This week will be a relatively quiet one in terms of economic data, though the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) index is due out. Investors will also have another round of jobs and house sales data to digest as the month of July progresses. Earnings season is starting to pick up steam, too, with several big names scheduled to release their quarterly reports, including American Express (AXP), Biogen (BIIB), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Coca-Cola (KO), Intel (INTC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix  (NFLX), Travelers (TRV), United Airlines (UAL), and Verizon (VZ). 

Today will bring the NAHB index. 

The following companies are slated to release quarterly earnings today, July 19:

AutoNation Inc. (NYSE:AN -- $102.60) operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. AutoNation will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM -- $36.18) produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. Cal-Maine Foods will report its Q4 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Prologis Inc. (NYSE:PLD -- $127.28) is the global leader in logistics real estate with a focus on high-barrier, high-growth markets. Prologis will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ:TSCO -- $189.00) operates as a rural lifestyle retailer in the United States. Tractor Supply will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Crown Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CCK -- $103.80) designs, manufactures, and sells packaging products and equipment for consumer goods and industrial products in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Crown will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. (NYSE:ELS -- $80.10) is a self-administered, self-managed real estate investment trust. Equity Lifestyle Properties will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

F.N.B. Corp. (NYSE:FNB -- $11.41) provides a range of financial services primarily to consumers, corporations, governments, and small- to medium-sized businesses. F.N.B. will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

International Business Machines (IBM) Corp. (NYSE:IBM -- $138.90) provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. IBM will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ:JBHT -- $164.95) provides surface transportation and delivery services in North America. J.B. Hunt Transport will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

PPG Industries Inc. (NYSE:PPG -- $170.20) manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials worldwide. PPG Industries will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD -- $59.88) operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. Steel Dynamics will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Wintrust Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:WTFC -- $72.36) operates as a financial holding company. Wintrust Financial will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. (NASDAQ:ZION -- $49.60) is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of full banking and related services. Zions will report its Q2 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Here is a quick look at how Friday's earnings reports compared to Wall Street's expectations:

Autoliv Inc. (NYSE:ALV -- $94.98) develops, manufactures, and supplies automotive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. Autoliv reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.18. The firm earned $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion.

The Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW -- $70.55) provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. Charles Schwab reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.46 billion.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC -- $13.25) provides communication infrastructure, services, and software solutions to the telecom and other sectors. Ericsson reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $49.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $53.40 billion.

First Horizon Corp. (NYSE:FHN -- $16.47) operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of checking accounts, savings products, mortgage banking, lending, and financing to individuals and businesses. First Horizon reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.15.

Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU -- $269.32) provides domestic and international rail transportation services in North America. Kansas City Southern reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $749.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $749.06 million.

State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT -- $81.97) provides a range of financial products and services to institutional investors worldwide. State Street reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.19. The business earned $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, data on building permits and housing starts will be released 

All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.

Another earnings season descended upon Wall Street this week, with bank stocks leading the charge. Despite a week packed full of key economic indicators and quarterly reports, though, stocks barely budged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) did start out the week on a strong note, blasting towards a record close, joined by the S&P 500 index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), as investors looked toward Federal Chair Jerome Powell's Capitol Hill testimony. The blue-chip index was reversing course by Tuesday, though, after a hotter-than-expected consumer price index (CPI) weighed on markets -- marking the CPI's fastest acceleration in almost 13 years. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled back, too, but not before logging more record intraday highs. The S&P 500 notched yet another mid-session high on Wednesday, though stocks were relatively muted as investors eyed a downward trend in bond yields, and digested initial comments from Powell during his two-day testimony. 

Thursday marked another quiet day for stocks. Initial jobless claims touched a new pandemic-era low, falling in line with estimates, and Powell reiterated the inflation spike will likely be transitory, which drew some criticism. Markets continued to struggle for direction during Friday's session, amid spiking inflation fears and mixed earnings reports. At last check, all three indexes were firmly in the red, and eyeing losses for the week. 

Bank Earnings Kick Off Earnings Season

As is customary, major names from the financial sector kicked off another earnings season. It was a mixed bag for bank earnings this week, with many names pressured by a sharp decline in trading activity from last year's record levels. JPMorgan Chase (JMP) and Goldman Sachs (GS) were two sector heavyweights feeling the heat, slipping on Tuesday despite blowout earnings beats.

That didn't stop Morgan Stanley (MS) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) from rallying ahead of their respective quarterly reports, though the former had a muted post-earnings reaction. Meanwhile, Bank of America (BAC) also dipped after a revenue miss whipped up headwinds for the equity.

