Wall Street Breakfast: The Week Ahead

Investors will aim to look through the fog of war headlines next week to recalibrate as economic and earnings releases pour in. The U.S. retail sales for September are forecast to show a small increase in the core rate from August, while reports on industrial production and housing starts are also anticipated to show incremental month-over-month gains. Those reports will be followed by a key speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on October 19 as the blackout period for Fed speakers ahead of the next FOMC meeting rapidly approaches.

The Q3 earnings season also kicks into high gear next week, with Tesla (TSLA) leading the charge. Other earnings reporters with the potential to shake up their respective sectors include Procter & Gamble (PG) (preview), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) (preview), AT&T (T) (preview), Netflix (NFLX) (preview), Bank of America (BAC) (preview), and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) (preview).

Earnings spotlight: Monday, October 16 – Charles Schwab (SCHW) and Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS).

Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, October 17 – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Bank of America (BAC), Lockheed Martin (LMT), and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, October 18 – Tesla (TSLA), Procter & Gamble (PG), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Netflix (NFLX), and Morgan Stanley (MS).

Earnings spotlight: Thursday, October 19 – Philip Morris International (PM), Union Pacific (UNP), AT&T (T), CSX (CSX), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), and American Airlines Group (AAL).

Earnings spotlight: Friday, October 20 – American Express (AXP) and Schlumberger (SLB).

Dividend watch: Companies projected to boost their quarterly dividend payouts include Apple Hospitality (APLE) to $0.10 from $0.08, Visa (V) to $0.54 from $0.45, Blackstone (BX) to $0.87 from $0.79, Penske Automotive (PAG) to $0.78 from $0.72, and Hubbell (HUBB) to $1.21 from $1.12. See Seeking Alpha’s list of Quick Dividend Stock Picks.

Key events: Baidu (BIDU) will hold its Baidu World 2023 event in Beijing next week. The company says it will release multiple AI-native applications at the event and introduce the latest progress in foundation models. Analysts think the update on the ChatGPT-like tool Ernie Bot could spark interest in the stock. Investor events scheduled include Charles Schwab’s Fall Business Update (SCHW), Equillium’s (EQ) Analyst & Investor Day, and Jefferies Financial Group’s (JEF) Investor Meeting.

Conference schedule: The conference schedule is in the week ahead. The healthcare sector will have its eyes on the World Vaccine Congress, Europe. Presentations from Novavax (NVAX), Vaxart (VXRT), and Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP) will be of interest. The Lytham Partners Fall Investor Conference and ThinkEquity Conference could lead to share price jolts for small cap stocks.

Volatility watch: Short interest levels elevated on Fisker (FSR), Theravance Biopharma (TBPH), Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX), Bowlero Corp. (BOWL), and Bicycle Therapeutics plc (BCYC). Options trading volume has moved higher recently on Virgin Galactic (SPCE) and Replimune Group (REPL). The most overbought stocks per their 14-day relative strength index are Generation Asia I Acquisition (GAQ), Acurx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ACXP), and Startek (SRT). The most oversold stocks per their 14-day Relative Strength Index are McCormick (MKC), Real Good Food (RGF), and PSQ Holdings (PSQH).

Quant ratings: Stocks with recent quant rating changes include Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) to Strong Buy from Hold, Neogen (NEOG) to Buy from Hold, and ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) to Sell from Hold. See the stocks with the very highest rated Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings.