After Hours Report

The stock market had a mixed showing. The S&P 500 (-0.3%), the Nasdaq Composite (-0.5%), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.4%) traded above and below prior closing levels.

Mixed messages on the tariff front and in economic data contributed to the choppy action. President Trump's Wednesday evening announcement that a 25% tariff will be imposed on all car and light truck imports into the United States sent carmakers sharply lower, yet he also added that reciprocal tariffs will be "lenient."

Weekly jobless claims continue to run below recession-like levels and an Advance International Trade in Goods Report for February still showed a substantive goods deficit (-$147.9 billion), yet it narrowed from January (-$155.6 billion).

Mixed action in the mega cap space also contributed to the up and down action at the index level. Tesla (TSLA 273.13, +1.07, +0.4%), which is perceived as a relative beneficiary of the auto tariff action on imported vehicles, was a standout on the winning side while NVIDIA (NVDA 111.43, -2.33, -2.1%) underperformed along with other chipmakers.

Treasuries settled in mixed fashion. The 10-yr yield rose three basis points to 4.37% and the 2-yr yield fell one basis point to 4.00%. On a related note, the U.S. Treasury completed this week's note offering slate with a weak sale of 7-yr notes.

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.6% YTD
• S&P 500: -3.2% YTD
• S&P Midcap 400: -4.9% YTD
• Russell 2000: -7.4% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: -7.8% YTD

Reviewing today's economic data:

• Q4 GDP - Third Estimate 2.4% (Briefing.com consensus 2.3%); Prior 2.3%, Q4 GDP Deflator - Third Estimate 2.3% (Briefing.com consensus 2.4%); Prior 2.4%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it shows a nice expansion in activity during the fourth quarter that was underpinned by consumer spending; however, the report's impact on the market is muted by its dated nature (we're just days away from being done with the first quarter).
• Weekly Initial Claims 224K (Briefing.com consensus 225K); Prior was revised to 225K from 223K, Weekly Continuing Claims 1.856 mln; Prior was revised to 1.881 mln from 1.892 mln
  • The key takeaway from the report is that initial jobless claims -- a leading indicator -- continue to idle at levels consistent with an otherwise solid labor market.
• February Adv. Intl. Trade in Goods -$147.9 bln; Prior was revised to -$155.6 bln from -$153.3 bln
• February Adv. Retail Inventories 0.1%; Prior was revised to 0.1% from -0.1%
• February Adv. Wholesale Inventories 0.3%; Prior was revised to 0.8% from 0.7%
• February Pending Home Sales 2.0% (Briefing.com consensus 2.9%); Prior -4.6%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the goods deficit, while outsized, narrowed on account of exports being $7.0 billion more than January exports and imports being $0.6 billion less than January imports.

Thursday's economic data includes:

• 8:30 ET: February Personal Income (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 0.9%), Personal Spending (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%; prior -0.2%), PCE Prices (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%; prior 0.3%), and Core PCE Prices (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 0.3%)
• 10:00 ET: Final March University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Briefing.com consensus 57.9; prior 57.9)

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX -0.8%, FTSE -0.3%, CAC -0.5%
• Asia: Nikkei -0.6%, Hang Seng +0.4%, Shanghai +0.2%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil +0.27 @ 69.93
• Nat Gas +0.07 @ 3.93
• Gold +38.20 @ 3060.50
• Silver +0.88 @ 35.06
• Copper -0.12 @ 5.12

After-Hours Spotlight:

• Braze (BRZE) beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; guides FY26 EPS above consensus, revs in-line; agrees to acquire OfferFit, an AI decisioning company, for $325 million; expected to close in the fiscal quarter ending July 31... BRZE up 10.5%
• CureVac (CVAC) receives positive validity decision from the European Patent Office in litigation against BioNTech... CVAC up 11.4%
• lululemon athletica (LULU) beats by $0.29, reports revs in-line, comps of +4% on CC basis; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus... LULU down 10.5%
• Oxford Industries (OXM) beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus... OXM down 8.4%

Fair Value for Friday, March 28:

• S&P 500: 5,742
• Nasdaq 100: 19,992
• DJIA: 42,615

For a full rundown of today's market and after hours developments, see Live In Play