4 Fresh Stocks Primed for a Bounce

Several stocks looked ready to pop this week, based on technical data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. Specifically, these equities pulled back to key trendlines with historically bullish implications, meaning it might be worth keeping tabs on them this month. One blue-chip name in the mix is Salesforce.com (CRM), which pulled back to its 40-day moving average, while Ford Motor (F) and Zoom Video Communications (ZM) retreated to the same trendline. While not flashing a technical signal, Yeti (YETI) looks ready to jump higher as well, as it seems primed for a short squeeze or unwinding of pessimism in the options pits. 

High-Profile Earnings on Deck Next Week

Earnings season will kick into high gear next week, with plenty of high-profile reports for investors to digest, including results from American Express (AXP), Biogen (BIIB), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Coca-Cola (KO), Intel (INTC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX), Travelers (TRV), United Airlines (UAL), and Verizon (VZ). Meanwhile, the economic calendar looks relatively bare, though the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) index is due out, as well as another round of jobs and house sales data.

In the meantime, check out our latest Monday Morning Outlook, in which Senior Market Strategist Matthew Timpane dives into whether or not the immediate-term stock market rally has really ended. Plus, Rocky White reveals 25 stocks with solid straddle returns. 

Welcome back to our weekly series, Schaeffer's Cannabis Stock News Update, where we recap what happened in the world of marijuana stocks and look ahead to how the cannabis industry continues to shape up in 2021.

Investor interest in the cannabis industry is growing at an explosive rate, and the leading players continue to break through legal barrier after legal barrier, especially in the United States. More than 40 U.S. states legalized recreational and/or medical marijuana by the end of 2020. Now, companies are starting to see the opportunity in cannabis cultivation, marketing, distribution, and technology.

Headset, the leading provider of data and analytics to the cannabis industry, released a quarterly update on its long-term forecasts for the U.S. and Canadian cannabis markets. In this report, the 2022 U.S. forecast is over $30 billion, mostly driven by multiple state's legalization of recreational marijuana. U.S. market growth is not anticipated to slow down in the near-term and Headset expects a higher year-over-year growth rate next year. Headset did not report much change in the original Canadian cannabis market forecast.

Here is a quick roundup of major (and action-worthy!) cannabis stock news this week:

Aurora Cannabis Inc (NASDAQ:ACB), one of the worldwide leaders in cannabis distribution based in Canada, announced the delivery of one of the largest ever single shipments of cannabis to Israel. The delivery, completed on July 15, was worth approximately $8 billion CAD. According to Aurora Cannabis' CEO, Miguel Martin, "We are excited about the evolution of the cannabis industry in Israel and commend the Ministry of Health and the Israeli Medical Cannabis Agency for ensuring thoughtful regulation of cannabis, in the best interest of Israeli cannabis patients. We look forward to continuing to provide high-quality cannabis to Israel, as part of our strategy to expand our medical cannabis portfolio in key international markets."

On July 15, High Tide Inc. (NASDAQ:HITI), a retail-focused cannabis company, along with Halo Collective Inc. confirmed the closing of Halo's purchase of KushBar retail cannabis assets from High Tide. Specifically, the sale of HITI's three KushBar retail cannabis locations to Halo's subsidiary, Halo KushBar, was completed for $5.7 million. HITI dropped approximately 7% on the news of the sale.

Proprietary enterprise resource planning (ERP) software technology, MJ Platform®, from Akerna (NASDAQ:KERN) released data that broke down Independence Day sales in the cannabis industry. Friday, July 2, was the second largest sales day for the cannabis industry this year, posting $89.6 million in retail sales. According to Akerna's Business Intelligence Architect, James Ahrendt, "the 4th of July weekend has historically been in the top 10 sales days of the year for cannabis, and this years' holiday weekend supported that trend. We correctly predicted that Friday, the start of the holiday weekend, would see the most traffic, which has been a trend for other holidays this year as well."

22nd Century Group Inc (NYSE:XXII), a plant-based biotech firm with a focus in hemp/cannabis research, announced a new strategic partnership agreement with Sawatch Agriculture and Folium Botanical on July 14. Through this new strategic partnership, XXII is able to provide year-round growing capabilities in conjunction with the pre-existing partnership between 22nd Century Group and Aurora Cannabis (ACB).

Organigram Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:OGI) released its fiscal third-quarter financial report on July 13, highlighting notable increases of 51% in gross revenue and 39% in net revenue. Gross revenue marked a 31% year-over-year increase while net revenue marked a 13% year-over-year increase.

