Today regularly scheduled weekly jobless claims data is due out along with existing home sales.

The following companies are slated to release quarterly earnings reports today, April 22:

Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE:ALK -- $68.83) provides passenger and cargo air transportation services. Alaska Air will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Allegion plc. (NYSE:ALLE -- $133.09) manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic security products and solutions. Allegion will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

American Airlines Group Inc. (NASDAQ:AAL -- $21.01) operates as a network air carrier. American Airlines will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP -- $89.35) operates as an electric public utility holding company. American Electric will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Arch Resources Inc. (NYSE:ARCH -- $48.00) produces and sells thermal and metallurgical coal from surface and underground mines. American Electric will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T -- $30.11) provides telecommunication, media, and technology services. AT&T will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp. (NASDAQ:AUB -- $38.26) operates as the holding company for Atlantic Union Bank. Atlantic Union Bankshares will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Banc of California Inc. (NYSE:BANC -- $17.84) operates as the bank holding company for Banc of California, National Association. Banc of California will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

BankUnited Inc. (NYSE:BKU -- $43.20) operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited. BankUnited will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB -- $269.85) discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Biogen will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

The Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE:BX -- $80.31) operates as an alternative asset management firm. Blackstone will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Cadence Bancorp. (NYSE:CADE -- $21.55) operates as a financial holding company. Cadence Bancorp will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Chart Industries Inc. (NYSE:GTLS -- $135.55) manufactures and sells engineered equipment for the energy and industrial gas industries. Chart Industries will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE:CLF -- $17.05) operates as an independent iron ore mining company. Cleveland-Cliffs will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

D.R. Horton Inc. (NYSE:DHI -- $93.30) operates as a homebuilding company. D.R. Horton will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Danaher Corp. (NYSE:DHR -- $244.40) designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. Danaher will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Dow Inc. (NYSE:DOW -- $64.82) provides various materials science solutions for consumer care, infrastructure, and packaging markets. Dow will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

East West Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:EWBC -- $74.05) operates as a network air carrier. East West Bancorp will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

First American Financial Corp. (NYSE:FAF -- $61.92) provides financial services. First American Financial will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX -- $35.90) engages in the mining of mineral properties. Freeport-McMoRan will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE:GPC -- $121.24) distributes automotive replacement parts, and industrial parts and materials. Genuine Parts will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:HCA -- $197.53) operates as a health care services company in the United States. HCA will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Herc Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HRI -- $96.27) operates as an equipment rental supplier. Herc Holdings will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ:HBAN -- $15.50) operates as a regional bank holding company. Huntington will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (NYSE:IQV -- $219.00) provides advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services. IQVIA will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

MarineMax Inc. (NYSE:HZO -- $47.00) operates as a recreational boat and yacht retailer in the United States. MarineMax will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTX -- $523.25) operates an electronic trading platform for institutional investor and broker-dealer firms. MarketAxess will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Nucor Corp. (NYSE:NUE -- $80.18) manufactures and sells steel and steel products. Nucor will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. (NASDAQ:ODFL -- $246.70) operates as a less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier. Old Dominion will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Old Republic International Inc. (NYSE:ORI -- $23.90) engages in the insurance underwriting and related services business. Old Republic will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Pentair plc. (NYSE:PNR -- $64.37) provides various smart water solutions. Pentair will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Pool Corp. (NASDAQ:POOL -- $385.67) distributes swimming pool supplies, equipment, and related leisure products. Pool will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Precision Drilling Corp. (NYSE:PDS -- $26.48) operates as an oilfield services company. Precision Drilling will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Quest Diagnostics Inc. (NYSE:DGX -- $130.02) provides diagnostic testing, information, and services. Quest Diagnostics will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE:RS -- $155.12) operates as a metals service center company. Reliance Steel will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:SARS -- $43.07) operates as the bank holding company for Sandy Spring Bank. Sandy Spring will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

SAP SE (NYSE:SAP -- $141.90) operates as an enterprise application software company. SAP SE will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

SITE Centers Corp. (NYSE:SITC -- $14.48) is an owner and manager of open-air shopping centers. SITE Centers will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Snap-On Inc. (NYSE:SNA -- $236.99) manufactures and markets tools, equipment, diagnostics, and repair information and systems solutions for professional users. Snap-On will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Sonoco Products Co. (NYSE:SON -- $65.37) manufactures and sells industrial and consumer packaging products. Sonoco Products will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Southwest Air Co. (NYSE:LUV -- $62.04) operates as a passenger airline company. Southwest Air will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL -- $63.00) provides K-12 after-school tutoring services in the People's Republic of China. TAL Education will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ:TSCO -- $180.16) operates as a rural lifestyle retailer in the United States. Tractor Supply will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