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • 3D Systems (DDD) Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Results
  • Alvotech (ALVO) reports record results for 2024 and provides business update
  • Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) provides corporate updates with earnings; terminated ATM program and implemented reduction of workforce by 57% in Q1 2025
  • Concentrix (CNXC) beats by $0.21, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; reaffirms FY25 EPS guidance, guides FY25 revs in-line
  • Desktop Metal (DM) released preliminary unaudited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2024
  • Ermenegildo Zegna Group (ZGN) reports full year 2024 profit of €91 million and adjusted EBIT of €184 million
  • Ferrari (RACE) confirms its financial targets for 2025, with a potential risk of 50 basis points reduction on profitability percentage margins (EBIT and EBITDA margins) following tariffs
  • H.B. Fuller (FUL) beats by $0.04, beats on revs; reaffirms FY25 EPS guidance, revs guidance
  • Hudbay Minerals (HBM) affirms FY25 production guidance; provides annual reserve and resource update, three-year production outlook; Consolidates 100% ownership in its Copper Mountain Mine
  • Jefferies (JEF) reports Q1 (Feb) results, reports revs of $1.59 bln
  • MillerKnoll (MLKN) beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY25 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus
  • Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF) reports Q4 (Jan) results, revs in-line; issues guidance
  • Steelcase (SCS) beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
  • TD Synnex (SNX) misses by $0.11, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus
  • TEN, Ltd. (TEN) reports earnings and announces dividend
  • Verint Systems (VRNT) misses by $0.28, misses on revs; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs in-line, increases Subscription ARR guidance
  • Winnebago (WGO) beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; guides FY25 EPS in-line, revs in-line
• General News
  • President Trump imposes 25% tariffs on all automobile imports effective April 3; select auto part tariffs effective May 3; says tariffs will be “permanent”; calls on Congress to make interest on auto loans tax deductible
  • President Trump says reciprocal tariffs will be on all countries, but that they will be very lenient; adds that people will be pleasantly surprised; in some cases, tariff rate will be lower than what country is currently paying
  • Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will soon respond to auto tariffs, according to Reuters
  • President Trump says "If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!"
  • President Trump might give China a reduction in tariffs to complete TikTok deal, according to Bloomberg
  • UAW issues statement on auto tariffs; says "we applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working class communities for decades"
  • Taxpayers spent billions covering identical Medicare payments, according to the Wall Street Journal
  • China, EU pledge deeper economic ties, vow to tackle trade differences through dialogue, according to Xinhua
  • US plans to control all Ukraine investments are discussed in Bloomberg report
  • The Trump administration suspended financial contributions to World Trade Organization, according to Reuters
  • CBO releases long term budget outlook for 2025-2035
  • Banco de Mexico’s Governing Board decided to lower the target for the overnight interbank interest rate by 50 basis points to 9.00%, effective March 28, 2025
  • SEC nominee Paul Atkins gives testimony to the Senate
  • Akamai Tech (AKAM) launches Akamai Cloud Inference
  • Alarm.com's (ALRM) Shooter Detection Systems unit announces new technology integration with Genea Security
  • Amazon (AMZN) Luna signs multi-year content deal with Electronic Arts (EA) and expands to Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, and Luxembourg
  • Amazon (AMZN) lays off 200 support staff in fulfillment services division, according to The Information
  • Apple (AAPL): Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed bill that requires Apple and Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) application stores to verify user ages, according to CNBC
  • Apple (AAPL) will soon select Vanessa Trigub as VP of stores, according to Bloomberg
  • Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) provides corporate updates with earnings; terminated ATM program and implemented reduction of workforce by 57% in Q1 2025
  • AstraZeneca (AZN) unit Alexion reports data presented at the 2025 AAN Annual Meeting highlight advancements in improving care for rare neurological diseases
  • Bausch + Lomb (BLCO) voluntarily recalls enVista Aspire, enVista Envy and Certain enVista Monofocal Intraocular Lenses
  • BHP Group (BHP) made a listing application to the UK FCA and the London Stock Exchange for a total of 5,161,401 ordinary shares to be admitted to the listing
  • Bicycle Therapeutics (BCYC) announces several new governance and key clinical leadership appointments
  • Box (BOX) receives FedRAMP high authorization; Box AI can now be used for government processes involving highly sensitive data
  • BridgeBio Pharma (BBIO) Beyonttra the first near-complete TTR stabilizer (=90%), approved in Japan to treat ATTR-CM
  • Caledonia Mining Corporation (CMCL) reported Bilboes optimisation update
