include December Trade Balance (Briefing.com consensus -$45.0 billion) at 8:30 am ET, December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10:00 am ET, and Consumer Credit (Briefing.com consensus $19.4 billion) at 3:00 pm ET. In U.S. corporate news: General Motors (GM 37.50, +0.68): +2.0% after reporting better than expected top and bottom lines. Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA 30.85, -0.21): -0.7% despite beating earnings estimates and reporting in-line revenues. Gap (GPS 23.60, +0.62): +2.7% after issuing upside fourth quarter guidance and reporting an uptick in January same store sales. Michael Kors (KORS 38.30, -2.98): -7.2% after missing revenue estimates and issuing downbeat guidance. Caterpillar (CAT 94.65, +1.78): +1.9% after the company's stock was upgraded to 'Overweight' from 'Equal Weight' at Barclays. Reviewing overnight developments: Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly lower note, but trading ranges were fairly narrow. Japan's Nikkei -0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.1%, China's Shanghai Composite -0.1%, India's Sensex -0.4%. In economic data: Japan's December Leading Index 105.2 (expected 105.6; previous 102.8) and December Coincident Indicator +0.1% (last 1.6%) China's FX Reserves fell to $2.99 trillion for the first time since early 2011 (expected $3.00 trillion; last $3.01 trillion) Australia's January AIG Construction Index 47.7 (last 47.0) New Zealand's Inflation Expectations 1.9% (last 1.7%) In news: The Reserve Bank of Australia made no changes to its policy stance, keeping its key rate at 1.50%, as expected. Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler said he plans to retire at the end of his term in late September. Major European indices trade in the green with the UK's FTSE showing relative strength. France's CAC +0.1%, Germany's DAX +0.5%, UK's FTSE +0.5%. In economic data: Germany's December Industrial Production -3.0% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last 0.5%) UK's January Halifax House Price Index -0.9% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last 1.6%); +5.7% year-over-year (consensus 6.0%; last 6.5%) France's December Current Account deficit EUR1.10 billion (expected deficit of EUR1.40 billion; last deficit of EUR2.80 billion). Trade deficit narrowed to EUR3.40 billion from EUR4.40 billion (expected deficit of EUR4.20 billion) Swiss Q1 SECO Consumer Climate -3 (expected -11; last -13) In news: The IMF commented on Greece, but the remarks were similar to what the Fund has said in the past. The Fund noted that Greece has made progress towards unwinding imbalances, but non-performing loans need to be reduced and tax evasion still needs to be addressed.

 

E*TRADE reports January DARTs of 201,464, +8% m/m; derivatives represented 29% of total DARTs in January, unchanged m/m  (34.80)

 Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

• GIGA -26.6%, KORS -7.3%, MOS -6.7%, ALLT -5.6%, YRCW -4.8%, FMC -4.4%, KN -4.3%, BP -3.6%, ARWR -3.2%, MAC -3%, LMNX -2.4%, VSH -2.4%
• TLLP -2%, STO -1.9%, BMI -1.8%
• AM -1.6% (provides prelim Q4 results; announces the formation of a joint venture to develop processing and fractionation assets in Appalachia; increases 2017 guidance; upsizes/prices offering)
• GAIN -1.1%, FOXA -0.7%

Select EU financial related names showing weakness in sympathy with BNP Paribas (-5% in France after earnings):

• CS -0.9%, DB -0.6%, HSBC -0.5%, SAN -0.5%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:

• AUY -2.5%, KGC -1.9%, HMY -1.4%, GFI -1.4%, ING -1.4%, NEM -1.2%, AU -1.1%, ABX -0.9%, AG -0.9%, GOLD -0.8%, GDX -0.8%, SLV -0.5%

Other news:

• KTOV -23.9% (late decline on speculation of an investigation involving the company's CEO)
• FXCM -19.7% (confirms settlement with NFA and CFTC and non-binding letter of intent for GAIN Capital [GCAP] to purchase FXCM's U.S. customer accounts)
• AUPH -8.1% (accepted the resignation of Charles Rowland as CEO and appointed Dr. Richard Glickman as new CEO)
• HLI -3.4% (commences 10 mln common stock offering, consisting of 7.5 mln shares offered by the co and 2.5 shares offered by certain of its employees and members of management)
• TEVA -3.3% (appoints Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg as Interim CEO succeeding Erez Vigodman and names Dr. Sol J. Barer as Chairman)
• EBAY -0.9% (after disclosing material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting and filing mixed securities shelf offering)

Analyst comments:

• RH -4.6% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Buckingham Research)
• AKG -1.6% (downgraded to Hold from Speculative Buy at Canaccord Genuity)
• CMO -1.2% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo)

 

Anavex initiation details — Buy at Noble Financial; tgt $16  (5.10)Noble Financial initiates AVXL with a Buy and price target of $16. The company is valued at $16/per share over the next year. The main investment driver is ANAVEX 2-73 for Alzheimer's disease, as well as ANAVEX 2-73 for Rett syndrome. Firm conservatively assumes that ANAVEX 2-73 will capture ~10% of the estimated market with peak year sales of $6B. They also assess a 20% probability of success for the Rett syndrome program given the positive preclinical data and the market potential for a therapeutic for Rett patients is large and of significant unmet need as there is currently no cure and limited treatment. They assume ANAVEX 2-73 for Rett will capture ~25% of the estimated market in the peak year with sales of $500M.

 Gapping up/down: HQY +6%, GWPH +6%, GPS +4% and GM +1.5% after earnings, CAT and BIIB +2% after upgrades; KORS -7%, MOS -7%, BP -4%, and LMNX -2% after earnings

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

• RE +8.1%, JLL +7.8%, PMD +7.2%, AVXL +6.5%, HQY +6.4%, GWPH +6%, ACM +5.7%, ALSN +5.1% (also will buyback all of ValueAct's holdings)
• WWW +4.4% (announces leadership appointments; indicates quarterly results were in-line with expectations), FN +4.4%, NOV +3.2%, ITUB +3.2%
• GPS +2.7% (issued upside Q4 guidance and reported January same store sales +1%)
• TDG +2.2%, PAHC +2%, EMR +1.8%, GM +1.5%, CHD +1.4%, CNC +1%, QSR +0.8%

Other news:

• PIP +22.8% (continued strength following yesterday's 159% move)
• ADHD +11.5% (announces FDA meeting on its ADAIR product candidate defined a 505(b)(2) development path, to be funded with existing cash balance, and targeting a 2H 2018 NDA submission)
• DRYS +6.6% (after closing near highs — up 30% on the day)
• GLBS +4.6% (after closing near highs — up 20% on the day)

Analyst comments:

• ATHX +8.6% (initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $7)
• NOK +2.1% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley)
• CAT +1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays)
• BIIB +1.7% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup)

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

• GIGA -26.6%, KORS -7.3%, MOS -6.7%, ALLT -5.6%, YRCW -4.8%, FMC -4.4%, KN -4.3%, BP -3.6%, ARWR -3.2%, MAC -3%, LMNX -2.4%, VSH -2.4%
• TLLP -2%, STO -1.9%, BMI -1.8%
• AM -1.6%, (provides prelim Q4 results; announces the formation of a joint venture to develop processing and fractionation assets in Appalachia; increases 2017 guidance; prices/upsizes offering)
• GAIN -1.1%, FOXA -0.7%

Select EU financial related names showing weakness in sympathy with BNP Paribas (-5% in France after earnings):

• CS -0.9%, DB -0.6%, HSBC -0.5%, SAN -0.5%

Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:

• AUY -2.5%, KGC -1.9%, HMY -1.4%, GFI -1.4%, ING -1.4%, NEM -1.2%, AU -1.1%, ABX -0.9%, AG -0.9%, GOLD -0.8%, GDX -0.8%, SLV -0.5%

Other news:

