Catalyst watch: Twitter drama, high-profile Block and Caterpillar events, Jerome Powell talks
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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 - May 16


Volatility watch - Options trading volume is high on Ford Motor (F) and Nvidia (NVDA). Following bruising earnings reports, Coinbase Global (COIN) and Beyond Meat (BYND) are at the top of the list of most discussed stocks on Reddit's WallStreetBets and StockTwits. Watch Gogo (GOGO) with short interest on the stock having moved even higher recently. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is also expected to swing wildly as new Elon Musk developments hit the wire.

All week - The conference schedule is headlined by the J.P. Morgan Homebuilding and Building Products Conference that runs from May 17-19 and includes presentations from PulteGroup (PHM), JELD-WEN Holding (JELD), Masonite International (DOOR), AZEK Company (AZEK), M.D.C. Holdings (MDC), KB Home (KBH), and Stanley Black & Decker (SWK). Other conferences of note include the Needham Technology & Media Conference, the BofA 2022 Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference, the RBC Global Healthcare Conference, the BMO Global Farm to Market Conference and the Wells Fargo Financial Services Investor Conference.

All week - A large number of healthcare companies will be presenting drug data at the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy Annual Meeting from May 16-19, including REGENXBIO Inc. (RGNX), Athenex (ATNX), Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (RARE), Mustang Bio (MBIO), and Fortress Biotech (FBIO). Bank of America has highlighted Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RKT) for having some key readouts and clinical updates at ASGCT, while Wells Fargo thinks AVROBIO (AVRO) and Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) have key presentations scheduled.

All day - Hedge funds are expected to report on their holdings at the end of Q1. Some of the stocks with the highest concentration of hedge fund ownership include United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Anaplan (PLAN), Pershing Square Tontine Holdings (PSTH), (JOBY), SES AI Corporation (SES), and BRC Inc. (BRCC). Names on the crowded hedge fund list have shown more volatility around the quarterly 13F filings than the broad market.

All day - The IPO lockup periods expire on Braze (BRZE), Iris Energy (IREN), and Sono Group (SEV).

All day - The go-shop period expires on the Thoma Bravo $6.9B buyout of SailPoint Technologies (SAIL). Shares of SAIL trade about 6.5% below the deal price.

Tuesday - May 17


All day - It will be a big day for Fedspeak with St. Louis Fed President Bullard scheduled to discuss the economic outlook, Philadelphia Fed President Harker set to talk about healthcare as an economic driver, Cleveland Fed President Mester due to gives remarks on inflation, and Chicago Fed President Evans on tap to discuss the economic outlook. Federal Reserve Bank President Jerome Powell will also speak at the WSJ: The Future of Everything conference.

All day - Light & Wonder (LNW) will hold its first investor day event under its new corporate name and branding. Analysts have the presentation circled as a potential share price catalyst.

All day - The retail sales report will drop to an expectation from economists for a 0.9% month-over-month increase. Bank of America thinks the core retail sales number will be up a solid 1.3% M/M after the firm's credit and debit card data showed continued strength in goods spending during the month.

9:00 a.m. Moderna (MRNA) will host its in-person Science and Technology Day for analysts and investors. The event will feature presentations with a focus on the company's newest advances. Shares of Moderna rallied more than 9% in the two sessions that followed last year's Science and Technology Day event.

12:15 p.m. Frontier Airlines (ULCC) CEO Barry Biffle will speak at the WSJ: The Future of Everything conference.

Wednesday - May 18


All day - Caterpillar (CAT) is scheduled to hold its annual investor day event with a focus on services, technology and sustainability. Analysts are pointing to earnings upside for CAT with the oil and gas outlook improved considerably over the past 3 months. New Relic (NEWR) will be hosting an Analyst Day in conjunction with FutureStack 2022, the companyâs annual customer and developer conference. Also on the calendar are investor events for OneSpan (OSPN), Lantheus (LNTH), Wingstop (WING), and Heska (HSKA) that could all spark share price moves following the new round of guidance and strategy updates.

All day - Two SPAC deals will go to votes with Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II (LCAP) shareholders meeting to approve the business combination with payments recovery company MSP Recovery public and North Atlantic Acquisition Corporation (NAAC) shareholders meeting on the deal to take digital security firm TeleSign public.

Premarket - Companies reporting earnings with a double-digit share price moves up or down implied by options trading include Bath & Body Works (BBWI) and Sportradar Group (SRAD).

11:00 a.m. Block (SQ) will hold its 2022 Investor Day event. CEO Jack Dorsey and CFO Amrita Ahuja are both scheduled to give talks and provide an overview of the companyâs purpose and strategy, financials, and key business and product initiatives. Analysts think a deeper dive into Block's Seller and Cash App ecosystems could sway sentiment on the stock, which has seen its premium valuation trimmed with the broad sell-off in high-growth story stocks.

2:20 p.m. FanDuel CEO Amy Howe will talk about the sports betting industry at the WSJ: The Future of Everything conference. FanDuel is owned by Dublin-based Flutter Entertainment (OTCPK:PDYPY).

Thursday - May 19


All day - It will be a very busy day of guidance and strategy updates with Cowen (COWN), Wix.com (WIX), Wabash National Corporation (WNC), EPAM Systems (EPAM), and Flywire Corporation (FLYW) all holding annual or multi-year investor events.

All day - SQZ Biotechnologies (SQZ) will host a live R&D investor event. The event will feature presentations on the companyâs point-of-care manufacturing system and its potential impact on cell therapy development. The company will also discuss its first anticipated clinical use in the SQZ TAC clinical development program for celiac disease, which has an FDA investigational new drug application submission planned for the first half of 2023. Shares of SQZ have been volatile in the past after clinical development updates.

All day - Shareholders with Zynga (ZNGA) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) will vote on the planned $12.7B buyout.

12:45 p.m. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) CEO Andrew Witty will speak at the WSJ: The Future of Everything conference.

Postmarket - Companies reporting earnings with a double-digit share price moves up or down implied by options trading include Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Deckers Outdoors (DECK).

Friday - May 20


All day - Blue Owl Capital (OWL), NN Inc (NNBR), and Teleflex (TFX) will hold investor day events.