TRI Pointe Homes Inc. (NYSE:TPH -- $22.36) engages in the design, construction, and sale of single-family attached and detached homes. TRI Pointe Homes will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Trinity Industries Inc. (NYSE:TRN -- $28.29) provides rail transportation products and services in North America. Trinity Industries will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE:UNP -- $223.43) engages in the railroad business in the United States. Union Pacific will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO -- $70.30) manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products. Valero Energy will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Watsco Inc. (NYSE:WSO -- $284.98) distributes air conditioning, heating, and refrigeration equipment; and related parts and supplies. Watsco will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

WNS Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:WNS -- $73.80) operates as a business process management (BPM) company. WNS will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 before the bell today.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB -- $49.38) operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank. Ameris Bancorp will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Assoc Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB -- $21.27) operates as a bank holding company. Assoc Banc-Corp will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK -- $39.71) provides various retail and commercial banking services. Bank OZK will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

BJ’s Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI -- $59.20) owns and operates casual dining restaurants in the United States. BJ’s Restaurants will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

The Boston Beer Co. Inc. (NYSE:SAM -- $1,255.22) produces and sells alcohol beverages primarily in the United States. Boston Beer will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

CalAmp Corp. (NASDAQ:CAMP -- $11.09) provides in telematics systems, and software and subscription services. CalAmp will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Carlisle Co. Inc. (NYSE:CSL -- $179.25) operates as a diversified manufacturer of engineered products. Carlisle will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE -- $158.66) operates as a technology and specialty materials company. Celanese will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

DMC Global Inc. (NASDAQ:BOOM -- $52.85) provides a suite of technical products for the energy, industrial, and infrastructure markets. DMC Global will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Employers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:EIG -- $40.57) operates in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry. Employers Holdings will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC -- $23.98) operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank. First Financial will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE -- $36.79) generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. FirstEnergy will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Glacier Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:GBCI -- $59.22) operates as the bank holding company for Glacier Bank. Glacier Bancorp will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTH -- $33.27) provides business and consumer banking, and financial products and services. Hilltop Holdings will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC -- $63.70) designs, manufactures, and sells essential technologies for the cloud, smart, and connected devices. Intel will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.                              

Knowles Corp. (NYSE:KN -- $21.12) designs, manufactures, and sells micro-acoustic, audio processing, and precision device solutions. Knowles will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT -- $20.85) operates as a children's entertainment company. Mattel will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

National Bank Holdings Corp. (NYSE:NBHC -- $39.17) operates as the bank holding company for NBH Bank. National Bank will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

People's United Financial Inc. (NASDAQ:PBCT -- $17.80) operates as the bank holding company for People's United Bank, National Association. People's United Financial will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Seagate Technology plc. (NASDAQ:STX -- $83.88) provides data storage technology and solutions. Seagate will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Skechers USA Inc. (NYSE:SKX -- $44.17) designs, develops, markets, and distributes footwear for men, women, and children; and performance footwear. Skechers USA will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP -- $58.30) operates as a camera company. Snap will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ:SIVB -- $528.00) operates a diversified financial services company. SVB Financial Group will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN -- $211.11) provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure. VeriSign will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Vicor Corp. (NASDAQ:VICR -- $84.33) designs, develops, manufactures, and markets modular power components and power systems. Vicor will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:WWE -- $56.94) operates as an integrated media and entertainment company. World Wrestling will report its Q1 earnings of 2021 after the market closes today.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, the week wraps up with a slew of economic data, including the employment cost index, new home sales, the Chicago purchasing managers' index (PMI), and the consumer sentiment index. All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.

In terms of analyst sentiment, there looks to be plenty of room for improvement. Heading into Friday’s trading, seven of the 15 covering brokerage firms sport a tepid "hold" recommendation, meaning there is plenty of room for upgrades, should these bearish bets begin to unwind.
 
Looking toward options, a slew of the 100-strike calls expired this past week, leaving opportunity for support from the May 100-strike puts in the coming weeks. Lastly, now looks like a good time to weigh in with these options. The stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 30% lowest annual percentile of readings, implying that options players are pricing in low volatility expectations at the moment. Our call recommendation has a leverage ratio of 6.2 and will double in value on a 15.8% jump in the underlying equity.