• KTOV -23.9% (continued weakness on speculation of an investigation involving the company's CEO)
• FXCM -19.7% (confirms settlement with NFA and CFTC and non-binding letter of intent for GAIN Capital [GCAP] to purchase FXCM's U.S. customer accounts)
• AUPH -8.1% (Aurinia Pharma accepted the resignation of Charles Rowland as CEO and appointed Dr. Richard Glickman as new CEO)
• HLI -3.4% (commences 10 mln common stock offering, consisting of 7.5 mln shares offered by the co and 2.5 shares offered by certain of its employees and members of management)
• TEVA -3.3% (appoints Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg as Interim CEO succeeding Erez Vigodman and names Dr. Sol J. Barer as Chairman)
• EBAY -0.9% (eBay lower after disclosing material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting and filing mixed securities shelf offering)

Analyst comments:

• RH -4.6% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Buckingham Research)
• AKG -1.6% (downgraded to Hold from Speculative Buy at Canaccord Genuity)
• CMO -1.2% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo)

 

Parker-Hannifin upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus  (148.65)

 

IPO Radar: No IPOs Opening Today, Mauser Group (MSR) Gets Acquired, Three IPOs Expected to Open on FridayIPOs Opening Today: No IPOs Opening Today. Acquired Prior to IPO: Mauser Group (MSR): As reported earlier this morning, Stone Canyon Industries announced that it entered into an agreement to purchase Mauser Group in an all cash transaction valued at $2.3 billion. MSR was expected to launch a 12.6 million IPO on February 9, pricing within a range of $20-$22. Upcoming IPOs: February 10: Foundation Building Materials (FBM) — The second largest specialty distributor of wallboard & suspended ceiling systems in the US & Canada is expected to price its 12.8 million share IPO within a range of $17-$19. February 10: Clipper Realty (CLPR) — The REIT owning and managing multi-family residential and commercial properties in New York is expected to price its 7.1 million share IPO within a range of $13.50-$15.50. February 10: Sachem Capital (SACH) — The REIT specializing in originating, underwriting, funding, and servicing a portfolio of short-term loans secured by first mortgage liens is expected to price its 3.0 million share IPO at $5.

 S&P futures vs fair value: +3.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.90.

The S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Tuesday on a mostly lower note, but trading ranges were fairly narrow. Japan's Nikkei (-0.4%) saw a modest downtick while the yen began retreating at the end of the Tokyo session. The yen is currently down 0.7% against the dollar at 112.45, erasing the bulk of yesterday's advance. The Reserve Bank of Australia made no changes to its policy stance, keeping its key rate at 1.50%, as expected. Elsewhere, Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Graeme Wheeler said he plans to retire at the end of his term in late September.

In economic data:

• Japan's December Leading Index 105.2 (expected 105.6; previous 102.8) and December Coincident Indicator +0.1% (last 1.6%)
• China's FX Reserves fell to $2.99 trillion for the first time since early 2011 (expected $3.00 trillion; last $3.01 trillion)
• Australia's January AIG Construction Index 47.7 (last 47.0)
• New Zealand's Inflation Expectations 1.9% (last 1.7%)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.4%, returning to last week's lows. Japan Steel Works, Sony Financial Holdings, Toyota Motor, J Front Retailing, Yamaha, Suzuki Motor, Japan Tobacco, Konami, and Fast Retailing ended among the laggards with losses between 1.5% and 5.2%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.1%. Gaming and casino names struggled with Tencent Holdings, Sands China, and Galaxy Entertainment falling between 1.6% and 2.0%. BoC Hong Kong, Bank of East Asia, and HSBC lost between 0.2% and 0.8% while property names held up well. New World Development, Henderson Land, Hang Lung Properties, and Cheung Kong Property Holdings added between 0.6% and 1.0%.
• China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1%. Wanhua Chemical Group, Shenzhen Geoway, Sinochem International, North Electro-Optic, and Phenix Optical lost between 2.0% and 2.5%.
• India's Sensex settled lower by 0.4% amid losses in most components. Tata Motors fell 3.5% while financials like AXIS Bank, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank lost between 0.5% and 0.9%. Infosys outperformed, climbing 1.1%.

 

Major European indices trade mostly in the green with France's CAC (unch) showing relative weakness. The IMF commented on Greece, but the remarks were similar to what the Fund has said in the past. The Fund noted that Greece has made progress towards unwinding imbalances, but non-performing loans need to be reduced and tax evasion still needs to be addressed.

In economic data:

• Germany's December Industrial Production -3.0% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last 0.5%)
• UK's January Halifax House Price Index -0.9% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last 1.6%); +5.7% year-over-year (consensus 6.0%; last 6.5%)
• France's December Current Account deficit EUR1.10 billion (expected deficit of EUR1.40 billion; last deficit of EUR2.80 billion). Trade deficit narrowed to EUR3.40 billion from EUR4.40 billion (expected deficit of EUR4.20 billion)
• Swiss Q1 SECO Consumer Climate -3 (expected -11; last -13)

---Equity Markets---

• France's CAC trades flat as gains in most components have been offset by losses among financials. Nokia, Klepierre, Airbus Group, Danone, and L'Oreal are up between 0.6% and 3.2%. On the downside, BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, and Credit Agricole show losses between 1.5% and 3.5%.
• Germany's DAX has climbed 0.6%. Heavyweights Siemens, BASF, Bayer, Adidas, and SAP are among the leaders with gains between 0.9% and 1.6%. Exporters are mixed with BMW and Volkswagen adding 0.5% apiece, while Daimler has shed 0.5%. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are down 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively.
• UK's FTSE trades up 0.7%. DCC has surged 5.7% after acquiring Esso Retail Norway. Homebuilders also outperform with Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Barratt Developments rising between 2.1% and 2.7%. BP has given up 2.4% in reaction to disappointing results.

 Filings, Offerings and Pricings

Filings:

• eBay (EBAY) files mixed securities shelf offering
• PURE Bioscience (PURE) files for offering of 3,145,882 shares of common stock by selling stockholders

Offerings:

• Houlihan Lokey (HLI) commences 10 mln common stock offering, consisting of 7.5 mln shares offered by the co and 2.5 shares offered by certain of its employees and members of management

Pricings:

• Antero Midstream Partners (AM 33.89) prices common units offering of 6 mln shares (upsized from 5 mln shares) at $33.00/unit
• Paramount Gold Nevada (PZG 1.87) enters into definitive agreements with accredited investors to issue common stock and warrants in a $3.66 million private transaction at $1.75/unit

 

UBS AG upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill  (15.91)

 

On The Wires S&W Seed Company (SANW) announced it has commenced commercial seed production for one of the Company's proprietary hybrid sunflower seed varieties in New South Wales, Australia. This marks S&W's initial entry into the «vertical production model» for sunflower, a nearly $1 billion global crop. S&W anticipates that the transition into sunflower seed production will allow it to capture a higher gross profit dollar and move closer to the end customer. The move continues S&W's recent strategic initiatives to expand vertically by leveraging the company's key distribution and production capabilities. InterOil Corporation (IOC) announced that it has entered into a new US$470 million senior secured credit facility. Once the conditions precedent are satisfied, the new facility will refinance and replace the existing US$400 million secured capital expenditure facility. PositiveID Corporation (PSID) announced that its E-N-G Mobile Systems («ENG») subsidiary, a mobile laboratory and specialty vehicle manufacturer, has received a purchase order for multiple mobile chemistry laboratories totaling more than $1.2 million. Due to the nature and location of the mobile labs, the customer is being kept confidential. This is the largest single order placed by a customer since PositiveID's acquisition of ENG in December 2015. Teladoc (TDOC) announced its partnership with Compass Professional Health Services to provide in-network referrals that align with the Teladoc physician quality standards. Teladoc members seeking a primary care physician or a specialist, including oncologists, orthopedists and others, can now request and receive a referral within one business day.

