Catalyst Watch: A Closer Look at Upcoming Financial Events

Welcome to Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch – a breakdown of some of next week’s actionable events that stand out. Check out Saturday morning’s regular Stocks to Watch article for a full list of events planned for the week or the Seeking Alpha earnings calendar for companies due to report.

Monday – January 29

• Volatility watch – Options trading volume is elevated on Spirit Airlines (SAVE) as traders gauge the impact of the DOJ blocking the merger with JetBlue Airways (JBLU). ProKidney Corp. (PROK) and Fisker (FSR) both have an elevated level of short interest outstanding on them ahead of the earnings season. The most overbought stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include Dave (DAVE), Kaman (KAMN), and RayzeBio (RYZB). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index include reAlpha Tech (AIRE), Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), and Alternus Clean Energy (ALCE).
• Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Whirlpool (WHR) and Nucor (NUE).
• All day – Baker Hughes (BKR) will hold its annual meeting in Florence, Italy. The list of speakers includes top Baker Hughes executives, representatives from Saudi Aramco (ARMCO), and the Saudi energy minister.
• All day – Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) could see some action following the weekend launch of its Electron rocket on behalf of Spire Global and NorthStar Earth & Space. The space launch stock is down almost 9% for the early part of 2024.
• All day – The listing for Flutter Entertainment (OTCPK:PDYPY) on the New York Stock Exchange is expected to become effective. The trading symbol for Flutter in the U.S. will be FLUT.
• All day – Hub Group (HUBG) will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis following the company’s 2-for-1 stock split.

Tuesday – January 30

• Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include General Motors (GM), UPS (UPS), Sysco (SYY), Pfizer (PFE), Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Starbucks (SBUX), Mondelez International (MDLZ), and AMD (AMD). Options trading implies large share price moves for Teradyne (TER) after it reports.
• All day – Arcos Dorados (ARCO) will be on watch as the company participates in the Bradesco BBI Retail Days event in São Paulo. Shares of ARCO have rallied in the past after the McDonald’s (MCD) franchisee operator updated on strategy at the event.
• 10:00 a.m. JetBlue Airways (JBLU) will hold its earnings conference call amid high drama over the attempt to buy out Spirit Airlines (SAVE).

Wednesday – January 31

• Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Phillips 66 (PSX), Boeing (BA), Mastercard (MA), MetLife (MET), and Qualcomm (QCOM). Options trading implies large share price moves for Regis (RGS) and Wolfspeed (WOLF) after their reports.
• All day – Sports equipment company Amer Sports is expected to start trading after pricing its IPO. The Finland-based company owns iconic sports and outdoor brands that include Arc’teryx, Salomon, Wilson, Atomic, Louisville Slugger, and Peak Performance.
• All day – The FDA action date will arrive on priority review of Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ (REGN) label expansion for their blockbuster drug Dupixent (dupilumab) to treat children aged 1 to 11 years with eosinophilic esophagitis. Dupixent will be the first and only FDA-approved treatment for EoE in children of this age group if approved.

Thursday – February 1

• Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Merck (MRK), Honeywell (HON), Altria (MO), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META), Royal Caribbean (RCL), and Post Holdings (POST). Options trading implies large share price moves for Peloton Interactive (PTON) and Canada Goose (GOOS) after they report.
• All day – Investor events include a Texas Instruments (TXN) business update call, Oculis (OCS) presenting at the Next Generation Ophthalmic Drug Delivery Summit, and annual meetings for PriceSmart (PSMT) and Amdocs (DOCS).
• All day – Sodexo S.A. (OTCPK:SDXAY) plans to spin off its benefits and rewards business into a new company. Pluxee is described as a global player in the employee benefits and engagement market, with an established presence in 31 countries. Shares will trade on the Euronext Paris exchange.

Friday – February 2

• Earnings watch – Notable companies due to report include Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), AbbVie (ABBV), and Charter Communications (CHTR).
• 8:30 a.m. The jobs report for January will be released. Economists anticipate a strong level of 180K job additions for the month, down from the 210K job adds in December. The unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 3.8%. Average hourly earnings are forecast to be up 4.1% year-over-year.

Seeking Alpha editor Josh Fineman contributed to this story.