Subscribers to Schaeffer's Weekend Trader options recommendation service received this LEN commentary on Sunday night, along with a detailed options trade recommendation -- including complete entry and exit parameters. Learn more about why Weekend Trader is one of our most popular options trading serv

The shares of Welbilt Inc (NYSE:WBT) are bounding up the charts this morning, up 20.9% to trade at $18.90, earlier hitting a more than two-year high of $20.94, amid news that Middleby (MIDD) has just inked a deal to acquire the commercial foodservice equipment manufacturer in an all-stock deal valued at $4.3 billion. Welbilt shareholders will receive 0.1240 shares of Middleby under the terms of the deal, which also offers a 28% premium over Welbilt's 30-day volume-weighted average price (VWAP).

Prior to today's pop, WBT has been charging up the charts, though it hit a snag at the $17 level in late March, pulling back to its 60-day moving average before plateauing around the $16 level. The stock was struggling with pressure at the 20-day moving average coming into today, too, though the security is now well past this pressure and trading at its highest level since November 2019. 

Today's price action could cause some of the bears circling WBT to jump ship. The equity's Scheffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 2.38 stands higher than 92% of readings from the past year, implying short-term option traders have been incredibly put-biased of late. 

That being said, options on WBT are still cheap, making now the perfect time to speculate on WBT's next move. The security's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 58% stands higher than just 6% of readings from the past 12 months. In other words, option traders are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment. 

Short sellers have started to hit the exits, but there's still room for a short squeeze, with the 6.19 million shares sold short making up 4.4% of the stock's available float. Plus, at WBT's average daily pace of trading, it would take exactly one week to cover these bearish bets. 

The shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) are slightly lower in electronic trading, last seen down 0.4% at $58.15, despite the company announcing a positive quarterly report. Specifically, the blue-chip mobile provider reported first-quarter earnings of $1.31 per share on revenue of $32.9 billion, both of which came in above Wall Street's estimates. However, Verizon lost 178,000 subscribers during the quarter, much more than the 121,700 anticipated by analysts.

On the charts, VZ has had a muted week, notching two-consecutive closes of $58.39. Today's negative price action could see the equity face off with the 200-day moving average after three straight closes above the trendline. In addition, Verizon stock now sits just a hair below its 2021 breakeven.

At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 4.68, which stands higher than 73% of readings from the past 12 months. This means calls have been picked up at a relatively quicker-than-usual clip during the past 10 weeks, indicating a bullish stance in the options pits. 

And options could be the right way to play VZ, as the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 16% stands in the low 15th percentile of its annual range. This implies these traders have been pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment -- a boon for premium buyers.

Today will bring updates from the Federal Reserve and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The following companies are slated to release quarterly earnings reports today, April 21:

Looking ahead to tomorrow, regularly scheduled weekly jobless claims data is due out along with existing home sales. All economic dates listed here are tentative and subject to change.

Appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) is taking an afternoon breather, down 0.1% at $232.95 at last check. Earlier though, the security hit a fresh all-time high of $240.50, pushing past pressure at the $238 region, which has kept WHR at flat for the better part of April. Today's fresh peak comes just ahead of the company's first-quarter earnings report, which is due out after the close tomorrow, April 21. 

Should Whirlpool report favorable results, a round of bull notes could be just on the horizon. Despite recent positive price action on the charts (the equity has tacked on 134.5% in the last 12 months alone, with considerable support from its 10- and 20-day moving averages), just one of the five analysts in coverage consider it a "strong buy," while the other four say "hold." What's more, the 12-month consensus price target of  $224.40 is a 4.5% discount to current levels. 

An unwinding of pessimism in the options pits could also put some more wind in WHR's sails. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), 5.18 WHR puts have been picked up for every call during the past two weeks. This ratio stands higher than all but 4% of readings in its annual range, suggesting an unusually large appetite for puts of late. 

Short sellers, meanwhile, are starting to jump ship, but WHR could still benefit from a short squeeze. The 4.29 million shares sold short make up 7% of the stock's available float, and would take almost six days to cover at its average daily pace of trading. 

While Whirlpool stock suffered an 8.4% drop the session following its latest earnings report in January, the stock's next-day returns have been mostly positive over the past two years. The security has averaged a post-earnings swing of 3.7%, regardless of  direction, though this time around, the options pits are pricing in a much larger 8.2% move.