 S&P futures vs fair value: +3.50. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.10.

The equity market is on track for a higher open on Tuesday as the S&P 500 futures trade four points above fair value.

A handful of notable names reported earnings results between yesterday's close and today's open, including General Motors (GM 36.08, -0.75), Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA 31.05, -0.01), and Michael Kors (KORS 36.20, -5.08), among others. GM and KORS are down 2.0% and 12.4%, respectively, in the earnings aftermath while FOXA trades flat.

U.S. Treasuries have given back some of Monday's gains this morning amid the uptick in equity futures. The benchmark 10-yr yield is currently two basis points higher at 2.43%.

Earlier this morning on the data front, the December trade balance showed a deficit of $44.3 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to hit $45.0 billion. The previous month's deficit was revised to $45.7 billion from $45.2 billion.

Tuesday's economic data will also include December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey at 10:00 am ET and Consumer Credit at 3:00 pm ET.

 

Hanesbrands removed from Focus List at Credit Suisse  (19.32)

 

GW Pharma Q1 earnings call highlights  (120.76) Sees very focused attention on FY17 pricing, reimbursement, & contracting strategies. Continues to expect FY17 total cash outflows between $130-150 mln; co expects FY17 operating spend between $120-130 mln. Co notes the Epidiolex trial remains on track, expects an early 2018 US launch with a European launch to follow shortly after. An NDA submission for both Dravet and LGS indications is expected in mid 2017; preparations advancing for expected EU regulatory submission in H2 2017. Co reviewed their glioblastoma exploratory phase II top-line results; study showed that patients with documented recurrent GBM treated with THC:CBD had an 83% one year survival rate compared with 53% for patients in the placebo cohort. — Shares of GWPH -2.0% pre-market.

 

Atwood Oceanics upgraded to Buy from Hold at Pareto Securities  (10.91)

 

On The Wires Palo Alto Networks (PANW) announced advancements to its Next-Generation Security Platform that extend the ability for customer organizations to safely enable applications, including SaaS options, content and users regardless of location; prevent successful cyberattacks; simplify security operations; and securely embrace the cloud. Additionally the co announced announced availability of new purpose-built hardware and virtual next-generation firewall appliances that safely enable applications and redefine security performance for both threat prevention and SSL decryption, enabling customers to safely embrace the cloud and prevent successful cyberattacks across network, endpoint and cloud environments.  They also announced advancements to its Next-Generation Security Platform that provide customer organizations with the ability to prevent the theft and abuse of stolen credentials, one of the most common methods cyber adversaries use to successfully compromise and maneuver within an organization to steal valuable assets. Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS) announced that Evergreen Home Loans has signed a contract for LoanSphere MSP, Black Knight's industry-leading loan servicing system. MSP is a complete, scalable, end-to-end system used by financial institutions to manage all servicing processes for both mortgage and home equity loans and includes loan setup and maintenance, escrow administration, investor reporting, regulatory requirements and more. Natuzzi (NTZ) opened 54 new Natuzzi stores worldwide in the course of 2016, in particular, 17 in Europe, 9 in the Americas and 28 in Asia-Pacific. Between 2016 and the first few weeks of 2017, the Company acquired 8 Natuzzi Italia stores in the US (7 in Florida, 1 in Pennsylvania), 3 in Mexico, as well as 5 Divani & Divani by Natuzzi stores in Italy.  This focus and continued investment is part of Natuzzi's objective to boost branded sales, controlling the entire value chain. In line with this strategy the group announced the creation of a new Natuzzi division headed by Nazzario Pozzi. Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) has appointed Ocean Vietnam International Trading Co. Ltd. as its distributor for Alesta powder coatings products in Vietnam to support Axalta's growth strategy in the ASEAN market. Infrastructure growth in the region provides important opportunities for Axalta's Alesta brand of powder coatings which are used in architectural, furniture, transportation and other industrial applications, the need for which is expected to follow economic growth in Southeast Asia. Identiv (INVE) announced that the co's Hirsch government Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) solution is now included on the U.S. government's FICAM Approved Products List and is available for immediate deployment. The General Services Administration lab, which is part of the FICAM Testing Program, has evaluated and approved Identiv's end-to-end FICAM solution. Rightside Group (NAME) and Donuts Inc announced the extension of their agreement, which provides back-end registry services to Donuts' broad array of nearly 200 new generic Top Level Domains.

 

Graphic Packaging provides an FY17 outlook in Q4 earnings presentation slides  (12.92 +0.23) Co expects EBITDA will grow very modestly in 2017, excluding potential benefits from the recently announced CRB price increase. Cash flow expected to increase to the $380-$400 million range, from $358 mln in 2016. Commodity input cost inflation accelerating, specifically recycled fiber. Price will be a headwind, particularly in the 1H2017, reflecting the negative impact from the RISI CRB price index reductions in 2016, and cost model deflation. Cost model contracts will positively impact price in the 2H2017. Strong productivity expected to offset input cost and labor/benefits inflation. — Shares of GPK +1.9%.

 Opening Market Summary: Stock Market Opens Tuesday Slightly Higher

The stock market opened Tuesday's session by recouping Monday's modest loss. The S&P 500 currently holds a 0.2% gain.

Eight of the eleven sectors are higher as financials (+0.3%) and industrials (+0.5%) lead the small advance. Conversely, materials (-0.3%) and energy (-0.3%) sit at the bottom of the leaderboard in early action, with the latter space suffering from a 1.3% downtick in crude oil. The commodity currently trades at $52.32/bbl.

Treasuries continue to hold their pre-market losses. The benchmark 10-yr yield is two basis points higher at 2.43%.

 

Asbury Automotive +7% after topping Q4 estimates on top and bottom lines — auto vehicles, parts & service retailers higher in sympathy  (68.53 +4.68) MPAA +2.8%, SAH +1.3%, LAD +1.3%, PRTS +1.2% are all expected to report earnings this month, GPI +1.3% reported earnings last week.

 Economic Summary: December Trade Deficit slightly lower than expected

Economic Data Summary:

• December Trade Balance -$44.3 bln vs Briefing.com consensus of -$45.0 bln; November was revised to -$45.7 bln from -$45.2 bln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it could stir the political trade pot since there were trade deficits recorded with China, the European Union, Japan, Germany, and Mexico. That isn't new, yet there's a new administration that isn't too fond of that dynamic.
• December JOLTS 5.501 M — Jobs Openings (November was 5.522 M).

Upcoming Economic Data:

• December Consumer Credit due out Tuesday at 15:00 (Briefing.com consensus of $19.4 bln; November was $24.5 bln)
• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications due out Wednesday at 7:00 (Last Week was -3.2%)

Upcoming Fed/Treasury Events:

• The Treasury is expected to auction off new debt this week.
  • Tuesday: $24 bln in 3 Year Treasury Note Auction
  • Wednesday: $23 bln in 10 Year Treasury Note Auction
  • Thursday: $15 bln in 30 Year Treasury Bond Auction

Other International Events of Interest

• Germany's December Industrial Production -3.0% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last 0.5%)

 

Motorola Solutions — - Volume Alert  (79.15 -2.58)

 

