|
July 2014 |
Archives |
|
|
|
Thursday, July 31, 2014, 6:01 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Imperva Shows Q2 Improvement |
After stumbling hard in Q1, Imperva (IMPV, $25.15 after hours, +13.4%), a provider of datacenter security solutions, put up a good showing for Q2, with revenue rising 23% (acceleration from 10% growth in the previous quarter) to $38.4 million, easily beating the consensus estimate of $34.4 million and topping the guidance range of $33 million to $36 million.
Product revenue of $16.6 million rose 5.7%, which is not great in terms of growth, but at least a vast improvement over the Q1 decline of 15%.
For Q3, the company expects revenue of $38 million to $41 million, vs. the consensus of $39.5 million.
For 2014, Imperva’s revenue guidance range of $155.5 million to $162.5 million compares favorably to the consensus of $153.6 million.
|
|
Thursday, July 31, 2014, 2:03 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: TripAdvisor Pulls Back |
Shares of TripAdvisor (TRIP, $95.85), one of the key momentum names these days, are once again back below the 50-day moving average of $102.22. With the RSI on the decline from 36.8, the shares could easily do a quick test of the 200-day moving average at $90.54.
In Q2, TripAdvisor’s revenue rose 31% to $323 million, topping the consensus estimate of $321.7 million. However, per-share earnings of 55 cents missed the consensus by six cents due to higher marketing expenses associated with the company’s new TV ad campaign.
|
|
Thursday, July 31, 2014, 11:20 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
RBC Capital Remains Bullish on Yelp |
RBC Capital maintains its Yelp (YELP, $67) price target of $88, pointing out that the company in Q2 continued to perform well, notching 10 quarters in a row of revenue growth greater than 60%.
RBC Capital thinks Yelp’s strong record of top-line growth indicates the company’s ability to exploit the TAM while executing well at the same time.
The firm admits that active local business account additions during the quarter came in light, but it believes the softness was from lower-quality/ARPU Deal accounts as opposed to core Subscription accounts.
Yelp shares today are down more than 11% on heavy volume.
|
|
Thursday, July 31, 2014, 10:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Yelp Drops 9% |
Shares of Yelp (YELP, $68.43) today are off more than 9% and have dipped back below both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. There is short-term support at $66.15 from July.
|
|
Thursday, July 31, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
JP Morgan Ups Yelp Target to $100 |
JP Morgan raises its Yelp (YELP, $70.58 pre market, -6.6%) price target to $100 from $94 based on last night’s strong Q2 results, with revenue up 61% to $88.8 million, beating the consensus estimate of $86.3 million.
The company reported a surprise profit of four cents, topping the consensus by seven cents.
The firm believes Yelp is well positioned to continue to take share of local ad dollars.
|
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 5:53 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
ServiceNow Q2 Revenue +63% |
ServiceNow (NOW, $59 after hours, -5.8%), a provider of cloud-based solutions used to automate IT operations, reports Q2 revenue of $166.48 million (+63% y/y), above the guidance range of $160 million to $162 million and the consensus estimate of $161.5 million.
For Q3, the company looks for revenue of $173 million to $175 million, vs. the consensus of $169.5 million.
For 2014, ServiceNow once again raises its revenue guidance range: $668 million-$673 million, vs. $652 million-$657 million previously. The consensus stands at $655.8 million. Going into 2014, the company had offered initial top-line guidance of $640 million-$645 million.
Despite the positive numbers, ServiceNow shares are down 5.8% in after-hours trading.
|
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 3:35 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Rubicon Project Jumps 24% |
Shares of ad-tech specialist Rubicon Project (RUBI, $12.76) today have jumped more than 24% after the company last night reported Q2 revenue of $28.3 million (+49% y/y), vs. the consensus estimate of $25.2 million.
Per-share earnings came in at breakeven, 22 cents above the consensus.
Managed revenue on the platform rose 36% to $153.6 million.
For 2014, the company expects revenue of $117 million to $119 million, above the consensus of $112.6 million.
Rubicon Project went public in April at $15 a share and opened for trading at $17.50. The stock ran up to a high of $23.20 on April 23 before getting knocked down hard, hitting a new post-IPO low of $8.76 on July 21.
