US OPEN: Wall Street pulls back, PVH Corp slumps over 20%

• Wall Street indices open lower
• US100 tests lower limit of bearish channel
• PVH Corp slumps over 20% after disappointing fiscal-2025 forecast

Wall Street indices launched today's trading lower, following into the footsteps of their European peers. S&P 500 and Dow Jones opened around 0.8% lower, Nasdaq slumped 1.2% at session opening, while small-cap Russell 2000 dropped 1.5%.

Economic calendar for today is light. Traders will be offered US factory orders report for February as well as JOLTS report for February at 3:00 pm GMT today. However, USD may also see some moves after 5:00 pm GMT, when 3 Fed members are scheduled to speak. 

Source: xStation5

Taking a look at Nasdaq-100 futures chart (US100) at H1 interval, we can see that the index reached a fresh all-time high above 18,700 pts mark on March 21, 2024, but has struggled later on. US100 began to trade in a short-term bearish channel and has already pulled back more than 2% from all-time highs. Index attempted to break back above the 50- and 200-hour moving average this morning but failed to do so, and a strong downward move followed. The lower limit of the channel in the 18,300 pts area is being tested today. A clear drop below this hurdle may pave the way for a drop to around 18,115 pts area.

Company News

US Health insurance stocks, like Humana (HUM.US), UnitedHealth Group (UNH.US), CVS Health (CVS.US) or Centene (CNC.US) are trading lower today after US regulator decided not to revise payments for private insurance plans. US regulators decided to boost payments by 3.7% on average in 2025, unchanged from an initial proposal made back in January. This is only the second time in a decade when regulators decided not to boost payments from the initial proposal.

PVH Corp (PVH.US) is slumping today after US clothing company reported fiscal-Q4 2024 earnings (calendar November 2023 - January 2024) and issued a disappointing forecast for fiscal-2025. Company reported fiscal-Q4 revenue at $2.49 billion (exp. $2.42 billion), which was flat year-over-year. Sales were driven by Tommy Hilfiger brand sales in North America and Calvin Klein brand international sales. Gross margin at 60.3% was slightly higher than $59.8% expected. Adjusted EPS was reported at $3.72 (exp. $3.52). Company expects 11% drop in fiscal-Q1 2025 revenue and 6-7% drop in full-year revenue in fiscal-2025. Company's Board authorized $2 billion increase in share repurchase program.

Verve Therapeutics (VERV.US) slumps over 30% today after company said that safety concerns caused it to pause an enrollment in a study of its gene-editing treatment for people with high cholesterol.

Rivian Automotive (RIVN.US) delivered 13 588 vehicles during the first quarter of 2024, while analysts expected deliveries of around 11 900 vehicles.

Analysts' actions

• Estee Lauder (EL.US) upgraded to 'buy' at Citi. Price target set at $175.00
• Microvast Holdings (MVST.US) downgraded to 'neutral' at Janney Montgomery. Price target set at $3.00
• Petco Health & Wellness (WOOF.US) downgraded to 'underperform' at Bank of America. Price target set at $1.50
• NIO (NIO.US) downgraded to 'underweight' at Barclays. Price target set at $4.00
• Array Technologies (ARRY.US) upgraded to 'overweight' at Barclays. Price target set at $18.00
• Clorox (CLX.US) downgraded to 'neutral' at Citi. Price target set at $165.00

PVH Corp (PVH.US) launched today's trading with a massive bearish price gap. Stock slumped over 20% at session launch and dropped to the lowest level since the first half of December 2023. Source: xStation5