| Welcome to Wall Street Brunch, our preview of stock market events for investors to watch during the upcoming week. You can also catch this article a day early by subscribing to the Stocks to Watch account for Saturday morning delivery. Podcast listener? Subscribe now to receive Wall Street Breakfast by 8:00 a.m. every trading day on Seeking Alpha, iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify (click the highlighted links). Silicon Valley CEOs might not be testifying virtually to the House Judiciary Committee and the antitrust subcommittee as planned next week, but it is still a huge week for the tech sector with the regulatory spotlight still burning bright and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) all scheduled to post earnings reports. Politicians from both sides of the aisle are expected to continue to chip away at the tech heavyweights and a large-scale antitrust probe will remain an overhang that investors will have to factor in. Also in D.C. next week, Senate Republicans will unveil their stimulus proposals with the unemployment benefit now expired. On the economic calendar, reports are due in next week on durable goods orders, pending home sales and consumer sentiment. There is also a rather interesting initial Q2 GDP report for economists to track with an exceptionally high range of estimates (-35% Y/Y to -14% Y/Y) adding to the uncertainty. Outside of another blitz of earnings reports, there is the highly-anticipated return of major pro sports with the MLB ramping up this weekend and the NBA and NHL just around the corner. Is it possible those Robinhood day traders drift over to DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG)? Earnings spotlight: Avery Dennison (NYSE:AVY), Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) and NXP Semi (NASDAQ:NXPI) on July 27; Centene (NYSE:CNC), McDonald's (NYSE:MCD), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), 3M (NYSE:MMM), Altria (NYSE:MO), Visa (NYSE:V), Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ), AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) and Raytheon Technologies (NYSE:RTX) on July 28; Boeing (NYSE:BA), General Electric (NYSE:GE), General Motors (GPhillM), General Dynamic (NYSE:GD), Boeing (BA), Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) Facebook (FB), ****** (NASDAQ:PYPL), Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM), Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) and Yum China (NYSE:YUMC) on July 29; Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A), CIGNA (NYSE:CI), Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), UPS (NYSE:UPS), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG), Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) and Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC), DuPont (NYSE:DD), Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Ford (NYSE:F), MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) and Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) on July 30; Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Caterpillar on July 31. Go deeper: See Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch foe earnings plays IPO watch: Vertex (VERX) is expected to price its IPO on July 28 and begin trading on July 29. The software provided is looking to raise $100M. On the smaller side, Annexon (NASDAQ:ANNX) is expected to price its IPO after setting an initial range of $14 to $16 for the 10M-share offering and 1847 Goedeker is slated to price its IPO on July 30. IPO lockups expire for Annovis Bio (NYSEMKT:OTC:ANVS) and Blue Hat Interactive (NASDAQ:BHAT) on July 27, as well as Black Diamond Therapeutics (NASDAQ:BDTX) and Anpac Bio-Medical Science (NASDAQ:ANPC) on July 28. Reynolds Consumer Products (NASDAQ:REYN), 1Life Healthcare (NASDAQ:ONEM) and Arcutis Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ:ARQT) also see IPO lockup shares freed up on July 29. Go deeper: Catch up on all the latest IPO news. M&A tidbits: The official walk date on the Gilat Satellite (NASDAQ:GILT)-Comtech Communications (NASDAQ:CMTL) merger is July 29, although the deal is in serious jeopardy. TerraForm Power (NASDAQ:TERP) shareholders vote on the Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP) merger on July 28 and the deal could close on July 31. Keep an eye on Waitr Holdings (NASDAQ:WTRH) after the name was tipped last week by B. Riley FBT to be a potential acquisition target. Meanwhile, Nestle (OTCPK:NSRGY) is looking to sell some of its Chinese water brands and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has expressed takeover interest in SoftBank-owned (OTCPK:SFTBF) semiconductor designer Arm. Craft Brew (NASDAQ:BREW) is on watch with Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) under scrutiny for its plans for the Kona Brand. M&A talk is swirling around Kratos Defense (NASDAQ:KTOS). Projected dividend changes (quarterly): Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) to $0.13 from $0.11, Steris (NYSE:STE) to $0.40 from $0.37, Mondelez International (MDLZ) to $0.305 from $0.285, Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) to $.2507 from $0.2343, American States Water (NYSE:AWR) $0.32 from $0.305, McKesson (NYSE:MCK) to $0.43 from $0.41, Dover (NYSE:DOV) to $0.51 from $0.49, Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG) to $0.60 from $0.58, Cboe Global Markets (NYSE:CBOE) to $0.37 from $0.36 and Papa John's International (NASDAQ:PZZA) to $0.23 from $0.225. Reprieve for Big Tech: The blockbuster antitrust hearing featuring CEOs from Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL0, Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL) has been postponed, but the issue of potential antitrust action will still be on the front burner for investors. Wedbush Securities thinks the overhang of regulatory scrutiny remains a lingering worry for the Street with tech majors all expected to spend a good amount of time in the 202 area code over the next year. "Regulation on FAANG names will be the political football kicked around in the Beltway with a number of paths this situation may take, especially with a Presidential election year," warns analyst Dan Ives. "We believe fines will likely be the outcomes rather than structural business model changes, however depending on the severity and scope of these investigations there could be more negative twists and turns ahead for Big Tech names," he adds. Further downstream in the tech world, the regulatory threat could prevent Big Tech from firing off as many acquisitions as planned. Live sports: The long wait for major professional sports is over for broadcasters with the new MLB season starting up and both the NHL and NBA finishing off their 2019-2020 seasons. ESPN says demand for ad time on baseball telecasts has been high and Fox's (FOX, FOXA) regular season was 90% sold out before the first pitch. The NBA is set to pick up its season in the Disney World bubble on Thursday, with coverage primarily on ESPN, ABC and TNT (NYSE:T). Meanwhile, looming larger than the NBA's return is a potential comeback of the NFL in the fall, for Disney, Fox, and ViacomCBS (VIAC, VIACA). Overall, Disney has the highest live-sports rights payments ($5.8B in 2019), followed by Fox ($3.3B) and ViacomCBS ($1.7B). Amazon (AMZN) will also get a piece of that action, but it's sports pure plays like DraftKings (DKNG -4.7%), Fanduel (OTCPK  DYPY, OTCPKDYPF) and William Hill (OTCPK:WIMHY), as well as casino operators like MGM Resorts (MGM) and sports betting partner GVC Holdings (OTCPK:GMVHF) that will benefit if sports leagues can run a full schedule this fall and winter.Go deeper: Dig into the new Roundhill Sports Betting & Gaming ETF FOMC: Federal Reserve officials meet July 28-29 with a more meaty agenda than normal. The FOMC will debate what form of economic stimulus should be on tap for this fall, if the composition of purchases of Treasurys and mortgage bonds should shift to longer-date securities like after the 2008 financial crisis and how long the the central bank plans to keep interest rates near zero. The discussion could also focus on the magical 2% inflation target. There is some support for letting inflation drift over 2% for a period of time to compensate for the long periods of time sitting well below the 2% mark. "Running an overshoot" on the inflation target would be a new operating paradigm. Vaccine updates: The partnership between Oxford University and AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) will see another Phase III test involving 30K participants in the U.S. beginning next week, along with a parallel test of the Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) vaccine. It would not be a surprise if more manufacturing deals are announced by companies pushing ahead with vaccine development. Healthcare watch: Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) will present key opthalmology data at the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting on July 27. Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARWR) is hosting a key opinion leader webinar on July 28 to cover ARO-ENaC, the company’s investigational RNA interference therapeutic being developed as a treatment for patients with cystic fibrosis. The Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2020 runs from July 27-31, with presentations expected from Cortexyme (NASDAQ:CRTX), Prevail Therapeutics (NASDAQ:PRVL) and Alector (NASDAQ:ALEC). Sometime before the month ends, Phase 1 results on Novavax's (NASDAQ:NVAX) COVID-19 vaccine is expected and Otonomy's(NASDAQ:OTIC) Phase 1/2 results from a trial on tinnitus. The FDA action date on GW Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:GWPH) Epidiolex to treat seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex is on July 31. Business updates: Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) will conduct a conference call on July 29 to discuss its Social Impact Strategy. The LDMicro "Zooming with LD series" includes Zoom talks from BioSig Technologies (NASDAQ:OTC:BSGM) on July 27, Lantern Pharma (NASDAQ:LTRN) on July 28, Exro Tech (OTCQB:EXROF) on July 29 and VolitionRx (NYSEMKT:VNRX) on July 30. On July 31, Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF) will issues its Q2 production report on copper, cobalt, zinc, lead and nickel production. Go deeper: Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch breaks down potential market-moving updates. Conferences rundown: The CEOs of Nutanix (NASDAQ:NTNX) and Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) are participating in the first-ever Supermicro Storage Summit on advance storage technologies to be held on July 28. Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) is also having an exec give a virtual update via the summit. The MJ Micro Conference series features virtual presentations from Helix (NYSE:TCS), Tauriga Sciences (OTCPK:TAUG) and KushCo Holdings (OTCQX:KSHB). The biggest virtual gathering of the week is the Keefe, Bruyette and Woods Community Bank Investor Conference 2020. Notable companies hosting 1x1 meetings include Allegiance Bancshares (NASDAQ:ABTX), Amalgamated Bank (NASDAQ:AMAL), Banc of California (NYSE:BANC), Byline Bancorp (NYSE:BY), California Bancorp (NASDAQ:OTC:CALB), Cambridge Bancorp (NASDAQ:OTC:CATC), Capstar Financial (NASDAQ:CSTR), CBTX (NASDAQ:CBTX), Civista Bancshares (NASDAQ:CIVB), Dime Community Bancshares (NASDAQ:DCOM), Enterprise Financial Services (NASDAQ:EFSC), First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS), First Business Financial Services (NASDAQ:FBIZ), First Financial Northwest (NASDAQ:FFNW), First Internet Bancorp (NASDAQ:INBK), Great Southern Bank (NASDAQ:GSBC), Heartland Financial USA (NASDAQ:HTLF), Heritage Bank (NASDAQ:HFWA), Heritage Commerce Corp (NASDAQ:HTBK), HomeTrust Bancshares (NASDAQ:HTBI), Horizon Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBNC), Lakeland Bancorp (NASDAQ:LBAI), National Bank Holdings (NYSE:NBHC), Professional Holding (NASDAQ:OTC FHD), SmartFinancial (NASDAQ:SMBK), Southern Missouri Bancorp (NASDAQ:SMBC), TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ:TCBK), Triumph Bancorp (NASDAQ:TBK), Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) and Washington Trust Bancorp (NASDAQ:WASH). Go deeper: See Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch for which presentations may stand out.EVs in the S&P 500: Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) could get the call at anytime from S&P for its inclusion in the S&P 500 Index. While that development may already be baked into Tesla's share price, the S&P inclusion could throw a spotlight back on the sizzling EV sector. Those companies looking to make a splash in EVs include Nikola Motors (NASDAQ:NKLA), Nio (NYSE:NIO), Fisker (NYSE:SPAQ), Rivian (RIVN), Kandi Technology (NASDAQ:KNDI), Workhorse Group (NASDAQ:WKHS), Argo AI (backed by Ford (F)), Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) and Alibaba (NYSE:BABA)-backed Xpeng Motors. Of course, major automakers like BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY), Nissan (OTCPK:NSANY), Ford (F) and Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) are also investing heavily in EVs, while General Motors (NYSE:GM) plans for an all-electric portfolio that will include a Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer, Chevrolet battery-electric pickup and two new Buicks SUVs. A catch-all investment that also includes AV/EV tech providers like Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Qualcomm (QCOM) is the Global X Autonomous & Electric Vehicles ETF (NASDAQ:DRIV), which is up 7.76% YTD. Casino data reads: The Nevada Gaming Control Board is expected to post gaming win numbers for June sometime during the week. While the year-over-year comparison will still be rough, casinos will be able to show some sequential progress with many properties opening back up to limited capacity in June. There are no consensus marks to hit or miss, but investors will factor the numbers as the assess pace of recovery for Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), MGM Resorts (MGM), Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD), Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ:WYNN), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), Full House Resorts (NASDAQ:FLL) and Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ:RRR) in the state. An even bigger event during the week is likely to be MGM's earnings report on July 30. Heading into the report, Las Vegas Sands has already warned on a "world of hurt" in Vegas and Bank of America says its tracking indicates Las Vegas Strip room rates for August and September have turned lower. Stock splits: Three reverse stock splits fire off next week. ClearBridge Energy MLP Fund (NYSE:CEM), ClearBridge Energy MLP (NYSE:EMO) and ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return Fund (NYSE:CTR) will all execute a 1-for-5 split. All three MLPs are down more than 70% YTD. Product watch: Yum Brands' (NYSE:YUM) KFC has a test of plant-based fried chicken products running in about 50 locations in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego in partnership with Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND). KFC plans to monitor the results of the test to determine whether to make Beyond Fried Chicken available nationally. There could be some indications next week on how the product is going over in the Golden State. Barron's mentions: The publication pitches the case on why PG&E (NYSE:PCG) looks undervalued. It is noted that the post-bankruptcy company has monopoly power, a newly relaxed regulatory regime, reliable future revenue growth and about $10B of potential future costs prepaid by its customers - even if a yearslong dividend suspension is still a factor. The high valuations for EV truck players Workhorse Group (WKHS), Nikola (NKLA) and Hyliion (NYSE:SHLL) are called out in comparison to the large sales tallies churned up by legacy truck makers like Daimler (OTCPK  DAIF), Volvo (OTCPK:GELYF), Traton (OTCPK:VWAGY), PACCAR (NASDAQ:PCAR) and Cummins (NYSE:CMI). On a similar note, the runup in hydrogen fuel-cell stocks trucks is called a bubble after Plug Power (PLUG), Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) and Bloom Energy (NYSE:BE) were also bid up by investors hungry for EV exposure. The issue also notes the tricky problem of how to price vaccine if Pfizer (PFE), Merck (MRK), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), Moderna (MRNA) or AstraZeneca (AZN) make it to the finish line. Especially because it has been determined yet if people will need regular booster shots to maintain their protection.Sources: Bloomberg, CNBC, Sports Business Journal, Reuters, EDGAR |