For our profile of Rubicon Project, see the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the latest issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
|
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 12:26 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: VMware |
VMware (VMW, $101.75) shares today are gaining 3% and have broken out of the recent trading range. The RSI is rising from 64.9. The stock is now pushing into the gap on the price chart from April.
|
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 11:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Wunderlich Still Cautious on Twitter |
Wunderlich raises its Twitter (TWTR, $46.83) price target to $45 from $35, but maintains its ‘Hold’ rating. While the firm acknowledges the strong Q2 metrics related to user growth, engagement and monetization, it remains concerned about valuation.
|
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 10:06 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Ultimate Software +4% on Strong Q2 Results |
Ultimate Software (ULTI, $140.07) shares this morning are up 4.6% after the provider of cloud-based HCM solutions reported Q2 EPS of 46 cents, three cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $122 million (+25% y/y), vs. the consensus of $120.1 million. Recurring revenue rose 26% to a record $102.1 million.
|
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 9:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
BofA/Merrill Upgrades Twitter to 'Buy' |
BofA/Merrill upgrades Twitter (TWTR, $47.60 pre market, +23.3%) to ‘Buy’ and raises its price target to $60 from $40, saying the strong Q2 performance indicates monetization of the ad platform was much better than expected. The firm looks for more upside from new ad formats and growing app download activity.
|
|
Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 4:51 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Twitter Surges 34% AH on Big Q2 Beat |
Twitter (TWTR, $51.85 after hours) shares are surging more than 34% in after-hours trading after the company delivered Q2 results that topped expectations across important metrics.
Revenue rose 124% to $312 million, easily beating the consensus estimate of $283.3 million.
Monthly active users (MAUs) expanded 24% year over year to 271 million (the market was looking for ~265 million), representing 16 million net additions, up from 14 million net adds in Q1.
Mobile MAUs of 211 million rose 29% and represented 78% of total MAUs.
Ad revenue jumped 129% to $277 million, with mobile ads accounting for 81% of total ad revenue.
EPS of two cents beat the consensus by three cents.
|
|
Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 3:02 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Pandora |
On the recent pullback, Pandora Media (P, $25.69) shares held the July low of $24.50, dipping to $24.55.
However, the stock took out its 50-day moving at $26.61 to the downside, and remains below the 200-day moving average at $29.22.
Pandora shares have been in a broad trading range going back to the early part of April. Traders are waiting to see if the stock can continue to hold recent support.
|
|
Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 11:47 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
MKM Partners Remains Upbeat on Yelp |
MKM Partners expects Yelp (YELP, $69.11) to deliver Q2 revenue in line with the consensus estimate and offer a strong Q3 outlook.
With Yelp being a top-line growth story, expectations are high going into this report, so the risk level is elevated. Plus, there are ongoing concerns about churn, making local business account additions a key metric to watch.
MKM remains positive on Yelp’s long-term growth trajectory, saying the company has a strong competitive position in a large addressable market.
|
|
Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 10:17 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Apple |
Apple (AAPL, $98.77) shares are inching closer to the $100 level, this morning hitting a new 52-week high at $99.44 before backing off. Given the upside momentum over the near term (the RSI remains strong at 69.1), look for traders to soon try another run at $100.
|
|
Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 9:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Benchmark Reduces Zillow Price Target |
Benchmark reduces its price target on Zillow (Z, $160.32) to $185 from $205 based on the higher-than-expected buyout price for Trulia (TRLA, $65.04) and all-stock nature of the transaction.
The firm points out that its bullish assumptions for the combined Zillow/Trulia don’t take into account any cross-selling opportunities, price increases or CPC premiums.
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 4:09 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
More Tech M&A on the Way? |
A TechCrunch article posted this afternoon argues that rising share prices (the Nasdaq Composite is trading back near the 4,500 level) could lead to a new round of stock-based acquisitions in the tech space.
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 3:33 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
GrubHub Jumps 8% |
Shares of GrubHub (GRUB, $38.10)--provider of an online/mobile platform for restaurant pick-up & delivery--today are up 8.1%, adding to gains from last week following the company’s strong Q2 earnings report.
