Today is Thursday, June 15, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 56.39.

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Lennar (NYSE: LEN) ticked up 2.18% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the home builder posted strong financial earnings results.

Financials: Lennar reported earnings of $2.94 per share in the past quarter and revenue of $8 billion; both were better than expected.

A Mixed Bag: The average sales price per home dropped from $500,000 last year to $449,000 this year. But Lennar said that its home deliveries increased by 3% and new orders grew by 1%.

Also: The homebuilding gross margin for Lennar jumped in the quarter due to cost reductions.

Quote: “We continued to see the housing market normalize and recover from the Fed's 2022 aggressive interest rate hikes in response to elevated inflation. As consumers have come to accept a ‘new normal’ range for interest rates, demand has accelerated, leaving the market to reconcile the chronic supply shortage derived from over a decade of production deficits.” - Stuart Miller, executive chairman of Lennar.

Outlook: Lennar raised its fiscal year guidance, including a higher number of deliveries.

Stock Price: Shares of Lennar are up 24% this year, but are only up 1% in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: Based on the results, it seems that housing demand is strong. This could bode well for Lennar and other home builders in 2023.

Notable Earnings Today: Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), Kroger (NYSE; KR), Jabil (NYSE: JBL), Cognyte Software (Nasdaw: CGNT), John Wiley & Sons (NYSE: WLY).

Notable IPOs Today: CAVA Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAVA), 60 Degrees Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: SXTP), Lottery.com, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: LTRY), Tenon Medical, Inc. Warrant (Nasdaq: TNONW).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: TruBrain (StartEngine), Lightning Motorcycle (Netcapital).

Notable Economic Events Today: Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. ET), Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Retail Sales (8:30 a.m. ET), Export Price Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Import Price Index (8:30 a.m. ET), NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Philly Fed Employment (8:30 a.m. ET), Industrial Production (9:15 a.m. ET), Business Inventories (10:00 a.m. ET), Retail Inventories Ex Auto (10:00 a.m. ET), TIC Net Long-Term Transactions (4:00 p.m. ET).

Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant brand CAVA Group (NYSE: CAVA) is expected to have its initial public offering today.

Details: The company will price its 14.4 million shares of common stock at $22 per share. Proceeds from the offering will be used to fund future new restaurant openings.

Background: CAVA’s IPO is one of the most anticipated of the year. The IPO market has been slower than usual. The number of IPOs dropped by 80% last year.

Final Thoughts: How far could CAVA Group’s stock go? Let’s compare it to other fast-casual rivals. Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) is up 4,700% since its IPO. But Sweetgreen (NYSE: SG) is down 79% since its IPO.

Shares of AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) ticked up 1.71% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the car parts retailer announced a $2 billion stock buyback.

Final Thoughts: AutoZone, down 1% this year, reported mixed financial results last month. The company has been struggling with sales.

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No Change: Fed leaves rates unchanged, sees two small hikes by end of 2023 (Reuters)

Inverted: Bitcoin Correlations Continue On-Again, Off-Again Relationship With Traditional Finance (CoinDesk)

So True: TrueCar stock jumps 8% after layoffs, new CEO news (MarketWatch)

Not Healthy: Health insurance stocks tumble after UnitedHealth says Medicare enrollees are getting more care (Stat)

Shell Yeah: Shell Courts Investors With More Cash, Cost-Cutting (The Wall Street Journal)

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