Америка сегодня. Занятость, безработица и деловая активность.

Major European indices trade in the green with France's CAC (+0.9%) showing relative strength. A pair of European Central Bank members, Peter Praet and Benoit Coeure, spoke about monetary policy, but neither gave much thought to the recent uptick in inflation. The euro (1.0732) and the pound (1.2489) are both down about 0.3% against the dollar.

• In economic data:
  • Eurozone December Retail Sales -0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last -0.6%); +1.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.8%; previous 2.5%). January Services PMI 53.7 (consensus 53.6; last 53.6)
  • Germany's January Services PMI 53.4 (expected 53.2; last 53.2)
  • UK's January Services PMI 54.5 (expected 55.8; previous 56.2)
  • France's January Services PMI 54.1 (consensus 53.9; last 53.9)
  • Spain's January Services PMI 54.2 (expected 54.8; previous 55.0)
  • Italy's January Services PMI 52.4 (consensus 52.5; previous 52.3). January CPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.4%); +0.9% year-over-year, as expected (last 0.5%)

---Equity Markets---

• Germany's DAX is higher by 0.3%. Continental leads with a 4.0% gain while Deutsche Bank is up 1.1% after announcing plans to cut staff. Allianz and Munich Re are both up near 0.8% while Lufthansa, Daimler, and BASF lag. The three names are down between 0.4% and 0.7%.
• UK's FTSE has climbed 0.4% amid strength in financials. Barclays, Prudential, RBS, Lloyds Banking, RSA Insurance, and Standard Life are up between 1.2% and 3.0%. Miners trade in negative territory with Glencore, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, and BHP Billiton down between 2.9% and 3.8%.
• France's CAC outperforms with a gain of 0.9%. Michelin has jumped 2.8% after announcing plans to raise European tire prices. Financials like AXA, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale have added between 0.4% and 2.4%. ArcelorMittal lags, trading lower by 1.7%.

• Asterias Biotherapeutics (AST) announced the company is extending the expiration date of certain warrants. The decision to extend the warrants takes into consideration Asterias' recent announcement of positive interim efficacy results from its ongoing SCiStar Phase 1/2a clinical trial that showed additional motor function improvement at 6 months and 9 months following administration of 10 million AST-OPC1 cells in patients with complete cervical spinal cord injuries (AIS-A patients). Further data will become available in the third quarter of 2017 evaluating 12-month safety and efficacy results for this AIS-A 10 million cell cohort, as well as 6-month efficacy and safety data for the currently-enrolling AIS-A 20 million cell and AIS-B 10 million cell cohorts. In addition, Asterias announced that as of December 31, 2016, the company's cash and cash equivalents totaled $19.8 million (unaudited) and its cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities totaled $35.1 million (unaudited).
• Oxford Performance Materials announced that it has closed on an additional round of strategic investment from Hexcel Corporation (HXL). In May 2016, OPM and Hexcel announced an initial strategic investment from Hexcel of $15 million. The second round of investment from Hexcel is $10 million, for a total equity investment of $25 million to date.

• Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) announced it had entered into an agreement with Intuit (INTU), which allows Wells Fargo customers who use financial management tools such as QuickBooks Online, Mint, and TurboTax Online to use an innovative application-programming interface when importing their bank account information.
• Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) and TDK Corporation announced the completion of the previously announced joint venture under the name RF360 Holdings Singapore PTE. Ltd… The joint venture will enable Qualcomm's RFFE Business Unit to deliver RF front-end (RFFE) modules and RF filters into fully integrated systems for mobile devices and fast-growing business segments, such as Internet of Things, automotive applications, connected computing, and more. The business being transferred constitutes a part of the TDK SAW Business Group activities.

• Chardan notes Amgen (unrated) announced the ~27,500 patient FOURIER cardiovascular outcomes study (CVOT) testinganti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody inhibitor, Repatha, met its primary and key secondary endpoint. Given the positive topline results and the likely permanent injunction of Neutral-rated Regeneron's (REGN, SNY) PCSK9 inhibitor, Praluent, they reiterate their long-held belief that Amgen (with marketed Repatha) and partners, the Medicines Company (MDCO, Buy) and Alnylam (ALNY, Buy) (with phase III inclisiran), are the best ways to invest in the theme of the emergence of PCSK9 inhibitors. With the news overnight they reiterate their view of MDCO as a Chardan top pick for 2017.
• H.C. Wainwright notes MDCO spiked up at least $5.60 (14.7%) on the long-awaited release of top-line data from FOURIER, Amgen's (AMGN; not rated) large cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) of its marketed PCSK9 inhibitor, Repatha (evolocumab), with clear positive read-throughs to MDCO's lead pipeline asset, inclisiran (PCSK9si), given the same mechanism of action (MOA) leads to a putative (and quite likely) class effect. Detailed results from FOURIER are under strict embargo until they are presented at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 66th Annual Scientific Session Late-Breaking Clinical Trials session in Washington, D.C. on Friday, March 17 believe the combination of full data from ORION-1 and FOURIER represents a truly substantial catalyst event for MDCO shares, and recommend investors consider either establishing or adding to their MDCO positions ahead of the conference embargo release in March.
• MDCO +9%, AMGN +2.6%, ALNY +0.3%… competitors REGN +1%, SNY +0.1%