Sector Summary: Technology (XLK +0.37%) trading higher today, modestly ahead of the broader market The tech sector — XLK — trades modestly ahead of the broader market. Semiconductors, meanwhile, display relative strength as the SOX index trades +0.61%. Within the SOX index, NVDA (+2.65%) outperforms, while TSM (-0.78%) lags. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.24% higher, while the QQQ +0.39% and the NASDAQ -0.56% trade opposite on the session. Among tech bellwethers, ACN (+1.16%) is showing relative strength, while ORAN (-1.36%) lags. Notable gainers following earnings: CTS (+9.0%) reported better than expected Q4 earnings and in-line revs; guided FY17 EPS ahead of expectations, KN (+3.6%), FN (+2.5%) Notable laggards following earnings: ARW (-6.5%), FIS (-4.0%) reported in-line Q4 EPS and worse than expected revs; guided FY17 EPS and revs below market expectations, VSH (-2.9%) Gainers on news: STRP (+4.9%) co secured $17.5 mln in new debt financing. WDAY (+1.5%) co announced that Amazon (AMZN) has selected and is beginning to deploy Workday Human Capital Management, including Workday Payroll. EBAY (+0.8%) co filed a mixed securities shelf offering. Also disclosed material weakness in internal control regarding financial reporting. Laggards on news: FXCM (-38.0%) the CFTC ordered Forex Capital Markets, parent company FXCM Holdings and FXCM's founding partners to pay a $7 mln penalty. Co later confirmed the settlement with the NFA and CFTC and non-binding letter of intent for GAIN Capital (GCAP) to purchase FXCM's U.S. customer accounts HQY (-2.5%) co reported HSA metrics; reaffirmed FY17; guided FY18 rev in-line. JNPR (-0.6%) co commenced search for CTO successor. AVGO (-0.5%) co Brocade (BRCD) and AVGO received a second request from the FTC relating to their pending merger. ADSK (-0.1%) co reaffirmed Q4 & FY17 guidance; Carl Bass to step down as CEO effective Feb 8. Among notable analyst upgrades: CHKP (+0.7%) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG Research NOK (+2.7%) to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley VSAT (+2.1%) to Outperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James TU (-0.6%) to Outperform from Sector Perform at National Bank Scheduled to report earnings after the bell: AKAM CALD COHR CSRA EMKR EEFT FTV IPHI JKHY JIVE LITE MCHP MOBL NANO NTGR NEWR NUAN PDVW PRO SCSC SPSC TTWO TCX TWLO ULTI ZG Scheduled to report earnings tomorrow morning: BR CTSH GRUB ORBK RDWR

 Morning Commodities: Gold hovers just above yesterday's 3-month high despite strength in the dollar index; crude extends losses ahead of tonight's API

• In precious metals, gold hovered just above yesterday's 3-month high, silver traded nearly flat despite strength in the dollar index
  • April gold futures were up about $0.40 (+0.01%) around the $1232.50/oz level
• The dollar index was +0.7% around the 100.58 level
  • Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, were -0.1% around the 87.77 level
• Natural gas resumed its previous 3-day uptrend after closing modestly lower yesterday, ahead of Thursday's EIA release
  • Mar 2017 natural gas futures were up about $0.07 (+2.3%) around the $3.12/MMBtu level
  • EIA natural gas data will be released Thursday at 10:30 am ET
• Crude oil extended yesterday's losses ahead of tonight's API, note that crude has been trading in a tight $52.00-54.00/barrel range so far this year - see yesterday's Energy Sector Summary comment at 15.13 pm ET for contributing factors affecting the price of oil this week
  • Mar 2017 crude oil futures were down about $0.79 (-1.5%) around the $52.22/barrel level
  • Baker Hughes announced in a PR this morning that the avg US rig count for Jan 2017 was 683, up 49 from the 634 counted in Dec 2016, and up 29 from the 654 counted in Jan 2016
    • The international rig count for Jan 2017 was 933, up 4 from the 929 counted in Dec 2016, and down 112 from the 1,045 counted in Jan 2016
    • The international offshore rig count for Jan 2017 was 206, down 4 from the 210 counted in Dec 2016, and down 36 from the 242 counted in Jan 2016
    • The avg Canadian rig count for Jan 2017 was 302, up 93 from the 209 counted in Dec 2016, and up 110 from the 192 counted in Jan 2016
    • The worldwide rig count for Jan 2017 was 1,918, up 146 from the 1,772 counted in Dec 2016, and up 27 from the 1,891 counted in Jan 2016
  • Data reminders:
    • API petroleum data will be released today at 4:30 pm ET
    • EIA petroleum data will be released Wednesday at 10:30 am ET
    • Baker Hughes weekly rig count data will be released Friday at 1 pm ET

 

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: MCD Mar 120 calls are seeing interest with 2800 contracts trading vs. open int of 18.9K, pushing implied vol up around 1 points to ~15% — over 2K traded in a single transaction. Co reported earnings late January and is expected to report its next quarterly earnings late April.  Co is scheduled to have an investor meeting on March 1. Co will present at another conference on March 14. Puts: CLF Weekly Feb10 9 puts are seeing interest ahead of earnings Thursday, February 9 before the open with 2370 contracts trading vs. open int of 2550, pushing implied vol up around 10 points to ~114% — M&A speculation circulated last week. Stocks seeing volatility selling: BP, MNK, KORS, MOS, FOXA implied vol is lower following earnings/guidance Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 0.74… VIX: (11.16, -0.21, -1.9%). February 17 is options expiration — the last day to trade February 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.

 Sector Summary: S&P Consumer Discretionary Index flat, underperforming the broader marketThe consumer discretionary group is underperforming the broader market. The retail group is holding up well and in the green — the Retail HOLDRS Trust (RTH) +0.5% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) +0.3%.

Notable earnings/guidance: 

• Trading higher following earnings/guidance: WWW 7.6% (announces leadership appointments; indicates quarterly results were in-line with expectations), ABG +7.2%, SPGI +2.7%, QSR 0.9% (Restaurant Brands Int'l provides selected FY16 guidance that it provided lenders regarding potential amendment/extension of its Term Loan B Facility), PAG +0.4%
• Trading lower following earnings/guidance: KORS -15%, SABR -13%, GM -4.5%, OMC -2.7%, TEN -1.6%, GPS -0.8% (Gap sees Q4 EPS of $0.50-0.51 ex items, vs $0.45 consensus and reports prelim Q4 sales of $4.43 bln vs $4.39 bln CapIQ consensus; January same store sales +1%), PSMT -0.1% (PriceSmart reports Jan comps of +0.2% vs -0.3% year ago and 3.1% last month), AMZN 0.6% (announced that more than 33 million customers have used Amazon Payments to make a purchase)

Earnings/guidance secondary plays: 

• Michael Kors (KORS -15%) disappointing earnings is weighing on accessory focused retailers: FOSL -4.2%, TIF -0.7%, KATE -0.6%, COH -0.5%
• Asbury Automotive +7% after topping Q4 estimates on top and bottom lines — auto vehicles, parts & service retailers higher in sympathy: MPAA +2.8%, SAH +1.3%, LAD +1.3%, PRTS +1.2% are all expected to report earnings this month, GPI +1.3% reported earnings last week… while auto manufacturers are lower following GM earnings: FCAU -4.2%, DDAIF -1.4%, POAHY -1%, F -0.9%, VLVLY -0.7%, VLKAY -0.3%, TM -0.2%

In the news:

• Leaders: BWLD 0.9% (Buffalo Wild Wings responds to Marcato; will review the nomination notice and present its formal recommendation in its definitive proxy materials), EBAY 0.7% (shaking off yesterday's after hours pullback from disclosing material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting and filing mixed securities shelf offering), HAS 2.8% and MAT 3.2% (Hasbro for Mattel chatter), COKE 0.6% and KO 0.5% (Coca-Cola Bottling Co. signs a non-binding LOI w/ The Coca-Cola Company to expand the Company's distribution territory in northern Ohio)
• Laggards: PERY -1.6% (appoints David Rattner as Chief Financial Officer), KR -0.6% (Kroger has purchased the equity of Murray's Cheese, as well as its flagship location; Financial terms of the merger were not disclosed)

Other notable trends:

• Homebuilders are under pressure:  LGIH -2.1%, CHCI -2%, MTH -1.3%, KBH -1.3%, TPH -1%, TMHC -0.8%, LEN -0.8%, TOL -0.7%, BZH -0.6%, MHO -0.5%, MDC -0.3%, DHI -0.2%, CAA -0.2%

Analyst related:

• Upgrades: SSI 2.5% (upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Northcoast), PH 0.1% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus), CAT 1.1% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays)
• Downgrades: RH -4.8% (cont weakness; downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Buckingham Research)
• Misc: TGT 0.7% (initiated with a Outperform at Bernstein; tgt $77)

Looking ahead:

• On the earnings front: BWLD, TCS, MDLZ, ORLY, PNRA, DIS report today after the close; CSTE, GT, GRUB, TWX tomorrow before the open.

