Stocks to watch: FOMC meeting, profit rush and test times in crypto

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Investors dig in next week with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 index coming off their worst weekly loss since March 2020. The Nasdaq is down 16% from its peak and off to the worst start to the year since 2008. A huge rush in earnings reports could shift focus with the list of major companies entering the earnings confessional, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD). The Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting will also dominate the conversation with more clarity on the end of anticipated quantitative easing and potential clues about the pace of interest rate hikes that could swing Treasury yields. It’s also gut-checking time in the crypto market after Bitcoin (BTC-USD) lost 16% last week and Ethereum (ETH-USD) lost 24%. Cryptocurrency miners Marathon Digital Inc (NASDAQ:MARA) and Riot Blockchain Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) also suffered heavy losses amid tighter monetary policy from the Fed. The week ends with the fourth quarter GDP report forecasting that the economy grew at a 5.8% pace despite some headwinds from Omicron.

Earnings Spotlight: Monday, Jan. 24 Philips (NYSE:PHG), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and IBM (NYSE:IBM).

Earnings Spotlight: Tuesday, Jan. 25 Verizon (NYSE:VZ), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), American Express (NYSE:AXP), Microsoft (MSFT), Capital One (NYSE :COF), F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN).

Earnings Spotlight: Wednesday, January 26 AT&T (NYSE:T), Boeing (NYSE:BA), Abbott Labs (NYSE:ABT), Intel (INTC), Tesla (TSLA) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX).

Earnings Spotlight: Thursday, Jan. 27 Tesla (TSLA), Intel (INTC), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Dow (NYSE:DOW), McDonald’s (MCD), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), Altria (NYSE:MO ), Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV), Apple (AAPL), Robinhood Markets (HOOD), Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ), Visa (NYSE: V) and Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC).

Earnings Spotlight: Friday, Jan. 28 Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL).

IPO Watch: Silver Spike Investment (NASDAQ:SSIC) is set to begin trading on January 28 and Credo Technology Group Holding (CRDO) is set to debut on January 29. Meanwhile, a huge IPO expiry week is set for next week. with certain holders released to sell shares of PowerSchool (NYSE:PWSC), Duolingo (NASDAQ:DUOL), MeridianLink (NYSE:MLNK), Snap One (NASDAQ:SNPO), PowerSchool (PWSC), Augmedix (NASDAQ:AUGX), Dole (NYSE: DOLE), Tenaya Therapeutics (NASDAQ: TNYA), RxSight (NASDAQ: RXST) and Immuneering (NASDAQ: IMRX).

Planned Dividend Increases: Companies that plan to increase their quarterly dividend payouts in the near future include Cigna (NYSE:CI) at $1.20 from $1.00, Marathon Oil (NYSE:MRO) at 0 $.07 instead of $0.06, Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) at $1.30 instead of $1.13, S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) at $0.87 instead of $0.77, Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) at $0.0195 from $0.175, Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) at $0.138 from $0.125, Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) at $0.11 from 0.10 $, Comcast (CMCSA) at $0.27 instead of $0.25 and Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) at $1.21 instead of $1.14.

FOMC meeting preview: The FOMC will meet next week with Fed watchers on the lookout for any wildcards on the central bank’s view on full employment, the omicron’s anticipated impact on the growth and the pace of rising interest rates. The consensus ahead of the meeting is that the central bank will trigger three or four quarter-point rate hikes this year from the March 15-16 meeting. Fed funds trading suggests rate hikes for the June 14-15 meeting and the September 20-21 meeting as well before the outlook gets a bit more muddled. Although inflation has yet to peak, by mid-year comparisons should become slightly easier as the economy has caught up with some of the recovery in activity and supply chain issues. ‘supply. The likelihood of a surprise rate hike next week is considered very low, but not completely out of the question.