For more on GrubHub’s latest quarter, see TechStock Radar--July 24, 2014.
For our recent profile of GrubHub, check out the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the latest issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 12:27 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Bernstein Upgrades Juniper |
Bernstein upgrades Juniper Networks (JNPR, $23.52) to ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $30 based on:
1-Relative valuation within the networking sector 2- Reasonable growth prospects, driven by key next-gen design wins, better-than-expected demand in the enterprise segment and improving demand in the federal vertical (the 2014 consensus revenue estimate indicates growth of 3.6%, accelerating to 4.2% based on the 2015 consensus) 3- Restructuring opportunities (reducing OpEx, returning cash to shareholders and selling non-core assets)
In Q2, Juniper reported EPS of 40 cents, two cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $1.23 billion (+6.9% y/y), vs. the consensus of $1.22 billion.
For Q3, the company looks for EPS of 35 cents to 40 cents (the consensus was 44 cents) on revenue of $1.15 billion to $1.2 billion (the consensus was $1.26 billion).
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 11:06 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
MKM Partners: Pandora Growth Story Intact |
MKM Partners believes traders last week overreacted to Pandora Media (P, $25.15) reporting slowing user growth, saying this is not new news.
The firm remains upbeat on Pandora’s 2H growth drivers (mobile and local ads) and thinks the longer-term story (a continued shift to Internet radio from broadcast) remains intact.
For more on Pandora, see TechStock Radar--July 25, 2014.
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 10:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Pacific Crest Downgrades Cisco on Valuation |
Pacific Crest downgrades Cisco Systems (CSCO, $25.69) to ‘Sector Perform,’ saying it believes the shares are fairly valued at $26. The firm is particularly concerned that Cisco’s margin expansion could moderate next year.
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 9:15 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Yahoo Should Have Bought Zillow |
In the September 2012 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #127), we suggested that Yahoo (YHOO, $36.12) would be smart to acquire Zillow (Z, $158.86), pointing out that the two companies already had a solid relationship, especially after having just expanded their exclusive ad partnership to include rental listings.
At the time, shares of Zillow were trading at just over $42.60 and the company had a market cap of $1.25 billion; we thought Yahoo could pick up Zillow for $2 billion or less (including a substantial takeover premium).
Last week, Zillow shares hit a new all-time high of $159.26 on speculation that the company was planning a buyout of Trulia (TRLA, $56.35); the $3.5-billion deal was announced this morning.
Zillow’s current market cap stands at $6.3 billion, and Yahoo couldn’t afford it now.
|
|
Monday, July 28, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Zillow To Buy Trulia for $3.5 Billion |
This morning, Zillow (Z, $158.86) announces the $3.5-billion purchase of Trulia (TRLA, $56.35), creating an online/mobile real-estate information powerhouse.
Trulia shareholders will receive 0.444 shares of Zillow for each Trulia share.
In June, Zillow reported a record 83 million unique users across mobile and the Web, while Trulia reported a record 54 million monthly unique users.
Trulia shares last week surged 41% on the M&A chatter. In pre-market trading this morning, Trulia shares are up 13.5% to $64.
For 2014, Zillow is expected to come in with revenue of $310.6 million (expected growth of 57.3%), while the Trulia consensus estimate of $252.9 million indicates growth of 76%.
|
|
Friday, July 25, 2014, 5:04 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
NetSuite Slips Despite 2014 Revenue Guidance Boost |
Traders today sold off shares of enterprise cloud-software provider NetSuite (N, $81.23) after the company last night reported Q2 revenue that merely matched the consensus.
The market is used to NetSuite doing better than expected on the top line, particularly after the company in Q1 easily beat the consensus. NetSuite shares today fell 4.1% on active volume.
However, revenue in Q2 still grew 30% and NetSuite delivered some other positive metrics, including reporting its first quarter of recurring revenue over $100 million. In terms of new customer additions, NetSuite had its strongest Q2 since 2009, adding more than 360.