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

• PXLW +19.4%, DATA +15.1%, FTNT +13%, PCTY +8.5%, BPY +7.7%, PFSI +5.6%, AVIR +5%, ESL +4.6%, IXYS +4.2%, V +3.9%, CY +3.6%, CLX +2.9%
• HMC +2.9%, CENT +2.7%, AMGN +2.5%, AIV +1.7%, ESS +1.6%, XPLR +1.2%, THG +1.2%

M&A news:

• CERU +13.9% (likely on continued M&A sepculation (strategic alternatives announced Feb 1))

Select financial names showing strength amid headlines that President Trump will begin acting today on plans to reduce regulatory burdens on the financial sector, with the review review Dodd-Frank and reversal of the Fiduciary Rule:

• BCS +2.5%, BAC +1.7%, GS +1.6%, C +1.4%, CS +0.7%, ING +0.7%

Other news:

• MDCO +10.5% (following Amgen's Repatha update and earnings)
• IPCI +10.4% (announces FDA acceptance for filing of NDA for Rexista (oxycodone hydrochloride extended release), an abuse deterrent opioid analgesic for the treatment of moderate to severe pain)
• ESPR +10% (following Amgen's Repatha update and earnings)
• SDRL +6.1% (modestly rebounding following recent weakness)
• AMGN +2.5% (announces Repatha significantly Reduced the risk of cardiovascular events in FOURIER Outcomes Study — Landmark Repatha Cardiovascular Outcomes Study meets primary and key secondary endpoint)
• PANW +1.7% (in sympathy with FTNT earnings
• MA +1.3% (in sympathy with V earnings)
• REGN +1% (following Amgen's Repatha update and earnings)

Analyst comments:

• RIG +1.3% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse )
• AMTD +1.3% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse)
• F +0.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays )
• FCAU +0.7% (upgraded to Equal Weight at Barclays)

• Needham — Needham notes the co's guide looked overly cautious. Needham encouraged management to make doubly sure they wouldn't miss twice & to scrub the numbers extremely thoroughly, but they had not expected this sharp of a reduction. Given the number of sales hires over the last 6 months & the investment internationally, management expects to re-establish a 20%+ growth trajectory by CY2H. Needham stated they are sharply cutting their estimates. Needham wants to ensure they are low enough to be able to see improvement from here. Needham also stated they believe this market is a strong growth sector and that GIMO can regain 20%+ growth. Lastly, Needham concluded that The Street is likely to be highly skeptical until the turnaround manifests.
• Stifel — Given the ongoing challenges & uncertainties around customer pushouts, Stifel stated they maintain their Hold rating. T-Mobile represented just under 10% of sales in 2016, or an estimated $29.5 mln. Their research continues to anticipate T-Mobile will represent a headwind in 2017, although Stifel notes that service provider spending could remain robust in a 100G upgrade cycle with other recent service provider wins having the potential to offset headwinds. Stifel also noted that Europe was a bright spot in the quarter, growing 43% y/y and 108% q/q, with a new VP of sales just joining the region.

— Shares of GIMO -13% pre-market.

• Stifel Research lowers tgt to $17 from $20. FireEye reported 4Q16 results that came in below Street expectations on both billings and revenue. While operational efficiencies and lower sales commissions helped drive a greater than $0.10 EPS beat and positive operating cash flow, a variety of factors continue to pressure the company's execution, including: 1) Ongoing transitions within the salesforce; 2) A continued push away from traditional appliance sales in favor of recurring subscriptions, which will drive continued pressure on the company's product revenue; 3) Finally, a handful of large deals slipped out of Q4, and while firm does not believe these were competitive displacements, they did serve to further pressure the billings numbers in the quarter.
• First Analysis upgrades FEYE to equal weight from underweight. Firm believes thesis--that a buying environment favoring broader platform players combined with significant cost-cutting would make it difficult to both reaccelerate growth and reach targeted profitability--has played out following the company's disappointing Q4 revenue results and guidance. With the stock down materially and below firm's $11 price target, it feels there is upside potential and downside risks are now more balanced.

Shares of FEYE are down approx 19% in reaction to earnings.

