Today's noteworthy downgrades include: Antero Resources (AR) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at KLR Group... Baker Hughes (BHI) downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at CLSA... CNOOC (CEO) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS... Cerner (CERN) downgraded on valuation at SunTrust... Church & Dwight (CHD) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman... Cimarex Energy (XEC) downgraded to Hold from Accumulate at KLR Group... Colgate-Palmolive (CL) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman... Concho Resources (CXO) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at KLR Group... Cooper Tire (CTB) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust... Costamare (CMRE) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill... EQT Corporation (EQT) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at KLR Group... FARO Technologies (FARO) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham... Gulfport Energy (GPOR) downgraded to Accumulate from Buy at KLR Group... Halliburton (HAL) downgraded at CLSA... JAKKS Pacific (JAKK) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at B. Riley... L'Oreal (LRLCY) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse... Medivation (MDVN) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse... Michael Kors (KORS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho... Nokia (NOK) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies... Progressive Waste (BIN) downgraded on growth outlook at RBC Capital... Proto Labs (PRLB) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham... Reed Elsevier (RUK) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill... Rosetta Resources (ROSE) downgraded to Reduce from Hold at KLR Group... Royal Gold (RGLD) downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James... SandRidge Permian (PER) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Raymond James... Schlumberger (SLB) downgraded at CLSA... WESCO (WCC) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Cleveland Research... lululemon (LULU) downgraded at CLSA.

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Exxon Mobil (XOM), consensus $2.20... Chevron (CVX), consensus $2.87... AbbVie (ABBV), consensus $2.23... HCA Healthcare (HCA), consensus $5.01... Colgate-Palmolive (CL), consensus 81c... Charter (CHTR), consensus $7.92... AutoNation (AN), consensus $4.27.

Reports Q1 revenue $1.122B, consensus $1.06B. Paul Rady, Chairman, CEO and President of Antero Resources commented, "The improved capital efficiency realized in 2023 continues in 2024. Our consistent focus on operations from our drilling and completion teams once again led to new Company records during the quarter. In the month of March, we set records for most completion stages per day at 12.6 stages per day and most pumping hours for a single completion crew in a month at 588 hours. These were both 7% higher than our previous monthly records. Our capital efficiency and focus on liquids development drove a sequential increase in liquids volumes and led to the production guidance increase for 2024. Further, this growth was achieved while running only two drilling rigs and one completion crew."

Pre-earnings options volume in Antero Resources is 1.5x normal with calls leading puts 7:4. Implied volatility suggests the market is anticipating a move near 3.6%, or $1.12, after results are released. Median move over the past eight quarters is 3.4%.

Reports Q1 revenue $1.41B, consensus $1.56B. President and CEO Toby Z. Rice stated, "The strong operational momentum we achieved last year has carried over into 2024, with our drilling team continuing to perform at exceptional levels, and our completions team again setting a new company record for pumping hours in the month of March. We also saw LOE come in below our forecast, as the benefits of our strategic water infrastructure investments are becoming increasingly tangible to shareholders. These factors contributed to free cash flow generation coming in above internal expectations and we exited the quarter in a strong financial position with nearly $650M of cash on the balance sheet."

Unusual total active option classes on open include: ImmunityBio (IBRX), Halliburton (HAL), Redfin (RDFN), Nokia (NOK), Matterport (MTTR), General Motors (GM), UPS (UPS), Philip Morris (PM), PepsiCo (PEP), and General Electric (GE).

Latest data shows the largest indicative borrow rate increases among liquid option names include: Luminar Technologies (LAZR) 21.68% +6.44, Mesoblast (MESO) 145.03% +2.00, iShares S&P National AMT Free Municipal Bond Fund (MUB) 19.65% +1.21, Stellantis NV (STLA) 1.41% +0.98, Veritone (VERI) 40.08% +0.46, ALTC Acquistion Corp (ALCC) 6.05% +0.44, US Global Jets ETF (JETS) 7.23% +0.36, Nokia (NOK) 3.33% +0.27, Annovis Bio Inc (ANVS) 91.57% +0.16, and Coca Cola (KO) 0.41% +0.16.

Reports Q1 revenue $5.8B, consensus $5.67B. "Halliburton delivered solid first quarter results that again demonstrated the power of our strategy and the strength of our execution. Activity in North America recovered from fourth-quarter lows, and our international business delivered its 11th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth," commented Jeff Miller, Chairman, President and CEO. "Our customers' multi-year activity plans across markets and asset types confirms my confidence in the strength and duration of this upcycle. Halliburton demonstrated its commitment to shareholder returns in the first quarter and repurchased $250 million of common stock - a solid start to the year and a good benchmark for our expectations going forward," concluded Miller.