There’s quite a bit going on, so let’s get to the Money & Markets Week Ahead.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia will release its monthly manufacturing index Thursday morning.
The index measures the changes in business growth covering Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
The index is at a current level of 24.1 — down from 27.5 in June and up from 16.6 a year ago. That is a change of negative 12.36% from last month and 45.18% from a year ago.
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index Down Month Over Month
When the index value is above zero, it means there is growth in the manufacturing sector. Conversely, a value below zero indicates a contraction in the sector.
While the manufacturing index is used to forecast regional manufacturing conditions, investors and analysts follow it as an indication of manufacturing across the U.S.
The index suffered a 254% drop from its high of 36.7 in February to its low of negative 56.6 in April.
It’s fluctuated over the last three months, so keep a close eye on this manufacturing indicator.
Cancer Drugmaker IPO
Inhibrx Inc. is expected to price its initial public offering (IPO) on Tuesday with the intention of raising $102 million from the sale of its common stock, according to regulatory filings.
The California-based company is noted for working on treatments for rare cancers like chondrosarcoma and mesothelioma.
It hopes to sell 6 million shares at a midpoint price of $17 per share.
The biggest issue with this company is its financials.
In the first six months of 2020, Inhibrix has a net loss of around $38 million. In 2019, it reported a net loss of $51.4 million.
A lot of those losses are due to increased expenses in research and development — which have been offset in part by grant and licensing revenues.
The bottom line: This is a high price for an IPO. And while the company is in the process of testing drugs to treat rare cancers, those tests are still in an early phase. It’s also provided little in terms of results from its early testing, making this a difficult IPO to get excited about.
Money & Markets Week Ahead: The Data Dump
The National Association of Home Builders will release its housing market index for August.
In July, the index moved up to 72 after hitting an 8-year low of 30 in April.
A reading above 50 indicates a favorable outlook on home sales while a reading below 50 indicates a negative outlook.
The housing market will stay in the limelight on Tuesday as housing starts and building permits for July will be reported. There were 1.18 million housing starts in July and 1.2 million building permits issued during the same month.
The Labor Department will release the latest jobless numbers on Thursday morning with investors keeping a close eye on claims as an indicator of the state of a broader economic recovery.
On Friday, IHS Markit will release its purchase managers index for manufacturing and services for the month of August.
In July both indexes were right at 50, indicating a very slight market expansion for the month.
Earnings Reports
Here’s a look at the companies scheduled to report quarterly earnings next week:
Monday
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (Nasdaq: CWCO)
JD.com Inc. (Nasdaq: JD)
Niu Technologies (Nasdaq: NIU)
Tuesday
Advance Auto Parts Inc. (NYSE: AAP)
Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ)
Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD)
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT)
Wednesday
L Brands Inc. (NYSE: LB)
Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW)
Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA)
Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT)
Thursday
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE: BABA)
Ross Stores Inc. (Nasdaq: ROST)
Friday
Deere & Co. (NYSE: DE)
Food Locker Inc. (NYSE: FL)