  • Candel Therapeutics (CADL) reports both prolonged median overall survival and long tail of survival in Phase 2a Clinical Trial of CAN-2409 in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients Non-Responsive to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) Treatment
  • Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) commences stock repurchase program
  • Coherent (COHR) to sell epitaxial fabrication facility in Champaign, Illinois, as part of its ongoing initiatives to optimize its manufacturing footprint
  • CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) announces that its COO Julianne Bruno, will be stepping down from the Company to pursue external opportunities, effective as of April 11
  • Deutsche Bank (DB) shapes Management Board for next phase of growth strategy
  • Dover (DOV): Innovative Control Systems announces the introduction and availability of its AI-powered license-plate recognition solution
  • Dr. Reddy's (RDY) and Bio-Thera reach commercialization and license agreements for BAT2206, a proposed Stelara biosimilar, and BAT2506, a proposed Simponi biosimilar
  • DuPont (DD) Announces Board of Directors for the Planned Independent Electronics Company
  • EMX Royalty (EMX) royalty partner Zijin Mining Group provided an update on a new copper and gold discovery in Serbia
  • FirstEnergy (FE) to reduce its workforce by less than 3%
  • Fox News (FOXA) attracts 125 blue chip advertisers amid soaring ratings, according to Financial Times
  • Gyre Therapeutics (GYRE) Announces Publication of Protocol for Phase 3 Trial Evaluating F351 for CHB-Associated Liver Fibrosis in Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology
  • Kornit Digital (KRNT): Top U.S. Patriotic Apparel Brand Deploys Kornit Digital’s Flagship Apollo System to Unlock the Agility of Digital Printing
  • Lantheus Holdings (LNTH): CytoSite Bio announces agreement with Lantheus for granzyme B targeted PET imaging radiotracer for immunotherapy assessment
  • Leonardo DRS (DRS) receives a $16.9 mln prototype project award by the U.S. Army to modernize the Paladin Electric Servo Amplifier electric weapon control system for the M109A7 Paladin self-propelled howitzer
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) and Google (GOOG / GOOGL) Cloud announce collaboration to advance generative AI for national security
  • Mesoblast (MESO) announces Ryoncil is now available for purchase in the US
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) wants to sell PNE stake, according to Reuters
  • NVIDIA (NVDA): H3C in China warning of Nvidia chip shortage, according to Reuters
  • Pfizer (PFE): Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) unveils findings of Pfizer tax dodging investigation
  • Plains All American's (PAA) President, Harry Pefanis will retire, effective June 1, 2025; Willie Chiang, Chairman of the Board and CEO, will assume role of President
  • Regulus Therapeutics (RGLS) making new monthly highs after announcing successful completion of its Phase 1b MAD trial of farabursen for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
  • Robinhood Markets (HOOD): Tilray (TLRY) successfully prevailed with dismissal of HEXO shareholder lawsuit
  • Savara (SVRA) Completes Submission of the Biologics License Application (BLA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for MOLBREEVI as a Treatment for Autoimmune Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (aPAP)
  • SLB (SLB): Regarding SLB merger with ChampionX (CHX), UK CMA has decided that it is or may be the case that this merger may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom
  • SoftBank (SFTBY): OpenAI close to $40 bln funding deal led by SoftBank, according to Bloomberg
  • Soleno Therapeutics (SLNO) announces FDA approval of VYKATTM XR to treat hyperphagia in Prader-Willi syndrome
  • Sonoco Products (SON) to raise prices for core board and paperboard in Europe
  • Sphere Entertainment Co.'s (SPHR) MSGN Holdings agreed to another extension of the Forbearance Agreement
  • St. Joe Company (JOE) plans to build a state-of-the-art acute care hospital in Panama City Beach under the “FSU Health” name to serve the residents of Bay and Walton counties
  • Teleflex (TFX) preliminary results from IDE study on Ringer Perfusion Balloon Catheter reported from podium at CTO Plus Conference
  • Tencent (TCEHY) will spend EUR 1.16 bln to get 25% stake in Ubisoft (UBSFY) new top games unit, according to Bloomberg
  • Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk says "Important to note that Tesla is not unscathed here. The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant"
  • TransAlta (TAC) enters into an automatic share purchase plan with its broker in order to facilitate repurchases of TransAlta’s common shares under the Company’s previously announced normal course issuer bid
  • U. S. Steel (X) Issues Updated Letter to Stockholders
  • Ubisoft (UBSFY) confirms the creation of a new subsidiary; Tencent (TCEHY) will invest €1.16bn for a minority stake
  • V.F. Corp (VFC) accepted W. Rodney McMullen’s offer of resignation from the Board and reduced the size of the Board to twelve directors, each effective immediately
  • Vitesse (VTS) receives exemptive relief from the applicable Canadian securities authorities regarding future filing requirements
  • XPO, Inc. (XPO) announces $750 million share repurchase authorization
  • Zebra Tech (ZBRA) and Merck KGaA (MKKGY) announce a new collaboration aimed at co-creating solutions to address challenges around product verification, authenticity, and trust