SweetWater Brewing Company, a subsidiary of Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY), announced plans to open a full-service brewery in Colorado on July 12 as part of SweetWater's expansion plans across the U.S. The opening of this new brewery expands the availability of SweetWater products, including 420 spirits, in Colorado. With this latest expansion, SweetWater's portfolio of specialty beers will now become available in 34 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

On July 15, Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:NEPT) announced its financial and operating results for its fiscal fourth quarter, and the full fiscal 2021 year which ended on March 31, 2021. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue clocked in at $6.8 million compared to this time last year, when the company produced $9.5 million in revenue. Fiscal fourth-quarter gross profit clocked in at a loss of $24.8 million compared to the $1.1 million loss posted in the comparable quarter last year. 

KushCo Holdings, Inc. and Greenlane Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:GNLN) announced an all-stock merger agreement on July 15. The merger is expected to close in the third quarter by August 26, allowing both companies to cross-sell products and services to each respective customer base with anticipated overall growth between $15 to $20 million in cost saving synergies per year.

Back in June of 2020, the U.S. was in the midst of political turmoil, as an uproar against the systemic mistreatment of marginalized communities came to the forefront of society. At that time, as a company, we wanted to show our support by looking into black-owned stocks that you could invest in. One of the two names we covered was banking giant, Carver Bancorp (CARV).

Carver is a holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, the largest black-operated bank in the country. Founded in 1948 to help serve African American communities, it is designated by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). When we profiled the stock in June 2020, CARV was trading around the $16.80 level, at a near-decade peak, with a slew of moving averages emerging as support.

To give a more in-depth focus on the equity’s current standing, CARV is the "most discussed stock in messages on retail social media platform Stocktwits, with nearly 94.45% reflecting positive sentiment toward the bank's shares" per Thomson Reuters. This statement comes as no surprise with knowledge that the stock’s short interest is currently coming in at record-high levels.

Specifically, short interest on Carver Bancorp stock is now at 272,367 shares -- all-time high territory. This accounts for nearly 30% of the stock’s total available float, putting the capitulation of these bearish bettors – a short squeeze – in play. This short squeeze potential has attracted a flurry of retail traders who peruse Reddit forums looking for heavily shorted stocks. And all of that volume has sent CARV to a more than decade peak of $38.87.

Carver Bancorp hasn’t come this close to the round $40 mark since January 2011. This incredible re-growth has emerged on the heels of fresh support at the 180-day moving average -- a trendline that was resistance in June 2020 that has since pivoted to serve as a stable floor in 2021. Now, the equity boasts an impressive 246% year-over-year gain, and is 325% above its August 2020 bottom of $5.15.

As a contrarian, a shrewd trader might look at this breakout and start to prepare for the next leg lower, a precipitous drop back to reality in the same manner most meme stocks fall. This is certainly possible, as the stock’s 14-Day Relative Strength Index (RSI) is firmly in "overbought" territory at 75. Yet as shown in the chart above in the lower pane, the banking giant’s RSI roared into the 90’s in early June. In other words, context is important when assessing the viability and strength of a potential CARV pullback. Perhaps, since RSI has recently clocked in at much sharper levels, the stock’s pullback won’t be as calamitous, and long equity exposure can be protected via puts or other options strategies that involve hedging.

Subscribers to Bernie Schaeffer's Chart of the Week received this commentary on Sunday, July 11.

The shares of blue-chip tech name Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) are inching higher this morning, last seen up 1.9% at $56.87, amid news that the firm is in talks to purchase semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries Inc for $30 billion. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the deal does not seem to directly include GlobalFoundries, after a spokesperson said the company is not currently in communication with Intel. The buyout would help accelerate chip production during a period of high demand and short supply, as the tech name looks to begin manufacturing chips for auto makers. 

It's been a choppy road for the blue chip, which has yet to fully recover from its late-April bear gap to the $53 level. The equity has since been consolidating below a stiff ceiling at its $58 level, though the 320-day moving average looks to have provided support over the past month. Year-to-date, INTC is up 12%. 

While options traders are still picking up calls over puts, sentiment has been a bit more bearish than usual of late. This is per INTC's 10-day put/call volume ratio, which stands higher than 66% of readings at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX).

And while the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 34% stands in the 60th percentile of its 12-month range, suggesting options are hardly a bargain right now, its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) sits at 81 out of a possible 100. This means INTC tends to exceed these options traders' volatility expectations, which might be a good thing for buyers.