Apple earnings preview: Apple (AAPL) releases earnings with expectations that the Cupertino-based tech giant will post revenue of $118.2 billion and EPS of $1.88. Morgan Stanley expects Apple to head into a relatively in-line March quarter on the back of improving iPhone production late in the year and modest outperformance in services. Following the recent share price slump, the company said it would be bullish on further post-earnings weakness as it views AAPL as a more defensive/quality outperformer in tough markets. UBS, meanwhile, is heading into Apple printing with an expectation of 230 million iPhone units for FY22, what it calls a conservative mark given continued supply chain headwinds and l carriers’ uncertain promotional activity next fall and winter.

Microsoft Earnings Overview: Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to generate $50.9 billion in revenue for its second fiscal quarter and generate earnings of $2.32 per share. Citi sees a slightly positive setup for reports based on client enterprise channel audits, with strength noted particularly with Office 365 and Dynamics. Morgan Stanley also sees an upward bias in the numbers reported by Microsoft and expects second-half commentary to support a higher share price.

McDonald’s Earnings Snapshot: McDonald’s (MCD) is expected to show more resilience than many of its fast food peers with its fourth quarter earnings report due to strong digital trends and the franchise model that puts it in place to withstand some of the inflationary pressures. Several analysts recommend investors buy McDonald’s on post-earnings weakness as the brand’s competitive advantages are expected to strengthen it later in the year. Keep an eye on Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) if the topic of the McPlant burger test comes up on the earnings conference call.

Corporate Events: Restaurant Brands International (NYSE: QSR) makes an appearance at the Barclays Global Inflation Conference on January 24. The presentation comes with close scrutiny of fast food chains for their ability to pass on the costs of inflation to consumers. In the technology sector, the three-day GamesBeat & Facebook Gaming Summit will focus on the aspirations of Meta Platforms (NYSEARCA:META) in the metaverse. The huge Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal has also shone a spotlight on what Meta plans to do in the game. (NYSE: SEAH) are meeting to vote Jan. 26 on the business combination with online gaming company Super Group under a SPAC deal. Also in the sports betting/iGaming industry, Genius Sports Limited (NYSE:GENI) is hosting a Virtual Investor Day on January 27th. Check out more events next week that could shake stock prices in Seeking Alpha’s Catalyst Watch.

M&A News: Microsoft’s (MSFT) earnings call on January 25 is of additional interest with Activison Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Nuance Communications (NASDAQ:NUAN) deals pending. The tender offer for Carl Icahn’s bid for Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) expires on January 27. The tender offer for the Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN) Santander Consumer (NYSE:SC) deal expires on January 27.

Conferences: Notable conferences this week include Jefferies Winter Restaurant, Foodservice, Gaming, Lodging & Leisure Summit 2022, RW Baird Vehicle Technology & Mobility Conference, TD Securities Mining Conference, and B. Riley Securities Oncology Conference 2022. RW Baird Vehicle 2022 Technology & Mobility Conference and the Barclays Global Inflation Conference.

Annual Meetings: Interesting annual general meetings include Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) on January 24, Hormel (NYSE: HRL) on January 25, ScanSource (NASDAQ: SCSC) on January 26, as well as Post Holdings (NYSE: :POST) on January 27.

Mentions of Barron: A roundtable of fund managers is trying to find silver linings in the stock market selloff. Mario Gabelli’s picks include ViacomCBC (NASDAQ:VIAC), Dana (NYSE:DAN), Halliburton (HAL) and CNH Industrial (NYSE:CNHI), while Abby Joseph Cohen recommends Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV), Pfizer ( NYSE: PFE), Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) and Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM). David Giroux’s picks include General Electric (NYSE:GE), Keurig Dr Pepper (NASDAQ:KDP) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Within the energy sector, Occidental Petroleum Inc (NYSE:OXY) and APA Inc (NASDAQ:APA) are enjoying favorable valuations. It is noted that both have significant debt, but also enough cash to pay it off, which in turn could lead to higher stock valuations. Exxon Mobil Inc (NYSE:XOM) is also described as attractive due to its large shale operations in the United States. Shale drilling is observed to be easier to stop and start than drilling large conventional deposits in remote locations.

Sources: EDGAR, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters, Renaissance Capital

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