For 2014, NetSuite even raised the top-line outlook: It now expects revenue of $545 million-$550 million (growth of 32% at the midpoint), up from previous guidance of $540 million-$545 million.
|
|
Friday, July 25, 2014, 11:23 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
HomeAway Gains 9% on Strong Q2 Report |
Shares of HomeAway (AWAY, $35.75), operator of an online marketplace for vacation rentals, this morning are up more than 9% after the company reported that its Q2 revenue grew 32% to $114.3 million, easily beating the consensus estimate of $110.3 million. Paid listings increased 34% to 1.04 million.
HomeAway for Q3 expects revenue of $114.5 million to $116.5 million, above the consensus of $113.5 million.
For 2014, revenue guidance was raised to $444 million-$449 million from $435 million-$442.5 million previously. The consensus is $441 million.
For more on HomeAway’s growth story, see the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the latest issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
|
|
Friday, July 25, 2014, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Needham & JP Morgan Defend Pandora |
With shares of Pandora Media (P, $24.62) this morning dipping 14% on concerns about guidance and a Q2 growth deceleration in RPM (ad monetization/hour), Needham thinks the weakness is a buying opportunity, saying its 2015 growth outlook for the company remains unchanged. Needham maintains its price target of $41.
JP Morgan looks for stronger 2H execution from Pandora, raising its price target to $42 from $41. The firm also sees the early weakness as a buying opportunity.
|
|
Friday, July 25, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
BofA/Merrill Remains Bullish on Pandora |
BofA/Merrill reiterates its ‘Buy’ rating and $39 price target on Pandora Media (P, $25.39 pre market, -11.5%), saying the company’s ability to beat and raise each quarter is driven by both strong listener hour growth (+29% in Q2) and improving local salesforce productivity.
Last night, Pandora reported Q2 EPS of four cents, one cent above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $218.9 million (+43% y/y), vs. the consensus of $219 million.
Active listeners in Q2 totaled 76.4 million, up 7.5% from the year-ago period.
Mobile advertising reached a record 76% of total ad revenue, while local ad revenue jumped 144% to $35.3 million.
For Q3, Pandora looks for EPS of five to eight cents (the consensus is eight cents) on revenue of $235 million to $240 million, vs. the consensus of $234.6 million.
For 2014, the company raises its guidance for revenue and EPS:
New revenue range: $895 million to $915 million Old revenue range: $880 million to $900 million Consensus: $901.2 million
New EPS range: 16 cents to 19 cents Old EPS range: 14 cents to 18 cents Consensus: 17 cents
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 5:46 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
NetSuite Q2 Revenue +30% |
Cloud-based ERP software provider NetSuite (N, $84.74) reports Q2 EPS of six cents, three cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $131.8 million (+30.5% y/y), in line with the consensus of $131.8 million.
For 2014, the company raises its revenue guidance:
New: $545 million to $550 million Old: $540 million to $545 million Consensus: $544.1 million
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 2:35 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Trulia Pops 34% on Buyout Chatter |
According to a report from Bloomberg, Zillow (Z, $147.07) is looking to acquire Trulia (TRLA, $54.45) for as much as $2 billion.
On the report, Trulia shares have surged 34%, while Zillow shares are up 16%.
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 12:15 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Facebook Jumps 7%, Hits New All-Time High |
Following last night’s Q2 report, Facebook (FB, $76.31) shares have hit a new all-time high at $76.90.
Price targets are getting ratcheted up across Wall Street, with Piper Jaffray going to $90 from $76 based on the company’s ad growth and pipeline of new products.
For more on Facebook, Tech-Stock Prospector subscribers should see today's Rob's Journal.
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 11:21 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
GrubHub +5% on Strong Q2 Report |
Shares of GrubHub (GRUB, $35.21)--provider of an online/mobile platform for restaurant pick-up & delivery--today are up 5% after the company reported that Q2 revenue grew 48% to $60 million, easily beating the consensus estimate of $54.6 million.
In Q2, the number of active diners on the platform rose 51% to 4.19 million, vs. 2.78 million in the year-ago quarter. GrubHub processed 174,500 Daily Active Grubs (orders), an increase of 34%.
For Q3, GrubHub sees revenue of $55.5 million to $57.5 million, above the consensus of $54.3 million.