 

Hearing VMware was upgraded to Outperform at Daiwa  (90.12 +0.75)

 

Ferrari target raised to $74 at UBS — Racing toward €1B in EBITDA two years ahead of schedule  (64.50 -0.08)UBS raises their RACE tgt to $74 from $70. RACE guided to ‘17 EBITDA of >€950m—and firm thinks there's high probability that RACE could actually surpass its IPO target of €1B in '17 (2-yrs ahead of plan). 2017 upside largely comes from new car innovation—with the high priced Aperta & 70th anniversary cars to push up ASPs, a full year of 488 at full production speed, and firm's expectation that RACE will refresh its V12 line (Berlinetta) in the NT (perhaps Geneva in March). RACE also offered hints at how it is thinking about targets beyond €1B in EBITDA—including 1) comments that it doesn't see a ceiling at 10k units; 2) more open mindedness to ideas like an SUV (though firm thinks a Dino re-launch is more likely); 3) comments about rollout of electric/hybrid cars over the next few years (with pricing to move up to maintain dollar & margin EBIT levels); Buy.

 

Fred's spikes higher on volume; hearing was upgraded at Sidoti  (14.84 +0.73)

 

Notable movers of interest: KORS -13.2% on Q3 revenue miss, guidance 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 NOV (40.38 +7.79%): Reports Q4 EPS and revenue beats. CNC (67.44 +5.99%): Shares rise following Q4 EPS and revenue beats. TDG (242.41 +4.97%): Reports Q1 EPS and revenue beats; guides FY17 EPS above consensus. Large Cap Losers GM (35.12 -4.64%): Shares fall despite Q4 EPS and revenue beats; reaffirms FY17 EPS guidance. TEVA (32.84 -4.4%): Shares fall on Haaretz report of potential Israel investigation related to bribery allegations. VMC (122.83 -4.1%): Reports Q4 EPS and revenue misses. Mid Cap Gainers WWW (22.43 +6.71%): Announces leadership appointments; indicates quarterly results were in-line with expectations. ALSN (37.65 +6.48%): Reports Q4 and revenue beats; guides Q1 revenues above consensus; guides FY17 revenues above consensus; will buyback all of ValueAct's holdings (10.53 mln shares) at $34.50/share. ARMK (35.39 +5.69%): Reports Q1 EPS beat; authorizes a $250 mln share repurchase program. Mid Cap Losers KORS (35.84 -13.18%): Shares fall on Q3 revenue miss; guides Q4 EPS and revenue below consensus. SABR (22.03 -11.21%): Reports Q4 EPS miss; guides FY17 EPS and revenue below consensus. STE (65.95 -7.36%): Reports Q4 EPS miss; lowers FY17 EPS and revenue guidance.

 New Supply

Treasury Auction Preview

• $24 bln 3-year Treasury auction (results at 13:00 ET)
  
  • Prior auction results
    • High yield: 1.472%
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.97
    • Indirect bid: 54.6%
    • Direct bid: 6.6%
  • Average results of prior 12 auctions
    
    • High yield: 1.012%
      
    • Bid-to-cover: 2.80
      
    • Indirect bid: 50.1%
      
    • Direct bid: 10.0%

 

Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session — New highs (188) outpacing new lows (47)Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAPL, ABG, ACGL, AGD, AGO, AKAO, AL, ALL, ALSN, AMAT, AMD, AME, AMP, APO, ARCC, ASMB, ASUR, AVGO, BAP, BDJ, BGCP, BIF, BKMU, BLW, BOX, BRKS, BST, BSX, BXMT, CBA, CBOE, CC, CDNS, CDW, CEM, CHI, CHKP, CHW, CIBR, CIM, CLCD, CNHI, CNK, CSC, CTXS, CVGI, CYBE, DE, DGRW, DIAX, DPZ, DSCI, DSL, DSU, ECPG, EMES, EMR, ETV, EVT, EXTR, FFWM, FLL, FORM, FRA, FRME, FSIC, GCAP, GDV, GKOS, GLAD, GLT, GRFS, HAS, HCI, HII, HIX, HMC, HMN, HON, HRG, HSKA, HTGC, HYH, IAC, ICE, IDXX, INSM, IPHI, IRBT, ITUB, JGH, JSD, KLIC, KN, KTOS, KYN, LFC, LOB, LUK, MAR, MASI, MBUU, MELI, MHLD, MKTX, MLI, MMSI, MPLX, MPSX, MRVL, MS, MSB, MSCI, MTD, MTN, MTOR, MXIM, MXL, NCZ, NHF, NSC, NTCT, NVDA, NYT, PCI, PCN, PFL, PFN, PME, PNC, PNK, PRMW, PVG, QQEW, QQQ, QTEC, RAI, RBC, RDN, RDVY, RE, RMAX, RMT, ROL, ROP, RP, RVT, SASR, SCM, SF, SGM, SGMS, SHLO, SHOP, SKYY, SLAB, SLRC, SNOW, SNPS, SOHO, SOXX, SPGI, STAY, STMP, SYMC, TAL, TEL, TEN, TEP, TGS, TICC, TIER, TQQQ, TRGP, TROX, TSU, TY, UNM, VGI, VIAV, VMW, WCG, WMGI, WNC, WRB, XXIA, YUM, ZTS Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ACET, ACUR, AOBC, APDN, BONT, CERS, CHKE, COSIQ, CRI, DCTH, DMTX, DRWI, DXLG, FCEL, GBSN, GNC, HGG, ICLD, IRMD, KEP, KORS, MFIN, MYGN, NAO, NH, OCRX, OHRP, PLUG, RH, SABR, SBOT, SCOR, SHIP, SHLD, SOL, SPWH, SQBG, SQQQ, SSI, ULTR, VFC, VMEMQ, VNCE, VNR, VRA, WKHS, XCOMQ Thinly-Traded Stocks (ADV below 45k) that traded to 52 week highs on High Volume: ACFC, AIQ, AUBN, BBGI, BCBP, CDI, CFCO, DNI, ESLT, ESXB, EVBS, FCFP, HBK, HFBC, ITEQ, MGCD, MNDO, MRLN, ONEQ, PGC, PKBK, PRCP, QQXT, QYLD, RMR, SAR, SNOA, TRCB, UBFO, UNTY, VALX, VONG, WBKC Thinly-Traded Stocks (ADV below 45k) that traded to 52 week lows on High Volume: AXSM, CDNA, CGG, CRWS, FXCM, SRSC, TANH, USAK ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: DIA, EPU, IGN, IGV, IWF, KIE, OEF, QQQ, SKYY, SMH, SOXX, XLK ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: NIB

 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: AKAO (18.56 +6.27%), CNC (67.5 +6.08%), OMER (10.47 +5.76%)
• Materials: CENX (16.18 +4.76%)
• Industrials: ALSN (37.75 +6.76%), WATT (16.57 +6.63%), MLI (42.21 +4.9%), TDG (242.07 +4.82%), EMR (62.72 +4.78%)
• Consumer Discretionary: FRED (15.14 +7.3%), ABG (68.05 +6.58%), WWW (22.33 +6.23%), ARMK (35.25 +5.29%)
• Information Technology: WUBA (29.32 +4.71%), CDW (55.91 +4.7%), LITE (40.6 +4.64%)
• Financials: GCAP (8.07 +5.49%)
• Energy: NOV (39.71 +6.01%)
• Consumer Staples: STKL (7.4 +5.71%), ELF (26.63 +5.17%)

