Here’s why travel stocks are worth watching ahead of earnings release

As companies prepare to release earnings in the comings weeks, two traders have indicated that travel stocks could dominate earnings reports. Notably, 28% of the S&P 500 stocks are expected to report earnings this week.

Marriott report could tell what is happening with reopening stocks

Piper Sandler’s Craig Johnson is keen on Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR), which will report earnings on Tuesday before the market open.  Johnson told CNBC’s Trading Nation:

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“So the one that we’re going to be watching for next week is going to be Marriott. And the reason being for us is this is going to be a great clue as to how the reopening trade is really going. And whether this Delta variant is really starting to affect, you know, end of summer sort of travel plans for people.”

Johnson explained that ahead of the earnings release season, the stock is currently in a strong position. He added:

“If you look at the chart itself, you can see a lot of optimism is getting built in. You can see the nice downtrend reversal that has taken place. You can see all the shares have pulled right back to their 200 day moving average, really rallied right off of that. And also are now back above your 50 and 200 day moving average.”

The options market implies a 4% plus or minus for the stock after the report, and this action could predict what is coming for similar reopening stocks. Johnson believes that Marriott will be the main stock in understanding how reopening and sentiment is shifting with travelers and delta variant.

Delta variant could impact travel, entertainment, and food industries

Despite earnings surpassing expectations in various measures, entertainment, food, and travel stocks are worth keeping an eye on amid growing concerns regarding the Delta variant, according to Federated Hermes’s Steve Chiavarone.

Regarding the delta variant concerns, Chiavarone told CNBC that with CDC tightening mask guidance, it is likely that this will have an impact. He said:

“As we think about some of the guidance that’s coming from these companies in the next week, that’s what we’re going to be looking for very acutely.”

Chiavarone could capitalize on pullbacks if the right opportunities come along. He added:

“There could be a little weakness and we would look to buy that. I don’t know if we would do it right away, but we would certainly put those names on our buy list.”