For our profile of GrubHub, see the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the latest issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 10:05 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: F5 Networks |
Ever-volatile F5 Networks (FFIV, $115.03) shares just after the open broke out to the upside, hitting a new 52-week high at $117.77. They have since pulled back a bit with the overall market.
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 9:11 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Fortinet Could Finally Show Consistent Results |
Following last night’s strong Q2 report from Fortinet (FTNT, $26.20 pre market, +9%), OpCo, reiterating its price target of $29, says its believes this could finally be the quarter that proves the company is able to put together consistently solid results.
The firm says Fortinet’s numbers were strong across all geographies, verticals and product lines. The performance was driven by accelerated demand for high-end enterprise security appliances, channel investments leading to increased RFP activity and improved sales force productivity (following increased sales & marketing spend).
|
|
Thursday, July 24, 2014, 8:38 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Jefferies Boosts Facebook Target to $100 |
Jefferies raises its Facebook (FB, $77.30 pre market, +8.4%) price target to $100 from $85 based on the company’s growing mobile ad business and margin expansion. Mobile ad revenue in Q2 represented 62% of total ad revenue.
|
|
Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 5:27 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Facebook +4% AH on Strong Q2 Report |
Facebook (FB, $74.20 after hours, +4%) reports Q2 EPS of 42 cents, 10 cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $2.91 billion (+60.7% y/y), vs. the consensus of $2.81 billion.
*Ad revenue rose 67% to $2.68 billion *Mobile ad revenue = 62% of total ad revenue
*Daily active users (DAUs): 829 million, +19% y/y *Mobile DAUs: 654 million, +39%
*Monthly active users (MAUs): 1.32 billion, +14% y/y *Mobile MAUs: 1.07 billion, +31%
|
|
Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 1:18 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Facebook |
Facebook (FB, $70.68) share today are up 2% ahead of the release of Q2 results after the close. The RSI is rising from 65.7. The shares are nearing the all-time high of $72.59.
|
|
Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 11:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
CLSA Upgrades VMware to 'Buy' |
CLSA upgrades VMware (VMW, $97.62) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $115 following last night’s strong Q2 report: EPS of 81 cents topped the consensus estimate by two cents on revenue of $1.46 billion (up 17% y/y), vs. the consensus of $1.44 billion. ELAs represented roughly 37% of Q2 bookings and there were eight deals greater than $10 million.
The firm looks for continued solid growth, driven in part by new product introductions, and the potential for a spin-off from EMC.
|
|
Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 10:06 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
EMC Boosts Buyback |
Perhaps an initial response to pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, EMC (EMC, $28.76) raises its 2014 share buyback authorization to $3 billion from $2 billion. For the 2013/2014 period, the company says it expects to return $7 billion+ to shareholders in the form of buybacks and dividends.
|
|
Wednesday, July 23, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Cowen Ups Apple Target to $106 |
Cowen lifts its Apple (AAPL, $94.72) price target to $106 from $102, saying strong iPhone unit growth in the the first half of calendar 2014 bodes well for the iPhone 6 debut. The firm continues to expect a wearable product before the end of the year and thinks the IBM partnership will help drive enterprise penetration of the iPad (now only about 20%).
|
|
Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 4:44 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Apple Reports Mixed Fiscal Q3 Results |
Apple (AAPL, $94.72) reports fiscal Q3 (June) EPS of $1.28, five cents above the consensus estimate of $1.23, on revenue of $37.4 billion, vs. the consensus of $37.99 billion (guidance was $36 billion to $38 billion).
Gross margin of 39.4% easily beat the consensus of 37.9%.
Product breakdown (units):
*iPhone: 35.2 million--SMALL MISS *iPad: 13.3 million--MODERATE MISS *Mac: 4.4 million--BIG BEAT
For fiscal Q4, Apple expects revenue of $37 billion to $40 billion (the consensus is $40.4 billion) and gross margin of 37% to 38% (the consensus is 37.4%).
|
|
Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 12:01 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Cisco Shares Push Higher |
Cisco Systems (CSCO, $25.99) shares continue to act well, ramping upward since late June. The stock earlier today retook the $26 level. The RSI is strong at 68.8.
|
|
Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 10:32 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Nimble Storage |
Shares of Nimble Storage (NMBL, $27.19) have rebounded back above the 50-day moving average of $26.91. The RSI is up to 50. Previously, the stock dipped 24% from the June 18 high of $31.66 to last week’s low of $24.03 (holding the June low of $22.40).
|
|
Tuesday, July 22, 2014, 9:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Telsey Advisory Upbeat Ahead of Facebook Q2 Results |
For Q2, Telsey Advisory Group (TAG) sees Facebook (FB, $69.40) coming in with revenue slightly above the consensus. The firm looks for potential upside thanks to a sequential improvement in ad yields and higher wallet share from advertisers helping to offset the decline in ad impressions.