Today's top 20 % losers

• Healthcare: LMNX (18.48 -7.46%), STE (66.27 -6.91%), MNKD (0.51 -5.73%), MD (65.06 -5.6%), HQY (44.66 -4.98%)
• Materials: AKG (3.25 -13.79%), FMC (57.61 -5.05%)
• Industrials: YRCW (13.46 -10.39%)
• Consumer Discretionary: KORS (36.14 -12.45%), MOD (12.2 -9.29%), RH (24.53 -6.8%)
• Information Technology: SABR (22.16 -10.68%), BMI (35.75 -7.02%), ARW (69.79 -6.42%), MSI (77.18 -5.57%)
• Energy: CRC (19.16 -9.41%), EPE (5 -8.33%), SDLP (4.31 -7.91%), BTE (3.59 -5.66%), CIE (0.89 -5.33%)

 

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 Healthcare: TEVA (16.32 mln -4.51%) Materials: VALE (10.4 mln +2.41%), FCX (9.81 mln -1.75%), CLF (8.94 mln +2.09%) Consumer Discretionary: GM (21.31 mln -4.49%), F (14.75 mln -1.08%), KORS (14.75 mln -12.45%), FCAU (8.91 mln -4.04%) Information Technology: AMD (86.87 mln -0.59%), TWTR (16.46 mln +3.18%), AAPL (15.5 mln +1.21%), SABR (13.16 mln -10.68%), NVDA (9.94 mln +2.34%), ZNGA (8.58 mln -1.97%) Financials: BAC (34.88 mln -0.06%), RF (9.55 mln +0.99%) Energy: CHK (14.24 mln -2.19%), WFT (13.42 mln -2.6%), BP (11.02 mln -4.41%) Telecommunication Services: FTR (9.02 mln -0.9%) Today's top relative volume (current volume to 1-month average daily volume) Healthcare: STE (3.25x -6.91%), LMNX (2.55x -7.46%), PINC (2.34x -3.36%) Materials: ICL (2.86x -0.86%), VMC (2.33x -3.38%) Consumer Discretionary: KORS (7.22x -12.45%), MOD (2.4x -9.29%) Information Technology: SCOR (7.45x +1.74%), MSI (6.76x -5.57%), SABR (6.06x -10.68%), SFUN (3.28x -2.79%), FN (3.11x +2.49%), KN (2.3x +3.67%) Financials: KBWB (2.53x +0.04%), BAP (2.39x +2.67%), GCAP (2.25x +5.49%) Energy: CPPL (9.45x +0%), AM (7x +1.09%), NOV (2.35x +6.01%) Telecommunication Services: IQNT (3.13x +0.04%)

 

European Markets Closing PricesEuropean markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows: UK's FTSE: + 0.2% Germany's DAX: + 0.3% France's CAC: -0.5% Spain's IBEX: -0.3% Portugal's PSI: -0.7% Italy's MIB Index: -0.2% Irish Ovrl Index: -0.8% Greece ASE General Index: + 0.4%

 

Esperion Therapeutics — volume alert  (19.63 +1.97)

 

Market Internals The broader market is in the midst of a decent advance at the moment, led higher by the Nasdaq Composite which adds about 19 points (+0.34%) to 5682, the Dow Jones Industrial Average follows closely, up 69 (+0.34%) to 20121, and the S&P 500 is higher by about 3 (+0.15%) to 2296. Action has come on mixed average volume (NYSE 294 vs. avg. of 322; NASDAQ 801 mln vs. avg. of 771), with advancers outpacing decliners (NYSE 1511/1427, NASDAQ 1389/1319) and new highs outpacing new lows (NYSE 121/11, NASDAQ 109/29). Relative Strength: Egypt-EGPT +3.1%, US Nat Gas-UNG +2.8%, Silver Miners-SIL +1.2%, Copper Miners-COPX +0.9%, Livestock-COW +0.8%, Global Timber-WOOD +0.8%, Peru-EPU +0.7%, US Broker/Dealers-IAI +0.7%, Consumer Staples-XLP +0.6%, Brazil-EWZ +0.5%, Vietnam-VNM +0.3%, United Kingdom-EWU +0.3%, Latin Am. 40-ILF +0.3%, Netherlands-EWN +0.3%. Relative Weakness: Sugar-SGG -2.5%, Oil&Gas E&P-XOP -2.5%, US Gasoline-UGA -2.1%, US Oil-USO -2.1%, Cocoa-NIB -1.7%, Lithium-LIT -1.7%, Oil Svcs.-OIH -1.6%, Turkey-TUR -1.5%, Greece-GREK -1.2%, S. Africa-EZA -1.1%, S. Korea-EWY -1.1%, Philippines-EPHE -1.0%, France-EWQ -1.0%, Mexico-EWW -0.9%, Saudi Arabia-KSA -0.8%.

 

Sector Summary: The Healthcare sector (+0.11%) is trading higher today, in-line w/ the S&P 500 (+0.10%)Gainers on news: VBI Vaccines (VBIV +3.05%) announces the receipt of positive Scientific Advice from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medical Agency regarding the company's development path for its Sci-B-Vac vaccine in Europe Decliners on news: Alcobra (ADHD -7.69%) announces FDA meeting on its ADAIR product candidate defined a 505(b)(2) development path, to be funded with existing cash balance, and targeting a 2H 2018 NDA submission Teva Pharma (TEVA -4.83%) appoints Dr. Yitzhak Peterburg as Interim CEO succeeding Erez Vigodman and names Dr. Sol J. Barer as Chairman Gainers on earnings: Arrowhead (ARWR +7.98%) reports Q1 EPS of ($0.17) vs ($0.21) single analyst estimate; revs $4.365 mln vs $4.4 mln single analyst estimate Centene (CNC +6.16%) beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides FY17 EPS in-line, revs in-line Catalent (CTLT +3.79%) beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY17 revs in-line Decliners on earnings: Luminex (LMNX -7.16%) misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 revs in-line; reaffirms FY17 guidance Steris (STE -6.86%) misses by $0.06, misses on revs; lowers FY17 EPS and rev guidance Mednax (MD -5.51%) misses by $0.06, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus Upgrades/Downgrades: Achaogen (AKAO +7.56%) initiated with a Buy at Stifel; tgt $27 Bioverativ (BIVV +3.13%) initiated with a Strong Buy at Raymond James; tgt $59 Athersys (ATHX +3.13%) initiated with a Buy at Needham; tgt $7 Haemonetics (HAE -2.55%) downgraded to Mkt Perform at Barrington Research

 

Hearing JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) were all upgraded earlier to Outperform from Hold at Daiwa  (86.75 -0.02)

 

Senate confirms Betsy Devos for Education Secretary with a 50-50 vote, Vice President Mike Pence will break the tie(Potential related stocks: UTI, LINC, APEI, BPI, CECO, DV, LRN, LOPE, CPLA, STRA, NAVI, SLM, NNI, CFG)

 

Hearing Bank of America was upgraded earlier to Outperform at Daiwa  (23.03 -0.09)

 

Hearing Royal Bank of Scotland was upgraded to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank  (5.73 +0.10)

 Midday Market Summary: Equity Indices Flat at Midday

The major averages have ticked down in recent action, with the S&P 500 (-0.1%) exchanging a slim gain for a slim loss. The Nasdaq (+0.1%) and the Dow (+0.2%) still hold a portion of their early gains, but have also given up some ground amid a recent uptick in the Treasury market.

