Buckle up. These stocks could see big moves in reaction to earnings this week

Published Mon, Apr 22 202412:17 PM EDTUpdated Mon, Apr 22 20241:44 PM EDT

As the busiest week for first-quarter earnings results kicks off, several stocks on the docket to report may be poised for big swings. First-quarter earnings have so far been mostly on the positive side. As of last Friday, 74% of companies in the S & P 500 reported a positive earnings surprise while 58% beat revenue expectations, according to FactSet. This week is scheduled to be the busiest one of the season, with 29% of companies in the S & P 500 — or 146 companies — due to post results. Further, 11 companies in the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average are also slated to report. With so many corporate results to be released this week, investors may want to pay special attention to some earnings more than others. CNBC Pro screened for the stocks that could see significant post-earnings moves either up or down, based on investors' expectations in the options market. Here are the names that showed up: Snap has the highest expected implied move of 16.7% post-earnings, according to FactSet. The technology company has underperformed in 2024, sliding 35% so far. Ahead of Snap's earnings due Thursday, AllianceBernstein recently reiterated a market perform rating and price target of $12, implying potential upside of 7.5%. "We have been impressed by the progress of Snapchat+, which we expect to offer a 500-600bps of revenue boost for Snapchat for 1Q24, and download data has shown strength in domestic downloads which should help lift that domestic [daily active users] number," wrote analyst Mark Shmulik. But Shmulik cautioned that investors will still be paying careful attention to Snap's advertising business and revenue. Some airlines also showed up as potential movers. Shares of JetBlue and American Airlines could rise or fall as much as 9.7% and 6.4%, respectively. JetBlue shares have soared 34% this year, while American Airlines has added 5.1%, both of them outperforming the S & P 500's advance of about 4.7%. Last week, JPMorgan upgraded JetBlue to neutral from underweight. Analyst Jamie Baker wrote that sell-side ratings show the stock is the second least-liked airline, but he expects sentiment to improve once JetBlue's catalysts become more apparent through its next earnings and guidance. "Simply put, for airline investors intrigued by the notion of a potential domestic turnaround, we expect JetBlue to largely monopolize the spotlight going forward," he wrote. JetBlue is due to release results Tuesday, while American Airlines is set for Thursday. Meanwhile, music streamer Spotify has a potential post-earnings move of 8.7%. The Stockholm-based company is scheduled to release earnings on Tuesday. Before those numbers, Morgan Stanley recently hiked its price target for Spotify to $350 from $270 and stood by its overweight rating. This updated forecast suggests that shares could gain another 27% in the next year, on top of the 44% they've already rallied in 2024. "We expect Spotify's transformation from a great product to a great business to accelerate in 2024, as price increases, market share gains and operating leverage become even more clear," wrote analyst Benjamin Swinburne in a note on Monday.