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 - November 29
- Volatility watch - Options trading spiked higher this week on HIVE Blockchain Technologies (NASDAQ:HIVE) and IonQ (NYSE:IONQ). Stocks generating strong interest on Reddit's WallStreetBets include AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Canoo (NASDAQ:GOEV), while Longeveron (NASDAQ:LGVN) is the most cited stock on Stocktwits. High short interest positions on Big 5 Sporting Goods (NASDAQ:BGFV) and Hyliion Holdings (NYSE:HYLN) also have the stocks on watch for outsized share price moves.
- All day - Analysts can begin posting ratings on Evotec SE (NASDAQ:EVO), Allbirds (NASDAQ:BIRD) , Arhaus (NASDAQ:ARHS), NerdWallet (NASDAQ:NRDS), Claros Mortgage Trust (NYSE:CMTG), Cadre Holdings (NYSE:CDRE), MDxHealth SA (NASDAQ:MDXH) and Blue Star Foods (NASDAQ:BSFC). Allbirds, NerdWallet and Cadre have posted big gains from their IPO pricing levels and could attract some cautious ratings, while Blue Star Foods is down sharply and could bounce if a bullish firm jumps in with a positive rating.
- All day - Amazon's (NASDAQ:AMZN) four-day AWS re:Invent event begins with new AWS products and services the main feature. A number of other companies also showcase their products, services or platforms at AMZN's annual learning conference. Of note, Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) and NetApp (NASDAQ:NTAP) have seen share price bounces in the past off their re:Invent appearances.
- All day - Ion Acquisition Crop 2 Ltd (IACB) shareholders meet to vote on the SPAC deal with Israeli-founded video advertising company Innovid.
Tuesday - November 30
- All day - BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:BMRN) holds its Virtual R&D Day. Shares of BioMarin jumped 7% in the week following the company's last R&D day event. 18 out of 21 research firms covering BioMarin have a Buy-equivalent rating or higher on the stock.
- All day - The quiet periods expire on Cian (NYSE:CIAN), IO Biotech (NASDAQ:IOBT), Real Good Food (NASDAQ:RGF), Biorestorative Therapies (NASDAQ:BRTX) and Mainz Biomed (NASDAQ:MYNZ). Of the group, IO Biotech has traded the weakest since its IPO and could use a Wall Street lift.
- All day - The IPO lockup period expires on DLocal (NASDAQ:DLO). Shares of DLO are up 60% from their IPO pricing level. Four of the last five IPO stocks with +50% gains when the lockup period expired have fallen in the week after the lockup ended. Read a deeper breakdown on DLocal.
- All day - TPG Pace Solutions (TPGS) shareholder meet to vote on the business combination with vacation rental player Vacasa. The SPAC deal is expected to bring in $485M for Vacasa. The company forecasts a revenue CAGR of 31% from 2021 to 2023, with revenue growing from $757M in 2021 to $1.3B by 2023. Vacasa competes with Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB).
- Premarket - Barnes & Noble Education (NYSE:BNED), Chico's FAS (NYSE:CHS) and JinkoSolar (NYSE:JKS) all report earnings with options implying moves up or down of at least 10%. BNED has a recent history of earnings day pops, while Chico's FAS reports amid very skittish trading in the mall sector after peers disappointed with their earnings reports and new COVID anxiety.
- 10:00 a.m. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hybrid hearing titled CARES Act Oversight of Treasury and the Federal Reserve: Building a Resilient Economy.
- 10:30 a.m. The National Retail Federation holds a media call to analyze the results of the five-day holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. Early reports are that the shopping numbers could surprise to the upside. The stakes are high for retailers like Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Macy's (NYSE:M), Target (NYSE:TGT) and Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN) amid rising concerns over inflationary headwinds and the new strain of COVID-19.
- 12:00 p.m. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) participates in a fireside chat at the Credit Suisse Technology Conference. Analysts are circling AMAT's talk as one of the more intriguing of the week with questions hanging on the growth targets for 2022, China export risk and the company's assumptions around memory demand for 2022.
Wednesday - December 1
- All day - Data reports are due in on Macau gross gaming revenue. Some analysts think the month could mark a turning point and recommend buying any further dips in Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) and Melco Resorts & Entertainment (NASDAQ:MLCO). Also watch the firearms sector for some volatility after the FBI background checks monthly update is posted. A regular trend this year is for Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWBI), Sturm Ruger (NYSE:RGR), Vista Outdoor (NYSE:VSTO), Sportsman's Warehouse (NASDAQ:SPWH), Ammo (NASDAQ:POWW), Sturm, Ruger (RGR) and Olin Corporation (NYSE:OLN) to recover quickly from dips related to the report's release after investors weigh the bigger picture.
- All day - Deliveries reports from Chinese automakers Nio (NYSE:NIO), XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) and Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) could set the tone in the electric vehicle sector. The EV sector as a whole has seen extra volatility the last three times the Chinese EV companies have reported monthly deliveries.
- All day - The two-day OPEC+ meeting begins with traders watching closely to see if the group will stick with its plan to proceed with output increases, despite some pushback from Saudi Arabia over the decision by the U.S., Japan, India and others to release emergency oil stocks. Crude oil prices (CL1:COM) are also being impacted by concerns over the new COVID variant in South Africa.
Thursday - December 2
- All day - Shareholders with GigCapital4 (GIG) meet to vote on the SPAC deal with BigBear.ai. If the deal is approved, BigBear.ai stockholders are expected to own ~73%, GigCapital4 sponsors to own 6% and public stockholders 21% of the combined company. BigBear.ai describes itself as a company that operationalizes artificial intelligence and machine learning at scale through its end-to-end data analytics platform.
- 8:00 a.m. Novartis (NYSE:NVS) holds a five-hour R&D day with detailed updates on the company's pipeline. NVS ran to its all-time high after the last R&D Day was followed by a wave of positive analyst notes.
- 9:00 a.m. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) conducts a guidance webcast. Shares of Newmont fell 2.5% the last time the company held a similar event.
- 9:00 a.m. Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF) hosts its annual investor update, including progress on the company's climate strategy. Shares of Glencore have moved at least 3% the last three times the company has held the event, gaining twice and dropping once.
- 9:40 a.m. Cabot Corporation (NYSE:CBT) hosts an Investor Day event. The executive management team will present a detailed overview of the company’s core business drivers and strategic vision, in addition to key strategic initiatives related to sustainability, innovation, operational excellence and capital allocation.
- 11:00 a.m. Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC) host its 2021 Virtual Investor Day. Execs plan a deep dive into the company’s disciplined operating culture and its retail digital experience and franchise. Shares of HBNC rose 9% in the week after a similar event last year.
- 11:30 a.m. Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin participates in a virtual fireside chat on the state of the labor market.
Friday - December 3
- 8:30 a.m. The U.S. jobs report has the potential to rattle markets. Economists expect nonfarm payrolls increased by 500K in November to mark a moderation from the 531K increase in October. Bank of America expects the payrolls number to land closer to 450K. In making the cautious forecast, the firm notes continuing jobless claims fell by just 190K during the November and October payroll survey periods, compared to a 572K drop in October. In addition, the homebase employees’ working index declined by 2.1% month-over-month in November compared to a 0.1% drop in October and survey measures of employment were softer this month.