• Stifel raises their V tgt to $105 from $93. They view Visa's fiscal 1Q results quite positively as our optimistic views on reaccelerating top-line growth played out even better than expected. Although this was partially due to timing, Visa also offset a stiffer FX headwind and saw improving underlying growth. With additional upside from strong trends F2Q-to-date and cash repatriation (mgmt delayed $2B debt issuance), they continue to favor V over MA and reiterate their Top Pick. However, after results from both cos this week, the valuation gap has largely closed so their preference for Visa over MA has narrowed but they still favor Visa on upside in Europe.
• RBC notes Visa reported FQ1/17 results that were above expectations (especially for EPS) and reiterated guidance despite greater FX headwinds as volume and cross-border trends appear to be accelerating.
• V +4% at new all time high premarket; MA +0.6% premarket.

Filings:

• DuPont (DD) files for debt securities and common stock shelf offering

Offerings:

• Heat Biologics (HTBX) files prospectus supplement pursuant to which it may sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $17.5 mln through FBR Capital Markets & Co
• Interpace Diagnostics (IDXG) commences common stock offering; size not disclosed
• Pacific Biosciences (PACB) announces intention to offer and sell up to an aggregate offering price of $60 mln of shares of its common stock from time to time, through an 'at the market offering'
• Top Ships (TOPS) enters into Common Stock Purchase Agreement with Kalani Investments, pursuant to which the Company may sell up to $3,099,367 mln of shares of its common stock to Kalani over a period of 24 months
• xG Technology (XGTI) announces that it intends to offer for sale shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase its common stock in an underwritten public offering; size not disclosed

Pricings:

• Axovant Sciences (AXON 11.96) enters into a $55.0 million debt financing agreement; in connection, the co issued Hercules Capital (HTGC) a warrant to purchase up to 274,086 of its common shares at an exercise price of $12.04/share
• Neos Therapeutics (NEOS 5.80) prices 5 mln share offering at $5.00/share

• RBC Capital Mkts raises their FTNT tgt to $35 from $30 Results were ahead on license outperformance that flowed through to the bottom line. Following the Q2/16 preannouncement and continued uncertainty in Q3/16, results and a firming outlook into FY/17 are likely to be better received by investors; Sector Perform rating.
• Stifel raises tgt to $36 from $30 after Fortinet announced 4Q16 results that came in ahead of consensus estimates across all major financial metrics. During the period, Fortinet saw billings growth re-accelerate from the 16.0% y/y clip recorded in Q3 to 21.6% y/y, and while they acknowledge the fact that this outperformance was driven at least in part by growing demand for the co's enterprise bundles, they believe this sequential re-acceleration in growth to be more a function of the record 39 deals >$1mn closed in Q4. However, they do not consider the potential for incremental sales cycle extensions to be strictly macro-driven, as they believe that there remains significant potential for Fortinet's ramping salesforce to experience growing pains similar to those that hampered the company's Q3 performance as they continue to mature. That being said, they were pleased with the co's Q4 performance that more closely aligned with the strength noted within their Q4 VAR Survey.
• FTNT +13% testing 2016 highs near 37 premarket.
  • HACK peers: PANW +1.7%, IMPV 0.5%, FEYE -20%.

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

Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended the week on a mixed note. The overnight session was fairly quiet, but the yen slumped to 113.15 against the dollar after the Bank of Japan intervened in the bond market to keep the 10-yr Japanese Government Bond yield below 0.11%. This marked the first intervention since the central bank stated its desire to keep the 10-yr yield around 0.0%. In China, the People's Bank of China raised short-term interest rates at the conclusion of the Chinese Lunar New Year Golden Week.

• In economic data:
  • China's January Caixin PMI 51.0 (consensus 51.8; last 51.9)
  • Hong Kong's January Manufacturing PMI 49.9 (last 50.3). December Retail Sales -2.9% year-over-year (last -5.5%)
  • South Korea's December Current Account surplus expanded to KRW8.57 billion from KRW7.05 billion
  • New Zealand's ANZ Commodity Price Index -0.1% month-over-month (last 0.7%)
  • India's Nikkei Services PMI 48.7 (last 46.8)

---Equity Markets---

• Japan's Nikkei settled just above its flat line, ending the week lower by 2.8%. Apple supplier Fujikura surged 12.4% while Sony, Furukawa, Chiba Bank, Shinsei Bank, Suzuki Motor, and Komatsu climbed between 1.3% and 5.0%.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.2%, extending this week's decline to 1.0%. Want Want China was the weakest performer, falling 1.7%. Financials were among the laggards with Bank of East Asia, BoC Hong Kong, HSBC, ICBC, and Ping An Insurance posting losses between 0.4% and 1.1%. China Life Insurance bucked the trend, climbing 1.7%.
• China's Shanghai Composite reopened after a week-long closure, surrendering 0.6%. Sinomach Automobile, Shanghai Material Trading, Jiangxi Copper, and Giti Tire lost between 2.9% and 3.9%.
• India's Sensex added 0.1%, extending its weekly gain to 4.5%. Most financials displayed strength with SBI, AXIS Bank, and HDFC Bank rising between 0.6% and 1.7% while ICICI Bank fell 1.5%.

