U.S. stock futures were flat on Wednesday as investors digest comments made by Fed-Chair Jerome Powell that he is committed to maintaining “easy” monetary policies for the foreseeable future.
Earnings season continues with TJX and ETR expected to release their results before the bell, while BKNG, PSA and VIAC are scheduled to report after the market closes.
Globalstar (GSAT) was most actively traded at the time of writing, with over 5 million shares having already changed hands. The stock was trading 25% higher than its close on Tuesday.
Sundial Growers (SNDL) was also heavily traded before the bell, gaining 8% in the pre-market session, together with AMC Entertainment (AMC), which was almost 4% lower.
In corporate earnings news, PubMatic (PUBM) rose 15% before the bell on Wednesday after the advertising software company reported Q4 earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. Revenues and diluted net income per share came in at $56.2 million and $0.34, respectively, beating analysts’ estimates of $47.54 million and $0.30. PUBM is anticipating Q1 2021 revenues of between $38 million and $40 million, with full year revenues expected to be in the $180 million to $185 million range.
Shares of Sierra Wireless (SWIR) looked to bounce back after falling 1.9% yesterday as the company delivered better-than-expected sales and a third consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth. Revenues decreased 3.7% year-on-year to $120.48 million, topping analysts’ estimates of $116.23 million. However, the company reported a worse-than-expected net loss of $0.31 per share versus the $0.26 estimated. The company expects strong demand for its products and services in Q1 and has secured orders and recurring revenues that are about 15% higher than the Street’s original estimates.
Shares of Workhorse Group (WKHS) plummeted 47% yesterday after the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) awarded an expected 10-year, multi-billion dollar contract to its competitor, Oshkosh Corp (OSK). Workhorse was hoping to secure the contract to replace the Postal Service’s aging delivery vehicle fleet with the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV). OSK shares rose 6% on the news yesterday and were trading 8% higher at the time of writing.
Square (SQ) fell 4% in pre-market trading despite reporting better-than-expected Q4 results. Adjusted earnings increased 39% year-on-year to $0.32 per share and beat analysts’ estimates of $0.24, while revenues of $3.16 billion came in ahead of the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion and marked a year-over-year improvement of 141%. Gross payment volumes (GPV) of $32 billion rose 12% versus a year ago, however, they narrowly missed analysts’ forecasts of $32.1 billion.
Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) fell 2.7% yesterday after posting a wider-than-expected loss in the fourth quarter. Sales were almost negligible, however, the biopharmaceutical company achieved a strong liquidity position and maintained pipeline progress. Losses of $2.10 per share came in worse than the $1.85 loss estimated by analysts, while total sales of $37,000 completely missed analysts’ expectations of $560,000.