• Upgrades:
  • Chemours (CC) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Mizuho, tgt $19
  • Check Point (CHKP) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA Securities, tgt $260
  • Equinix (EQIX) upgraded to Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe Research, tgt $978
  • ING Groep (ING) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
  • Liberty Energy (LBRT) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $25
  • Northrop Grumman (NOC) upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital, tgt $575
  • Par Pacific (PARR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, tgt $19
  • Ryanair (RYAAY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank
• Downgrades:
  • AMD (AMD) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, tgt $120
  • BASF (BASFY) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
  • BMW (BMWYY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays
  • CarGurus (CARG) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $34
  • easyJet (ESYJY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank
  • Imperial Oil (IMO) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
  • Lightspeed (LSPD) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at ATB Capital
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital, tgt $480
  • Omega Healthcare (OHI) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Wells Fargo, tgt $39
  • Openlane (KAR) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $20
  • PayPal (PYPL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Arete, tgt $81
  • Phillips 66 (PSX) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, tgt $132
  • TrueCar (TRUE) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
  • UBS (UBS) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities
• Others:
  • Ascentage Pharma (AAPG) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan
  • Aurora Innovation (AUR) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer, tgt $15
  • Badger Meter (BMI) initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital, tgt $251
  • Baldwin Insurance (BWIN) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $53
  • Carnival (CCL) initiated with an Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas, tgt $26
  • Coursera (COUR) resumed with an Underperform at BofA Securities, tgt $7
  • HBT Financial (HBT) initiated with a Market Perform at Hovde Group, tgt $24.50
  • Helmerich & Payne (HP) resumed with an Underweight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $27
  • Mereo BioPharma (MREO) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $7
  • Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) initiated with a Neutral at Exane BNP Paribas, tgt $21
  • Ouster (OUST) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer, tgt $16
  • RenovoRx (RNXT) initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright, tgt $3
  • Roku (ROKU) resumed with a Buy at BofA Securities, tgt $100
  • Roper Technologies (ROP) initiated with a Buy at Stifel, tgt $685
  • Sable Offshore (SOC) initiated with a Buy at Roth MKM, tgt $30
  • Thryv Holdings (THRY) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital, tgt $17
  • Viking Holdings (VIK) initiated with an Outperform at Exane BNP Paribas, tgt $47

• Econ Data (Friday):
  • 8:30 ET: February Personal Income (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 0.9%), Personal Spending (Briefing.com consensus 0.6%; prior -0.2%), PCE Prices (Briefing.com consensus 0.3%; prior 0.3%), and Core PCE Prices (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%; prior 0.3%)
  • 10:00 ET: Final March University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Briefing.com consensus 57.9; prior 57.9)
• Earnings:
  • Monday (Mar 24)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: KBH
  • Tuesday (Mar 25)
    • Pre-Market: CSIQ CNM CRMD MKC
    • After-Hours: GME WOR
  • Wednesday (Mar 26)
    • Pre-Market: CHWY CTAS DLTR JKS PAYX TH
      
    • After-Hours: CNXC FUL JEF MLKN WOOF SCS VRNT
  • Thursday (Mar 27)
    • Pre-Market: SNX WGO
    • After-Hours: AIR AGX BRZE LULU OXM
  • Friday (Mar 28)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: None
  General Motors: 5,000 members at GM's Arlington, TX assembly plant join UAW strike