Demand for U.S. Treasuries has picked up this afternoon, pushing the government-issued debt to a new session high. The benchmark 10-yr yield, which was up two basis points this morning, is currently lower by three basis points at 2.38%.

Sectors are divided fairly evenly with five posting gains and six holding losses. The consumer staples sector (+0.6%) has emerged as the day's leader, with the top-weighted technology sector (+0.4%) just a step behind. Apple (AAPL 131.85, +1.56) has underpinned the tech space's performance again, trading higher by 1.2%.

Industrials (+0.3%) are also in the mix for the top spot on today's leaderboard, with Emerson Electric (EMR 62.49, +2.63) leading the charge. EMR shares have jumped 4.4% after the company reported better than expected top and bottom lines this morning in addition to raising earnings guidance for 2017.

General Motors (GM 35.05, -1.76) also produced a positive earnings report this morning, beating earnings and revenue estimates. However, the earnings beat may have taken a back seat to the company's 3.8% year-over-year decline in January sales. Shares of GM trade lower by 4.9%.

The consumer discretionary sector (-0.1%) has been weighed down by GM and other automakers, joining materials (-0.7%) and energy (-1.6%) in negative territory. The energy space has suffered from a 2.0% loss from crude oil as an uptick in U.S. production, signs of slowing demand growth, and a 0.4% climb in the U.S. Dollar Index (100.20, +0.36) have weighed on the commodity. WTI crude currently trades at $51.92/bbl.

Although the U.S. Dollar Index continues trading in the green, it has backed away from its high. The index has cut its gain in half due to a recent rebound in the Japanese yen (111.90) and the euro (1.0693).

Economic data reported this morning included December Trade Balance and December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey:

• The December trade balance showed a deficit of $44.3 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected the deficit to hit $45.0 billion. The previous month's deficit was revised to $45.7 billion from $45.2 billion.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it could stir the political trade pot since there were trade deficits recorded with China, the European Union, Japan, Germany, and Mexico. That isn't new, yet there's a new administration that isn't too fond of that dynamic.
• The December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings decreased to 5.501 million from a revised 5.505 million (from 5.522 million) in November.

The Consumer Credit report (Briefing.com consensus $19.4 billion), which will be released at 3:00 pm ET, will be the last economic report of the day.

 

Auction Out Treasury Auction Results $24 bln 3-year Treasury auction Auction results High yield: 1.423% (0.4-bp stop-through) Bid-to-cover: 2.78 Indirect bid: 57.2% Direct bid: 8.1% Average results of prior 12 auctions High yield: 1.012% Bid-to-cover: 2.80 Indirect bid: 50.1% Direct bid: 10.0%

 

Earnings Calendar for Tuesday, February 7th Today after the close look for the following companies to report: DIS, GILD, MDLZ, GNW, ORLY, AIZ, FTV, CSRA, PXD, CNO, SCSC, MCHP, ATO, PNRA, TTWO, AKAM, BWLD, EEFT, NUAN, HCSG, WAIR, NTGR, JKHY, KFRC, COHR, LITE, USNA, ZG, TCS, CPT, ULTI, DEI, MYGN, HIW, ESE, FARM, TDW, POWL, SPA, IPHI, TWLO, NEWR, NANO, CALD, SPSC, TCX, JIVE, MOBL, PRO, EMKR, CTRE, EPM, PDVW, YUMC Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report: HUM, SNY, ABB, EXC, TWX, PFGC, GT, AGN, CTSH, JEC, VOYA, OC, AXTA, BR, BCO, ARCB, CG, LPX, FLOW, GWR, NJR, GRA, LABL, ORBK, ROLL, WD, GRUB, CSTE, THR, RDWR, OESX

 

Rumor Round Up Rumor Activity was active today. Reuters discussed that Micron (MU 24.28 -0.06) and SK Hynix (HXSCL 41.71 +0.00) might be interested in Toshiba (TOSBF 2.11 +0.00) chip unit stake. Hasbro (HAS 94.84 +0.54) for Mattel (MAT 26.03 +0.11) M&A speculation circulated, Transocean (RIG 13.38 -0.17) M&A chatter made the rounds. FireEye (FEYE 10.98 +0.13) M&A speculation circulated. There was speculation that Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT 29.43 +0.36) cancelled out of a conference. There was speculation that Macy's (M 31.22 -0.57) may not see interest from private equity firms. 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

 

Spy trading flat; Staples are the best performing sector and Energy is the worst performing sector Sector Ticker % Change YTD % Change Cons. Staples XLP 0.8% 3% Technology XLK 0.3% 5% Utilities XLU 0.3% 1% Real Estate XLRE 0.1% 0% Industrials XLI 0.1% 2% Healthcare XLV 0.0% 4% Cons. Disc. XLY -0.1% 3% Financials XLF -0.3% 1% Telecom IYZ -0.5% -2% Materials XLB -0.8% 4% Energy XLE -1.7% -5%

 

Unusual Options Activity The following options are exhibiting notable trading, potentially indicating changing sentiment toward the underlying stocks, and/or potentially representing positioning for increased volatility. Bullish Call Activity: ALXN Feb 135 calls (volume: 2480, open int: 1540, implied vol: ~54%, prev day implied vol: 49%) — nearly 2200 contracts traded in a single transaction. Co is confirmed to report earnings February 16 before the open. HST Feb 18 calls (volume: 2500, open int: 4860, implied vol: ~27%, prev day implied vol: 25%) — co will report earnings February 22 before the open (outside of expiration). MCD Mar 120 calls (volume: 2890, open int: 18.9K, implied vol: ~15%, prev day implied vol: 14%) — over 2K traded in a single transaction. Co reported earnings late January and is expected to report its next quarterly earnings late April. Co is scheduled to have an investor meeting on March 1. Co will present at another conference on March 14. Bearish Put Activity: BCRX Feb 4 puts (volume: 5020, open int: 390, implied vol: ~310%, prev day implied vol: 218%) — over 3600 contracts traded in a single transaction. Co is expected to report earnings late February, likely outside of expiration. CLF Weekly Feb10 9 puts are seeing interest ahead of earnings Thursday, February 9 before the open (volume: 3450, open int: 2550, implied vol: ~116%, prev day implied vol: 105%) — M&A speculation circulated last week. Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 1.22… VIX: (11.47, +0.10, +0.9%). February 17 is options expiration — the last day to trade February 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.

 

Events and conferences of interest for tomorrow Events and conferences of interest for tomorrow, February 8th include: Cowen and Co 38th Annual Aerospace, Defense and Industrials Conference (February 8-9th) Scheduled to appear: KTOS, COL, RTN, GE, LMT, OSIS, KLXI, ARNC, LDOS, JCI, NOC, EGL, BA, SPR Yahoo Finance All Markets Summit Notable to appear: BLK, WFC, BCS, SCHW, SYMC, YHOO 2017 MoneyShow Orlando Investor Conference Scheduled to appear: AMTD, ABDC, MPW, ETFC, ACBFF, TBQBF, BKCC, CAPC, NNN, LMRK, MSRT, ALE, AFL, LTEA, PG, VPRB, CPU (Speakers) Conference in progress: IOT Evolution Expo 2017 (February 7-10th) Scheduled to appear: SQNS, AMZN, TCM, VZ, ACN, ARW, CAMP, CA:CF, CSCO, DVMT, F, GE, HTHIY, IBM, INTC, MSFT, NUAN, NMRX, SBGSY, SWIR, S, TRMB, USM, DGII, TMUS, SFE (Conference Agenda)

 

Hearing Humana, Anthem (ANTM) were both transferred/initiated with Neutral ratings earlier at Cantor Fitzgerald  (195.88 -0.59)

 

Credit Acceptance Corp. — volume alert  (200.00 -3.39)

 

Caterpillar upgrade details — to Overweight at Barclays; tgt raised to $110  (93.19 +0.32)Barclays upgrades CAT to Overweight from Equal Weight and raises their tgt to $110 from $100. Firm feels investors likely will never see a chance to buy CAT revs with as much upside as in 2017. There's one caveat to that; investors may see a chance to buy even more depressed revenues in 2018. Still, CAT will likely end 2018 on consensus expectations with the worst trend in its history, inclusive of the Great Depression. On firm's well-above consensus 2018 numbers, the same applies. That leaves CAT trading at 17x firm's 2018E EPS, on revs that would be the most below trend of any machinery stock. The obvious issue is that CAT's peak was supported by a massive China investment in fixed assets and by mining spending that was bubbly on top of that.