Major European indices trade in the green with France's CAC (+1.0%) showing relative strength. A pair of European Central Bank members, Peter Praet and Benoit Coeure, spoke about monetary policy, but neither gave much thought to the recent uptick in inflation. The euro (1.0742) and the pound (1.2490) are down 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively, against the dollar.

• In economic data:
  • Eurozone December Retail Sales -0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.3%; last -0.6%); +1.1% year-over-year (consensus 1.8%; previous 2.5%). January Services PMI 53.7 (consensus 53.6; last 53.6)
  • Germany's January Services PMI 53.4 (expected 53.2; last 53.2)
  • UK's January Services PMI 54.5 (expected 55.8; previous 56.2)
  • France's January Services PMI 54.1 (consensus 53.9; last 53.9)
  • Spain's January Services PMI 54.2 (expected 54.8; previous 55.0)
  • Italy's January Services PMI 52.4 (consensus 52.5; previous 52.3). January CPI +0.2% month-over-month, as expected (last 0.4%); +0.9% year-over-year, as expected (last 0.5%)

---Equity Markets---

• Germany's DAX is higher by 0.5%. Continental leads with a 4.2% gain while Deutsche Bank is up 1.8% after announcing plans to cut staff. Allianz and Munich Re are both up near 1.0% while Lufthansa, Daimler, and BASF lag. The three names are down between 0.1% and 0.3%.
• UK's FTSE has climbed 0.6% amid strength in financials. Barclays, Prudential, RBS, Lloyds Banking, RSA Insurance, and Standard Life are up between 1.2% and 3.1%. Miners trade in negative territory with Glencore, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, and BHP Billiton down between 2.1% and 3.4%.
• France's CAC outperforms with a gain of 1.0%. Michelin has jumped 3.0% after announcing plans to raise European tire prices. Financials like AXA, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, and Societe Generale have added between 0.4% and 2.2%. ArcelorMittal lags, trading lower by 1.2%.

• Kimbell Royalty Partners (KRP): The limited partnership formed to own & acquire mineral royalty interests in oil & natural gas properties in US priced its 5.0 million unit IPO at $18, below the $19-$21 expected range.

• Ramaco Resources (METC): The miner of metallurgical coal in West Virginia, Virginia, and southwestern Pennsylvania priced its 6.0 million share IPO at $13.30, the mid-point of the $12-$15 expected price range.

Withdrawn IPOs:

• IC Power (ICP): The owner, developer and operator of power facilities located in key power generation markets in Latin America, the Caribbean and Israel withdrew its 25.9 million share IPO, citing «market conditions.»

Postponed IPOs: 

• Braeburn Pharmaceuticals (BBRX): The commercial stage pharmaceutical company developing long-acting medications for disorders of central nervous system has postponed its 7.7 million share IPO. It was expected to price within a range of $18-$21 and open for trading this morning.

• Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) that its subsidiary, PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI), continues to seek approval from Indonesian authorities for the export of its copper concentrates, consistent with its rights under its Contract of Work (COW). To date, this approval has not been granted.  Richard C. Adkerson, FCX President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chappy Hakim, PT-FI President Director, said: «We have been actively engaged with Indonesian governmental authorities to enable full operations at PT-FI to continue without disruption. This would be in the best interests of all stakeholders, including the Government of Indonesia, our large work force, the local community, local suppliers and Freeport's shareholders. We are disappointed that this matter remains unresolved and are concerned about the negative impacts for all stakeholders, especially for our workforce and the local economy. We encourage the Government to enable our full operations to continue without disruption and to provide the required assurances to support our long-term investment programs so these negative impacts can be avoided.»
• The Board of Directors of Intesa Sanpaolo (ISNPY) passed a resolution authorising the sale of a stake representing a total of around 4.88% of the Bank of Italy's share capital. The stake will be sold at its nominal value, which is equal to its carrying value, for an amount of around €366 million.
• Energy XXI Gulf Coast (EGXG) announced that Michael S. Reddin has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer and President, effective immediately. This follows the decision by John D. Schiller to depart from his roles as Director, CEO and President of EGC. Mr. Schiller has agreed to serve as an advisor to the Board during the transition. Further, EGC's Chief Financial Officer Bruce Busmire will be departing to pursue other interests. Chief Accounting Officer Hugh Menown will become the interim CFO.

• FTNT +13.77% PANW +2.75% PFPT +2.65% ZIXI +1.69% QLYS +1.38% RPD +1.14% CUDA +1.12% SYMC +1.10% SCWX +1.04% MIME +0.75% HACK +0.56% CHKP +0.28% QQQ +0.14% IMPV -0.47% VRNS -0.34%
• FEYE -16.62% hit an all time low after another disappointing quarter.

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:

• AZN Sep 30 calls are seeing interest with 2420 contracts trading vs. open int of 33.2K, pushing implied vol up around 2 points to ~32% — we noted activity in the Sep 30 calls last month (see 1/31 13:33 OPTNX). Co is presenting numerous times over the next two months.  Co reported earnings earlier this week and is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report early May.

