Catalyst watch for next week: Bitcoin conference, eyes on Plug Power, Virgin Galactic, Winnebago and Lucid
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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 17


All day - The stock market is closed for the Martin Luther King holiday.

All day - The three-day North American Bitcoin Conference begins in Miami, Florida. Notable speakers include Mark Cuban, Nick Spanos, Tezos (XTZ-USD) co-founder Kathleen Breitman, Tether (USDT-USD) co-founder Craig Sellars and Ripple (XRP-USD) CTO David Schwartz. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other cryptos are beginning to attract more attention as potential inflation and government instability hedges.

Tuesday - January 18


Volatility watch - Options trading has spiked higher on Arrival (NASDAQ:ARVL) and Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings (NYSE:DNA). Stocks generating strong interest on Reddit's WallStreetBets include Virgin Galactic (NYSE:SPCE) and Roblox (NYSE:RBLX). On Stocktwits, Vinco Ventures (NASDAQ:BBIG) and Cenntro Electric Group (NASDAQ:CENN) are at the top of the buzz list. Short interest positions are elevated on Skillz (NYSE:SKLZ) and Nikola (NASDAQ:NKLA) heading into the week. Also keep an eye on Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB), with a deadline for a redemption of public warrants hitting.

All week - Notable conferences scheduled for the week include the Santander 26th Annual Latin American Conference, the Sidoti Winter Small Cap Virtual Investor Conference, Bank of America New York Asia Week 2022 and the CIBC Western Institutional Investor Conference.

All day - The National Retail Federation hosts its NRF2022 event which follows closely after the ICR Conference. Notable speakers include Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) CEO Corie Barry, Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) CEO Marvin Ellison, Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) CEO Patric Louvet and Walmart U.S. (NYSE:WMT) CEO John Furner.

All day - The U.S. Global Sea to Sky Cargo ETF (NYSEARCA:SEA) debuts on the New York Stock Exchange. The ETF will seek to provide diversified access to the global sea shipping and air freight industries. Consisting of common stocks listed on developed and emerging market exchanges across the globe, the fund manager says the ETF will use a smart-beta strategy to determine the most efficient sea shipping and air freight companies in the world.

All day - OPEC issues its monthly oil market report.

All day - Bloomberg hosts its The Year Ahead Summit with business leaders like Visa (NYSE:V) CEO Alfred Kelly, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) CEO Patrick Gelsinger, Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) CEO Chuck Robbins and Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss discussing the overall business climate. Bloomberg Intelligence will also list its 50 companies to watch in 2022 as part of the two-day event.

All day - Keep an eye out for some buzz on Winnebago (NYSE:WGO) with the company scheduled to reveal an all-electric concept motorhome at the Florida RV Super Show.

All day - Ryan Specialty Group Holdings (NYSE:RYAN) stands out of the large group of companies with an IPO lockup period expiring. Shares of RYAN are up more than 50% from their IPO pricing level.

10:30 a.m. FTC Solar (NASDAQ:FTCI) hosts a business insights call. The company's new CEO is following through on a promise to update analysts and investors with a report of his findings and 2022 plans following his first 100 days in charge. Shares of FTC Solar are down more than 30% over the last two months.

11:00 a.m. 23andMe (NASDAQ:ME) holds its first R&D Day in a virtual format. Shares of 23andMe trade at the very low end of their post-SPAC range.

1:00 p.m. The launch window for a Astra Space (NASDAQ:ASTR) rocket flight opens. The company's Rocket 3.3 is scheduled to carry Six CubeSats into orbit on a mission sponsored by NASA. Shares of Astra Space are down 33% over the last six week, with a negative report on the stock from Kerrisdale Capital accounting for some of the negative sentiment. Space stocks have been very volatile before and after launches over the last year.

5:00 p.m. Cardiff Oncology (NASDAQ:CRDF) hosts a conference call to discuss updated data from its lead clinical program in KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer.