 

Sector Summary: Industrials trade higher than the broader market; Spirit (SAVE) reports January traffic The Industrials sector (XLI) is trading +0.2% higher today, higher than the broader market (SPY +0.0%). In the Industrial Sector, Spirit Airlines (SAVE -2.8%) reports January traffic and Tata Motors (TTM -3.1%) reports January Jaguar Land Rover sales. Earnings/Guidance Emerson (EMR +4.2%) reports Q1 earnings of $0.49 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the consensus of $0.43; revenues fell 3.6% year/year to $3.22 bln vs the $3.15 bln consensus. Co raises EPS guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $2.40-2.55 (prior $2.35-2.50), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.41 consensus; sees FY17 net sales down 1 to 3% between $14.09-$14.38 bln, vs. the $14.65 bln consensus. Transdigm Group (TDG +5.7%) Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $2.57 per share, $0.07 better than consensus of $2.50; revenues rose 16.0% year/year to $814 mln vs the $803.36 mln consensus. Issues guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $12.02-12.30 vs. $12.13 consensus; sees FY17 revs of $3.52-3.57 bln vs. $3.54 bln consensus. Ametek (AME -0.1%) reports Q4 earnings of $0.58 per share, in-line with the consensus of $0.58; revenues fell 1.5% year/year to $973 mln vs the $969.84 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.55-0.57 vs. $0.59 consensus; sees Q1 revs of flat from ~$944 mln vs. $976.64 mln consensus. Co issues in-line guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $2.34-2.46 vs. $2.45 consensus with mid single digit sales growth vs. +2.3% consensus and low-single digit organic sales growth. Aecom Tech (ACM +2%) reports Q1 earnings of $0.53 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 1.4% year/year to $4.36 bln vs the $4.24 bln consensus. Reaffirms guidancefor FY17, sees EPS of $2.80-3.20, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.95 consensus. Additional Industrials reporting earnings/guidance: LII +1.1% AGCO +1.1% SAVE -2.8% RBC +2.1% MLI +4.3% WJAFF -1.6% ATKR -0.3% AZZ -0.8% ASC -1.4% USAK -16.8% News Spirit Airlines (SAVE -2.8%) reports preliminary traffic (revenue passenger miles) in January 2017 increased 9.9 percent versus January 2016 on a capacity (available seat miles) increase of 14.8 percent. Tata Motors (TTM -3.1%) reports Jaguar Land Rover sales for Jan increased 4% YoY Jaguar Land Rover's global retail sales performance for January shows growth in North America (29%), China (14%), the UK (2%) but down in Europe (8%) and in other overseas markets (19%). Broker Research Upgrades Caterpillar (CAT +0.4%) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays. Parker-Hannifin (PH -0.4%) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus Downgrades Herc Holdings (HRI -2.4%) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Northcoast Other Costamare (CMRE -0.2%) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $5.50.  XPO Logistics (XPO -2%) initiated with a Buy at Seaport Global Securities; tgt $60. Primoris Services (PRIM -0.2%) initiated with an Equal Weight at a boutique firm; $26 tgt.

 

Bristow Group target raised to $25 at Barclays — Financing extends liquidity runway, now needs cycle help to delever  (18.32 -0.96)Barclays raises their BRS tgt to $25 from $20 based on 60% reported owned fleet FMV and 7x F2019 EBITDA for UK SAR but believe upside from here may be harder to come by as focus reverts back to fundamentals. While firm has to believe that BRS's near-death experience and CHC's bankruptcy will instill more pricing and contract term discipline in what is a relatively consolidated mission critical service, they worry that shorter, more range-bound O&G cycles will restrain NT offshore activity to tiebacks and stepouts to existing production facilities, limiting new facility additions and thus helicopter demand growth. Beyond cyclical headwinds, firm believes there has been structural demand destruction this downturn following aggressive steps by int'l oil companies (IOCs) to optimize work-forces and crew rotation schedules. What would make them more positive is if BRS can continue to demonstrate share gains from CHC Group, which is set to soon emerge from Ch. 11, and if helicopters held by lessors effectively are removed from the market as shadow capacity, accelerating a supply /demand rebalancing.

 

Hearing Korea Electric Power Corp was downgraded earlier to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities  (17.72 -0.25)

 Currency Market Summary

Dollar Reverses Big Gains

• The U.S. Dollar Index added 0.36% to 100.27 today after trading as high as 100.72 early in the session. The overnight buying interest was driven by three factors. First, Philadelphia Fed President Harker said that a March rate hike is on the table for him and that sent Treasury yields higher along with the dollar. Second, there were more political worries about the eurozone with the IMF potentially not participating in the Greek bailout and traders still fretting about France's upcoming election in April. Third, German industrial production fell by the most since 2009 during December and that unwound some of the optimism that Monday's German factory orders surprise had created. Those concerns faded throughout the course of today's session as Treasury yields moved sharply lower which drove money flows back towards the yen, euro, and British pound. Again, the dollar does remain higher along with the pound and the greenback is broadly gaining against emerging market currencies
• EUR/USD: -0.44% to 1.0692
  
  • German industrial production dropped 3.0% m/m in December, missing estimates for modest growth after a 0.5% increase in November
  • France's current account deficit narrowed more than expected to EUR1.1 bln for December from EUR2.8 bln for November
• GBP/USD: +0.40% 1.2514
  
  • The U.K.'s Halifax House Price Index fell 0.9% m/m in January (+5.7% y/y), missing forecasts after 1.6% growth in December
  • The U.K.'s BRC Retail Sales Monitor slipped by 0.6% y/y in January, missing expectations after a 1.0% rise in December
• USD/CHF: +0.50% 0.9968
  
  • Switzerland's SECO Consumer Climate Index jumped more than expected to -3 for Q1 from -13 in Q4 2016
• USD/JPY: +0.33% to 112.11
  
  • Japan's Leading Index increased by a smaller-than-expected 2.6% m/m in December (+1.9% in November)
  • Japan's Coincident Index ticked up by 0.1% m/m in December (+1.6% in November)
• USD/CNY: +0.33% to 6.886
  
• USD/RUB: +0.67% to 69.34
  
• USD/TRY: +1.57% to 3.747
  
• USD/BRL: +0.18% to 3.122
• USD/MXN: +0.23% to 20.596
  
• USD/CAD: +0.61% to 1.317
  
  • Canada's Ivey PMI fell to 57.2 for January (seasonally adjusted basis) from 60.8 in December. Economists had expected a smaller decline
  • Canada's trade surplus narrowed less than expected to CAD0.92 bln for December from CAD1.01 bln in November
  • Building permits fell 6.6% m/m in December, missing expectations after a 1.2% dip in November
• AUD/USD: -0.16% to 0.7631
  
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia held its main policy rate at 1.50% today, as expected, but indicated that further easing is done for the time being
    
    • The RBA is currently navigating between the Scylla of below-target inflation and the Charybdis of a strong housing market. The RBA's statement noted that lending standards strengthened
  • Separately, Australia's AIG Construction Index rose to a four-month high of 47.7 in January (47.0 in December)
• NZD/USD: -0.08% to 0.7313

 

HD Supply Holdings — volume alert  (43.12 +0.50)