Puts:

• KORS Feb 40 puts are seeing interest ahead of earnings next week, February 7 before the open with 1040 contracts trading vs. open int of 1440, pushing implied vol up around 6 points to ~64% -- Last month, Bloomberg reported that Coach and Michael Kors might make a bid for Kate Spade. Also last month, renewed KORS M&A speculation circulated.

Stocks seeing volatility selling:

• ADNT, TUES, WY implied vol is lower following earnings/guidance

Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 1.06… VIX: (11.16, -0.77, -6.4%).
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.

The tech sector — XLK — trades modestly ahead of the broader market. Semiconductors, meanwhile, display relative strength as the SOX index trades +0.35%. Within the SOX index, MSCC (+1.57%) outperforms, while NVDA (-0.43%) lags. Among other major indices, the SPY is trading 0.58% higher, while the QQQ +0.22% and the NASDAQ -0.33% trade opposite on the session. Among tech bellwethers, HPE (+3.53%) is showing relative strength, while AMX (-1.01%) lags.

Notable gainers following earnings:

• CSC (+10.0%) reported better than expected Q3 EPS and revs, MTD (+5.6%), V (+4.6%) reported better than expected Q1 EPS and revs, MSI (+1.4%)

Notable laggards following earnings:

• FEYE (-14.9%) reported mixed Q4 results; guided Q1 EPS and revs below market expectations, GPRO (-12.3%) reported better than expected Q4 EPS but worse than expected revs; guided Q1 revs below market expectations, GIMO (-6.8%), AMZN (-3.3%)

Gainers on news:

• CALL (+5.4%) co announced it reached an agreement with David Kanen and Kanen Wealth Management LLC in connection with the Company's 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders; pursuant to the agreement, Kanen has withdrawn its proposed slate of director nominees for election.
• RSYS (+0.5%): Nierenberg Investment Management lowered its active stake to 6.9% following the recent sale of approximately 471k shares.
• VIAV (+0.1%) co was awarded approx $26.4 mln Defense Logistics Agency contracts.

Laggards on news:

• XGTI (-8.3%) co announced that it intends to offer for sale shares of its common stock and warrants to purchase its common stock in an underwritten public offering; size not disclosed.
• SPRT (-1.3%) co CFO & COO Roop Lakkaraju announced resignation to pursue another opportunity.
• INSG (-0.9%) co announced that in connection w/ its proposed sale of Novatel Wireless, the parties have voluntarily withdrawn and re-filed the Joint Voluntary Notice; co still expects the closing of the Sale to occur in 1Q17.
• LQDT (-0.8%) co decided to exit its TruckCenter land based, live auction and retail business in order to focus its time and resources on its online marketplace strategy.

Among notable analyst upgrades:

• FTNT (+12.1%) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray
• AMTD (+1.0%) to Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse
• PXLW (+10.2%) to Buy from Hold at Lake Street
• FEYE (-14.9%) to Equal Weight from Underweight at First Analysis Sec
• CDK (+1.2%) to Equal Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley
• PCTY (+15.0%) to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill
• VECO (+5.0%) to Buy from Hold at Needham

Among notable analyst downgrades:

• GPRO (-12.3%) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird
• FEYE (-14.9%) to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray
• GPRO (-12.3%) to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James
• TERP (-0.1%) to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie
• UTEK (+0.9%) to Hold from Buy at The Benchmark Company
• BCE (-0.2%) to Hold from Buy at Canaccord Genuity

Scheduled to report earnings Monday morning:

• WEX

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

• V (86.75 +5.41%): Reports Q1 earnings and revenues beat; reaffirms outlook while increasing FX headwind.
• CLX (125.66 +4.51%): Shares rise on Q2 EPS beat.
• AMGN (166.61 +4.41%): Reports Q4 EPS and revenue beats; reports positive Repatha data.

Large Cap Losers

• CMG (410.59 -3%): Shares drop despite Q4 EPS beat; reaffirms outlook.
• MMP (78.8 -1.52%): Shares fall despite Q4 EPS and revenue beats; co guides FY17 EPS below consensus.
• TWTR (17.62 -0.9%): Shares drop after rising yesterday on report form Fox's Gasparino that his banking sources think Twitter will be sold this year, but at a lower level.

Mid Cap Gainers

• DATA (56.23 +16.64%): Beats on Q4 EPS and revenue; guides Q1 and FY17 revenues above consensus. 
• MDCO (44.31 +16.61%): Trades higher following Amgen (AMGN) positive Repatha data from last night.
• FTNT (37.57 +13.23%): Shares rise on Q4 EPS and revenue beats; guides FY17 EPS above consensus.

Mid Cap Losers

• FEYE (10.88 -16.11%): Reports Q4 revenue miss; guides Q1 EPS and revs below consensus; CFO resigns.
• HBI (19.41 -14.53%): Shares fall on Q4 EPS and revenue misses; guides Q1 EPS and revenue below consensus.
• ATHN (113.42 -10.44%): Reports Q4 revenue miss.

