US futures struggling at this 7AM hour as traders turn their focus on jobs data this morning at 8:30. On tap will be fresh figures on non-farm payrolls, unemployment, and hourly earnings. Markets overseas are mixed, with Europe being led lower by weak German industrial production readings. Gold stabilizing overnight with the commodity up nominally.
NEWS:
- BABA: Alibaba inks exclusive tie-ups with global brands to sell in China, reports reuters
- UBNT: launches $100M stock repurchase program
- UA: Tony Romo inks an endorsement deal with Under Armour, reports the nypost
- CCE: KO: Coca-Cola bottlers confirm mergr to form Coca-Cola European
- LNG: Carl Icahn reports 8.18% active stake in Cheniere Energy
- F: Ford China sales growth declines for third month: July down 6 pct Y/Y, reports reuters
- YELP: GRUB: Uber expanding UberEATS, an ultra-fast meal delivery service
ON THE ECONOMIC CALENDAR:
- 8:30AM: Non-farm Payrolls: expectation for a slight drop to 220K from last month’s 223K
- 8:30AM: Unemployment Rate: expectation 5.3%, unchanged from last month
- 8:30AM: Average Hourly Earnings: expectation 0.2%, up from 0.0% last moth
- 3PM: Consumer Credit
EARNINGS THIS MORNING BEFORE THE OPENING:
- HIMX: Q2 EPS of $0.05 in-line: revenue of $169.2M misses by $3.37M
- BID: Q2 EPS of $1.04 misses by $0.20: revenue of $332.01M misses by $10.48M
- CST: Q2 EPS of $0.32 misses by $0.01: revenue of $2.55B beats by $50M
- HSY: Q2 EPS of $0.78 beats by $0.03: revenue of $1.58B misses by $40M
- SIRO: FQ3 EPS of $1.16 beats by $0.01: revenue of $306.1M beats by $10.26M
- JD: Q2 EPS of -RMB0.01: revenue of RMB45.93B: revenue +60.5% Y/Y
RECAP OF SOME NOTABLE EARNINGS AFTER THE CLOSE YESTERDAY:
- NDLS: Q2 EPS of $0.10 misses by $0.02: revenue of $115.23M misses by $2.65M: lowers guidance
- ZNGA: Q2 EPS of -$0.01 beats by $0.01: revenue of $174.46M beats by $17.62M: soft guidance
- MNST: Q2 EPS of $0.79 misses by $0.12: revenue of $693.72M misses by $62.18M: reports that Coke partnership disruption negatively impacted Q2
- NUAN: FQ3 EPS of $0.32 beats by $0.03: revenue of $488.7M beats by $8.34M: guides revenue below expectations
- NUS:Q2 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.03: revenue of $560.21M beats by $9.4M: lowers guidance but remains in-line with expectations
- NVDA: Q2 EPS of $0.05 misses by $0.05: revenue of $1.15B beats by $140M: guides revenue above estimates
- BITA:Q2 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.04: revenue of $162.2M beats by $1.25M: revenue +92.6% Y/Y: light guidance
- RBCN: Q2 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.61: revenue of $7.1M misses by $4.53M: revenue -50.9% Y/Y: soft guidance
- IMPV: Q2 EPS of -$0.08 beats by $0.13: revenue of $53.47M beats by $4.92M: revenue +39.1% Y/Y: strong guidance
- CUBE: Q2 FFO of $0.30 in-line: revenue of $109.87M beats by $1.89M: raises guidance
- STMP:Q2 EPS of $0.97 beats by $0.26: revenue of $48.36M beats by $5.03M: revenue +41.1% Y/Y: raises guidance
- MDVN: Q2 EPS of $0.58 beats by $0.13: revenue of $175.7M beats by $16.28M: revenue +18.6%Y/Y
- SFM: Q2 EPS of $0.22 in-line: revenue of $902.15M beats by $1.19M: lowers guidance
- OSTK: Q2 EPS of $0.07 misses by $0.06: revenue of $388.01M beats by $13.51M
ANALYSTS’ RATINGS CHANGES:
UPGRADES:
- DDD: upgrade: underweight to neutral: Piper Jaffray:
- COH: upgrade: neutral to buy: UBS: pt raised from $34 to $42
- HBNC: upgrade: market perform to outperform: Keefe, Bruyette: $29
- TLN: upgrade: sell to neutral: UBS
- TGP: upgrade: neutral to buy: UBS
DOWNGRADES:
- OPHT: downgrade: neutral to sell: Goldman:
- INTC: downgrade: buy to hold: Drexel Hamilton: pt cut from $40 to $30
- KORS: downgrade: neutral to underweight: Piper Jaffray
- UBNT: downgrade; buy to hold: Wunderlich: pt cut from $37 to $36
- SSTK: downgrade: outperform to sector perform: RBC Capital: $38
- MKL: downgrade: outperform to sector perform: RBC Capital
- MWE: downgrade: outperform to neutral: Credit Suisse: pt cut from $81 to $72
- MWE: downgrade: overweight to neutral: Piper Jaffray
- BRCM: downgrade: buy to neutral: Wedbush: $54
INITIATIONS:
- ES: initiated: neutral: Mizuho: $52
- QURE: initiated: buy: WallachBeth: $35
PRICE TARGET CHANGES:
- NVDA: pt raised from $23 to $24: Topeka Capital
- MX: pt raised from $9 to $14: Topeka Capital
- AGN: pt raised from $361 to $375: RBC Capital
- NUAN: pt raised from $18 to $20: FBR Capital
- IMPV: pt raised from $50 to $67: Topeka Capital
- IMPV: pt raised from $67 to $80: Pacific Crest
- IMPV: pt raised from $76 yo $80: RBC Capital
- MNST: pt raised from $154 to $166: UBS
- BDX: pt raised from $150 to $162: RBC Capital
- MU: pt cut from $30 to $20.50: Mizuho
- MU: pt cut from $25 to $19: Wedbush
- FANG: pt cut from $93 to $83: Northland Capital
- CRZO: pt cut from $65 to $52: Northland Capital
- EAT: pt cut from $65 to $63: RBC Capital
- APA: pt cut from $77 to $72: RBC Capital
- EMES: pt cut from $47 to $32: Cowen
- TDC: pt cut from $43 to $33: Mizuho
- FOSL: pt cut from $94 to $70: Telsey Advisory Group
- GPOR: pt cut from $54 to $50: FBR Capital