Stock Futures Slightly Lower Ahead of Alphabet Earnings

U.S. stock futures are pointing to a muted open for today's post-Super Bowl session. Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) futures are trading below fair value after another weekly win, and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) futures are also weak ahead of earnings from Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), due out after the close. On the data front, factory orders will be released shortly after the opening bell.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including: 

• The "nightmare" is over for Snapchat.
• Why Intuit stock could have a monster month.
• Wedbush sees 50% upside for one restaurant stock.
• Plus, Papa John's set for another huge move; activist buzz boosts Bristol-Myers; and a drug stock ready to rally.  

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) saw 1.11 million call contracts traded on Friday, compared to 671,624 put contracts. The single-session equity put/call ratio moved back up to 0.60, but the 21-day moving average came in at 0.63.
2. Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ:PZZA) is gaining more than 6% in pre-market trading thanks to news activist investor Starboard Value has invested $200 million in the pizza chain and its CEO, Jeffrey Smith, will be PZZA's chairman. This comes after PZZA stock sold off on Friday when the company said it was no longer considering selling itself.
3. Starboard has also reportedly taken a stake in drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY), per Bloomberg. As we discussed on the most recent Schaeffer's podcast, BMY shares have struggled in recent months, while rival Merck (MRK) has outperformed.
4. Elsewhere in healthcare, Evolus Inc (NASDAQ:EOLS) shares are ready to open up about 24%, after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company's Botox rival, Jeuveau. It looks like some traders got a head start on this rally, as EOLS stock jumped late in Friday's session before the shares were halted about 15 minutes before the close.
5. Today's calendar also features a shutdown-delayed report on motor vehicle sales, and a speech from Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester. Beazer Homes (BZH), Clorox, (CLX), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Glu Mobile (GLUU), Seagate Technology (STX), and Sysco (SYY) will report earnings.

Autos Slip In Europe

Asian markets ended higher in quiet trading today, with markets in mainland China and South Korea closed for holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.2% in an abbreviated session, while Japan's Nikkei brushed off a post-earnings sell-off in Sony to close the day up 0.5%.

European stocks are pointed mostly lower at midday. Automakers are among the top decliners, after the Caixin China services purchasing managers index (PMI) backpedaled in January. At last check, the French CAC 40 is down 0.6%, Germany's DAX is down 0.2%, and London's FTSE 100 is bucking the trend with a 0.2% rise.