• Healthcare: PFE (11.62 mln +0.72%)
• Materials: FCX (21.97 mln -3.78%), VALE (14.54 mln -5.28%), CLF (12.53 mln -6.47%), AKS (10.76 mln +2.15%)
• Industrials: GE (10.95 mln -0.29%)
• Consumer Discretionary: M (23.53 mln +8.43%), HBI (19.95 mln -14.91%), F (18.82 mln +2.28%), JCP (10.63 mln +1.71%)
• Information Technology: AMD (26.63 mln -1.18%), V (16.23 mln +5.15%), FEYE (14.35 mln -16.42%), FB (12.61 mln +0.67%), CY (11.21 mln +8.27%), MSFT (9.88 mln +0.2%)
• Financials: BAC (59.88 mln +2.29%)
• Energy: WFT (22.58 mln +7.45%), CHK (12.45 mln +1.4%)
• Consumer Staples: RAD (9.94 mln +2%)

• Healthcare: MDCO (4.77x +17.29%), CBM (2.97x +16.37%), ACET (2.82x -9.01%)
• Industrials: SKYW (3.62x -8.15%)
• Consumer Discretionary: DECK (6.24x -17.01%), HBI (3.82x -14.91%), ISLE (3.54x +0.88%), M (2.95x +8.43%), ELY (2.57x -9.28%), CMG (2.43x -2.93%)
• Information Technology: DATA (4.44x +17%), FEYE (3.23x -16.42%), CHUBK (2.58x -1.19%), UTEK (2.56x +0.89%), PCTY (2.5x +17.88%), CSC (2.41x +9.44%)
• Financials: PDP (5.6x +0.98%), MTU (4.31x +7.41%)
• Consumer Staples: CENT (3.13x -0.52%)
• Telecommunication Services: WIN (2.73x +0.52%)

• UK's FTSE: + 0.7%
• Germany's DAX: + 0.2%
• France's CAC: + 0.7%
• Spain's IBEX: + 0.7%
• Portugal's PSI: + 2.8%
• Italy's MIB Index: + 1.2%
• Irish Ovrl Index: + 0.6%
• Greece ASE General Index: + 0.9%

Rumor Activity was active to close out the week.

• Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 8.63 -0.58) M&A chatter circulated.
• There was speculation that NRG Energy (NRG 17.29 +0.58) has hired bankers to explore strategic alternatives.
• WSJ reported that Hudson Bay (HBAYF 8.02 +0.28) is in M&A discussions with Macy's (M 32.76 +2.08).
• Mylan (MYL 39.04 +0.04) vague M&A speculation circulated.
• AstraZeneca (AZN 27.74 +0.18) for Acadia Pharm (ACAD 35.70 +0.47) M&A speculation made the rounds.

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.

• The capital increase of 3 billion euros of NewCo has been authorized by the General Meeting of NewCo, also held today.
• The State will subscribe to the reserved capital increases of AREVA SA and of NewCo in the amounts of 2 billion euros and of a maximum of 2.5 billion euros respectively, once the two preconditions laid down in the European Commission's decision have been fulfilled.

• Friday (February 3)
  • After-Hours: ATW       
• Monday (February 6)
  • Pre-Market: SYY, TSN, NWL, CNA, HAS, MCY, DO, BWP, FGL, HAE, AINV, NAT, SALT, AMSC, IRMD, L
  • After-Hours: FOXA, TSO, JLL, NOV, RE, YRCW, FMC, RBC, CTLT, ALSN, PINC, MOD, FN, TLLP, HMN, MAC, KN, PAHC, OTTR, etc...
• Tuesday (February 7)
  • Pre-Market: BP, GM, CAH, ADM, CNC, ARW, PAG, OMC, ACM, ARMK, WCG, CDW, EMR, FIS, TEN, AGCO, MOS, ABG, KORS, SPGI, ICE, GPK, AME, VMC, etc...
  • After-Hours: 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, etc...
• Wednesday (February 8)
  • Pre-Market: HUM, SNY, ABB, EXC, TWX, PFGC, AGN, CTSH, JEC, VOYA, ALK, OC, AXTA, BR, BCO, ARCB, CG, LPX, FLOW, GWR, etc...
  • After-Hours: PRU, SU, WFM, CTL, YUM, PPC, NSIT, FISV, CINF, CAA, GPRE, LGF.A, BGC, EFX, KS, UHAL, AHL, TBI, WGL, TTMI, BHE, ENS, HNI, TRMB, AEL, DNB, FLT, etc... 
• Thursday (February 9)
  • Pre-Market: CVS, MFC, KO, BAM, CMI, TU, VIAB, TRI, OXY, DTE, COTY, BWA, WLTW, SEE, MAS, THS, NLSN, FAF, DAN, UFS, SON, ROP, GCI, TWTR, VSTO, CLF, BGCP, WOOF, TKR, TDC, etc...
  • After-Hours: ATVI, AGU, MHK, NWSA, NVDA, EXPE, NCR, WU, CERN, LPLA, CCJ, RGC, COLM, KMPR, ATR, ZAYO, BFAM, NE, P, CATM, VRSN, NUVA, VVI, JCOM, UBNT, YELP, ZNGA, etc...
• Friday (February 10)
  • Pre-Market: CBG, AON, IPG, CPN, AXL, VTR, BPL, G, FSV, ESNT
  • After-Hours: KNL