Wednesday - January 19


All day - The two-day Index Ventures AI Summit features speakers like OpenAI's Sam Altman, Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Kevin Scott, Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) Anima Anandkumar and Greylock Partners' Reid Hoffman.

All day - The lockup for many PIPE investors in Lucid Group (NASDAQ:LCID) ends. The lockup expiration will cover about 74% of the outstanding shares on Lucid. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas thinks the Saudi sovereign wealth fund is unlikely to sell any stock in the near future, but other analysts have warned on a short-term overhang as traders watch the institutional order flow.

All day - Shareholders with Vistas Media Acquisition Company (NASDAQ:VMAC) vote on the SPAC deal to take music streaming platform Anghami public. The SPAC deal between Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition Corp. (XPDI) and Core Scientific also goes to a vote. Core Scientific is just coming off reporting bitcoin mining production of 1,044 in December to mark a +313% month-over-month increase.

Premarket - Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) posts holiday sales results via a press release. Shares of Signet are typically very active following the sales update on the crucial selling period.

8:00 a.m. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

8:00 a.m. Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath delivers the closing keynote at the Handelsblatt Energy Summit. The electric vehicle maker is set to go public in a SPAC deal with Gores Guggenheim (NASDAQ:GGPI). The Polestar brand is expected to be operating in 30 markets by the end of 2023 as it is looking to ramp up sales to 290K vehicles by the end of 2025.

8:30 a.m. BetMGM releases an update on the sports betting/iGaming operator's 2021 performance and holds a Q&A session. The update could also include details on the online sportsbook's launch in New York earlier in the week. Strong results from BetMGM have led to share price bounces for owners MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) and Entain (OTCPK:GMVHF) in the past.

8:30 a.m. Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc (OSMT) hosts a call to discuss recent Upneeq trends, pending expansion into the medical Aesthetics market and other general business topics.

10:00 a.m. Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) holds a business update conference call. Shares of Plug Power rose last year when the company boosted guidance during a similar update call.

10:00 a.m. Shareholders with Casper Sleep (NYSE:CSPR) vote on the buyout deal from Durational Capital. Shares of Casper Sleep trade about 15% below the deal price amid some questions on Durational's financing for a deal

11:00 a.m. Silvergate (NYSE:SI) holds its earnings conference call. Options trading on Silvergate implies a share price swing of 13% after the report drops.

12:00 p.m. Vuzix (NASDAQ:VUZI) CEO Paul Travers appears at the BTIG Metaverse Unbound Conference to share his industry and company insights during a fireside chat. ARK Invest has been a buyer of Vuzix this month.

Thursday - January 20


All day - Shareholders with Trebia Acquisition Corp. (TREB) meet to vote on the deal to combine with marketing firm System1 in a SPAC transaction.

9:00 a.m. Conn's (NASDAQ:CONN) hosts a virtual Investor Day that will include a live question and answer session with management. The retailer plans to update investors on its enhanced strategic growth plan and long-term financial outlook. Shares of Conn's have rallied three of the last four times the retailer held a similar event.

10:00 a.m. Corsair Gaming (NASDAQ:CRSR) provides an overview of its strategy, growth opportunities and long-term financial targets during a virtual investor day event.

Postmarket - Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ:LLNW) are both expected to see some share price volatility after their earnings report drop. Options trading on Netflix implies a swing up or down of 7.2%, while options trading on Limelight Networks suggests a post-earnings move of 11.3%.

Friday - January 21


All day - The drama around Lockheed Martin's (NYSE:LMT) planned $4.4B acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD) could ratchet up if the FTC delays the vote on the deal. The proposed combination is raising some eyebrows because it would give top defense contractor Lockheed ownership of Aerojet, which produces 70% of the solid fuel rocket motors and other propulsion products used in arms from antiballistic missiles to air-to-air missiles.

Premarket - IHS Markit (NYSE:IHS) releases the last earnings report before the expected close of the company's merger with S&P Global. A report earlier this month indicated that the Justice Department granted antitrust approval for $44B acquisition of INFO.