Benzinga Weekly Preview: Markets Take A Breather For The Holidays

After an intense week of economic data, markets will come up for air next week as the Christmas holidays reduce the market moving data. Focus will shift from the US to political and social troubles in Europe and Africa.  Fighting in South Sudan and labor protests in Libya are not expected to slow down for the holidays, which will continue to boost oil prices. In Ukraine, protestors have pitched tents and settled in for the long haul, vowing to continue their rallies through the holidays until President Viktor Yanukovych is removed from office.

Key Earnings Reports

Next week will be a quiet week for earnings releases, with only a small number of companies reporting. CalAmp Corp CAMP will be one of the few companies expected to report.

CalAmp Corp

CalAmp is expected to report EPS of $0.19 on Monday, December 23^rd. In mid-October, the analysts at FBR Capital gave CalAmp an outperform rating with a price target of $29.00. Analyst Scott Thompson said FBR believes the company has been underrated and that the company has good growth prospects.

“Our bullish thesis on CalAmp is straightforward: We believe that the consensus underestimates the near- to intermediate-term EPS impact of the initiatives in which CalAmp is involved, and we believe that the stock's valuation has room to expand given peers' current valuation levels and growth profiles. We encourage growth investors to take note of this opportunity that is outside the normal purview of most communications equipment investors, as the stock is likely to outperform many of the handset and data networking names over the next several quarters”

Following a visit with CalAmp’s management in November, Northland Capital Markets gave the stock an outperform rating and raised their price target from $25 to $28.

Analyst Michael Latimore explained, “We visited with management last week and came away believing diverse, high-growth, present M2M opportunities continue to exist for the company. Wireless Matrix sales initiatives, UBI, fleet management and international are highlight”

Economic Releases

Next week’s economic calendar will be thin with the Christmas holidays. Asian data will be the star as Japan is set to release a host of data which will paint a better picture of the nation’s economy. With the country’s sales tax hike heavy on investors’ minds, most will look to the data for clues about whether or not the Japanese economy will be able to shoulder a tax increase next year.

Daily Schedule

Monday

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• Earnings Releases Expected: Advaxis Inc. ADXS, CalAmp Corp CAMP
• Economic Releases Expected:  Hong Kong CPI, Italian consumer confidence, Canadian GDP, US consumer sentiment

Tuesday

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• Earnings Expected: No notable releases expected
• Economic Releases Expected: French GDP, US housing starts, US new home sales

Wednesday

Markets Closed for Christmas

Thursday

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• Earnings Expected From: Mvc Capital Inc. MVC
• Economic Releases Expected: Japanese housing starts, Mexican trade balance, Japanese industrial production, Japanese retail sales, Japanese unemployment rate, Japanese CPI

Friday

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• Earnings Expected From:  No notable earnings expected
• Economic Releases Expected:  French PPI, Spanish current account