The market has forged solid gains in the first half of Friday's session on the foundation of appeasing economic data and strong sector leadership. The S&P 500 holds a 0.7% gain at midday.

The Employment Situation Report, which was released at 8:30 am ET this morning, came in just right; strong enough to keep participants thinking good things about the economy, but not strong enough to convince the market that the Fed is now going to be in a hurry to raise the fed funds rate. The 227,000 additions to nonfarm paryrolls (Briefing.com consensus 170,000) and the slight 0.1% uptick in average hourly earnings (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%) were the two main metrics driving the optimistic sentiment.

U.S. Treasuries ticked up immediately following report's release and still hold those gains this afternoon. The benchmark 10-yr yield is three basis points lower at 2.45%.

The financial sector (+1.9%) continues to provide solid sector leadership. The space's advance has stemmed from reports suggesting that President Trump will be acting on plans to reduce regulatory burdens on the financial sector today. Specifically, the movement will be aimed at scaling back the Dodd-Frank Act and reversing the Fiduciary Rule. This combination should improve the earnings prospects of the influential sector.

Conversely, the consumer discretionary sector sits at the bottom of today's leaderboard in the wake of a tough stretch of reports. The first blow came yesterday evening after Amazon (AMZN 814.46, -25.56), the sector's biggest component by market cap, reported worse than expected revenues and issued downbeat guidance. Elsewhere in the sector, Hanesbrands (HBI 19.30, -3.41), Chipotle (CMG 406.28, -17.01), and AutoNation (AN 50.77, -0.99) have also seen negative reactions to their latest earnings reports, while Macy's (M 32.50, +1.81) has spiked 5.9% on reports that Canada's Hudson's Bay has approached the company about a possible takeover.

The top-weighted technology sector has performed in line with the broader market thus far. Visa (V 86.34, +4.07) represented the sector on the earnings front last night, beating on the top and bottom lines. The company's shares have added 4.9% on the above-consensus results. The tech sector is fighting to end the week above its flat line, as the space currently holds a 0.1% week-to-date loss.

Today's economic data included January Employment Situation Report, January ISM Services, and December Factory Orders:

• January Employment Situation Report
  • January nonfarm payrolls came in at 227,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 170,000. The prior month's reading was revised to 157,000 from 156,000. Nonfarm private payrolls added 237,000 while the Briefing.com consensus expected an increase of 175,000. The unemployment rate increased to 4.8% (Briefing.com consensus 4.7%).
  • Average hourly earnings increased 0.1% (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%), while the previous month's reading was revised to 0.2% (from 0.4%). The average workweek was reported at 34.4 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 34.3. The previous month's reading was revised to 34.4 (from 34.3).
  • The key takeaway is that this is one of those so-called «Goldilocks» reports since it is strong enough to keep participants thinking good things about the economy, but not strong enough to convince the market to think it means the Fed is now going to be in a hurry to raise the fed funds rate. The tempered growth in average hourly earnings, which dialed back year-over-year growth to 2.5% from 2.8% in December, is the focal point as it relates to the market's perspective on the Fed.
• The ISM Services Index for January decreased to 56.5 while the Briefing.com consensus expected a downtick to 57.0. The prior month's reading was revised down to 56.6 from 57.2.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that growth in the services sector, which accounts for a much bigger slice of economic activity than the manufacturing sector does, persisted for the 85th straight month.
• The Factory Orders Report for December showed an increase of 1.3% while the Briefing.com consensus expected a increase of 1.4%. The November reading was revised up to -2.3% from -2.4%.
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the December increase was led entirely by orders for nondurable goods (+3.1%). Paced by a 2.5% decline in transportation equipment orders, durable goods orders fell 0.5% in December.

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:

• AZN Sep 30 calls (volume: 2470, open int: 33.2K, implied vol: ~30%, prev day implied vol: 29%)  — we noted activity in the Sep 30 calls last month (see 1/31 13:33 OPTNX). Co is presenting numerous times over the next two months. Co reported earnings earlier this week and is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report early May.  Astrazenca for ACADIA Pharmaceuticals M&A speculation circulated this morning.
• HOLX Feb 40 calls (volume: 3460, open int: 640, implied vol: ~24%, prev day implied vol: 23%) — co reported earnings earlier this week and is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report late April.

