The markets are pointed north Monday morning in the wake of reports that Congress has reached a bipartisan deal that will keep the government running through September, averting a shutdown. However, expect the spotlight to quickly move from the government to Wall Street, where earnings season is in full swing.
Heading into Monday morning, Dish Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) is on the move after its most recent report, while Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) and LendingClub Corp (NYSE:LC) are the subjects of some recent analyst notes.
Here’s what you need to know heading into Monday’s trade:
Qualcomm, Inc. (QCOM)
QCOM shares were trading flat on Monday despite a knock from analysts at Pacific Crest.
Specifically, analyst Michael McConnell lowered the firm’s price target on Qualcomm from $77 to $68. However, Pacific Crest still maintains its “Overweight” rating on shares, and the $68 price target still represents more than 26% upside from current prices.
The purpose of the PT drop, McConnell said, was merely a reflection of lower earnings expectations following Qualcomm’s guidance drop. QCOM lowered its internal earnings estimates in the wake of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) announcing it would withhold royalties amid a legal spat.
Qualcomm Incorporated now expects current-quarter sales in a range of $4.8 billion to $5.6 billion, down from $5.3 billion to $6.1 billion. Meanwhile, its earnings range was dropped to a range of 75 cents to 85 cents from a range of 90 cents to $1.15.
McConnell is looking for full-year earnings in a range of $4.22 to $4.66 per share, and FY 2018 earnings of $3.39 to $4.47.
QCOM shares are off 17% year-to-date.
LendingClub Corp (LC)
LC shares are getting a decent push on Monday thanks to an upgrade ahead of its Thursday earnings report.
Susquehanna analysts upgraded the company from “Neutral” to “Positive” and slapped a $9 price target on shares, up from $6. The new PT implies a whopping 54% of upside.
LendingClub stock has been on a topsy-turvy recovery path in 2017, up 11% for the year-to-date, but with several ups and downs. Looking ahead, analysts are expecting LC to flip from 5 cents of net income in the year-ago quarter to a 3-cent loss, on revenues estimated to decline 19% to $122.9 million.
LendingClub Corporation has been the subject of a few analyst upgrades over the past few months, including Wedbush upping it to “Neutral” and Guggenheim to “Buy” in March.
LC stock is up more than 4% in early Monday trading.
Dish Network Corp (DISH)
Monday morning could be rough for Dish Network, which is feeling the effects of nationwide cord-cutting.
DISH announced earnings of $376 million (76 cents per share), off 6% year-over-year, on revenues that declined 3.9% to $3.68 billion. While the bottom line beat expectations for 69 cents per share, the top line fell short, as analysts were looking for revenues of $3.78 billion.
But perhaps the most worrying miss was on the subscriber front. Dish Network shed 143,000 net pay-TV subscribers, which was almost twice as wide as the 72,000 subscribers analysts expected the company to lose. It also was a far more substantial loss than the 23,000 subscribers that left in the year-ago quarter.
It’s a setback for DISH, which has seen shares rise some 30% in the past year over increased hopes of a buyout from the telecom industry, a la AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and its 2014 purchase of DirecTV to expand its operations.
DISH stock is off by more than 1% in Monday’s trade.