Bearish Put Activity:

• KORS Feb 40 puts are seeing interest ahead of earnings next week, February 7 before the open (volume: 1060, open int: 1440, implied vol: ~63%, prev day implied vol: 58%) -- Last month, Bloomberg reported that Coach and Michael Korsmight make a bid for Kate Spade. Also last month, renewed KORS M&A speculation circulated.
• FITB Feb 26 puts (volume: 3340, open int: 4420, implied vol: ~26%, prev day implied vol: 24%) — co reported earnings late January and is expected to report its next quarterly earnings report mid-to-late April.

Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 0.97… VIX: (10.95, -0.98, -8.2%).
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.

Monday

• Canaccord Genuity Rare Disease Conference (February 6-7th)
  • Scheduled to appear: APTO, SBBP, TIG, AUPH, HCM, AKTX, KPTI, SELB, SCYX, SMMT
• Credit Suisse 2017 18th Annual Financial Services Forum (February 6-8th)
  • Notable cos to appear: NYCB, GS, RF, BLK, DFS, USB, ETFC, STI, BX, SLM, MS, GHL, BAC, NDAQ, NAVI, ICE, PFG, CBOE, WFC, ZION
• Investing in African Mining — Indaba (February 6-9th)
  • Notable co to appear: BTG

Tuesday

• 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)
• Spark Summit 2017 (February 7-9th)
  • Notable to appear: NVDA
• Automotive Ethernet Congress (February 7-8th)
  • Scheduled to appear: LXFT, SMTC, SNE, ON, NXPI, CY, AAPL, BMWYY, AVGO, EADSY, DDAIY, DLPH, DNZOY, CDNS, PCRFY, POAHY, MENT (Conference Information)

Wednesday

• 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)

Thursday

• Keefe Bruyette and Woods Winter Financial Services Symposium (February 9-10th)
  • Scheduled to appear: ABCB, BANC, BANR, BMTC, BNCN, BOFI, BPFH, BRKL, UBNK, UBSI, SRCE, APO, ASB, BXS, OZRK, BHLB, BOKF, CBOE, CSFL, NBHC, ONB, CHFC, PACW, CNS, COLB, CBSH, CBU, CFR, CUBI, ETFC, EGBN, FCB, FBNC, FCF, FFBC, FHB, FHN, FIBK, FMBI, FBC, FULT, GCAP, GBCI, GBDC, GWB, GHL, HBHC, HAFC, HOMB, PNFP, HOPE, HLI, IBKC, INDB, IBKR, ICE, ISBC, LBAI, LAZ, MKTX, MBFI, NDAQ, NYCB, PBCT, PJC, RNST, BPOP, PFS, RJF, SFNC, SSB, SBSI, STL, SF, SYBT, SGBK, SIVB, SNV, TCB, TCBI, TOWN, TCAP, TRMK, UMBF, UMPQ, UBSH, UBNK, VLY, WD, WBS, WAL, WTFC, WSFS, FBP, WSBC, HTH, HAFC (Conference Agenda)
• Among Investor Meetings: Intel (INTC) Investor Meeting at 13:00 ET
• Fed Evans to speak today at 13:10 ET

Friday

• China Trade Balance at 2:00 ET
• IZEAFest (Feb 10-11th)
  • Scheduled to appear: GOOG,  HPE, VRA, CMG, IZEA

• Trading higher following earnings/guidance: BEBE 19.2%, SFRGF 3.9% (Salvatore Ferragamo at investor day says its Group aims for a significant improvement of turnover and sales growth per square meter in its stores,of its profitability), HMC +1.8%, HSY +1%
• Trading lower following earnings/guidance: DECK -17.5%, HBI -15.2%, CMG -4%, TUES -4.4%, AMZN -3.3%, AN -2.1%, DV -1.1%

Earnings/guidance secondary plays: 

• Deckers earnings/guidance related weakness is weighing on footwear names: BOOT -6.7%, WWW -6.3%, GCO -0.7%, NKE -0.4%, DSW -0.2%
• For profit education names are underperforming following DV earnings: UTI -1.8%, EDU -1.7%, DV -0.8%, CECO -0.4%, CPLA -0.4%, BPI -0.1%

• M 5.6% (reports of a potential approach from Hudson's Bay)
• LZB 2% (to invest approx. $26 mln over a three-year period in its largest U.S. manufacturing facility, located in Dayton, TN)
• SAM 1% (CEO/President to retire in 2018)
• HTZ 2.9% and CAR 0.8% (AutoNation commentary regarding improvement in used-car margins is boosting auto rental names)

• Upgrades: F 1.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays)
• Downgrades: BLMN 1.1% (higher despite being downgraded at OTR Global), LULU -0.9% (downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Mkts),

Looking ahead:

• On the earnings front: HAS, NWL, TSN report Monday before the open, FOXA Monday after the close.
• GPS will be reporting Jan comps and prelim Q4 sales Monday after the close.