TAG looks for positive momentum when it comes to the continued adoption of mobile app install ads, News Feed ads and Custom Audience targeting. The firm maintains its price target of $81.
|
|
Monday, July 21, 2014, 4:25 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Netflix Tops 50 Million Streaming Subs |
As of Q2, Netflix (NFLX, $451.95) now has more than 50 million streaming video subscribers, made up of 36.2 million in the U.S. (+21% year over year) and 13.8 million on the international side (+78% y/y).
|
|
Monday, July 21, 2014, 12:06 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Morgan Stanley Positive on Qlik |
Morgan Stanley says expectations are low and the risk/reward balance favorable for Qlik Technologies (QLIK, $21.67).
The firm believes the upcoming QlikView.Next product release will lead to improved positioning and sales execution, creating more opportunities to expand Qlik’s BI market share across the enterprise.
|
|
Monday, July 21, 2014, 11:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
RBC Capital Bullish on Facebook |
RBC Capital says Facebook (FB, $69) is experiencing robust user growth and increased engagement. And with well over 50% of revenue now coming from mobile, Facebook has become one of the leaders in adapting to the most important Internet industry trend, says the firm. RBC, which maintains its price target of $86, sees Instagram monetization and video ads as near-to-medium-term growth catalysts.
|
|
Monday, July 21, 2014, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Opower Deploys Big Data to Help Reduce Energy Usage |
Opower (OPWR,
$16.18), an emerging provider of cloud-based software for the utilities
industry, decided to go ahead with its IPO earlier this year during the big
momentum correction despite the sharp market volatility.
On April 4, Opower went public at $19 a share and opened for
trading at $25. After reaching its post-IPO high of $26 on that first day, the
stock was hit by heavy selling pressure, falling to a low of $15.52 in early
June.
Utilities use the Opower software platform to deliver
customer-facing applications intended to lower energy demand and improve
customer relations.
In order to reduce the need for new power plants and keep
rates low, utilities are under a lot of pressure (political, regulatory and
environmental) to implement energy-efficiency and demand-response programs to
bring down peak and overall usage. Within regulated markets (including much of
the U.S.), regulators reward utilities for improving customer satisfaction
levels.
Opower’s software, which replaces low-tech and
hardware-intensive products, is embedded within utilities’ websites, mobile
applications and customer service interfaces.
Using Big Data analytics, Opower applies behavioral science
insights to actionable usage patterns, and then sends individualized reports
and alerts (via text messages, emails or automated calls) to customers
containing usage trends (including neighborhood comparables) and specific
recommendations for how to boost energy savings.
In 2013, Opower’s revenue rose 71% to $88.7 million. For Q1,
the top line advanced 50% to $28.6 million, coming in above the consensus
estimate of $25.9 million.
At the recent market cap of $795 million, the shares
trade at 6.7 times the 2014 consensus revenue estimate of $117.6 million
(expected growth of 32.5%), within the guidance range of $116.5 million to
$118.5 million.
Opower sells its software to utilities on a multi-year
subscription basis. As of the end of 2013, the company served 93 utility
customers in eight countries, including 27 of the 50 largest electric utilities
in the U.S.
With the total addressable market estimated to include 1,300
electric and gas utilities worldwide (serving 650 million households and 60
million businesses), Opower’s penetration rate of roughly 7% has a lot of room
for expansion.
A significant trend in Opower’s favor: the acceleration of
smart meter rollouts globally. According to IMS Research, the penetration rate
for smart meters is expected to increase to 35% of all meters in 2016 from 18%
of all electricity meters in 2011.
Since smart meters generate much more data than traditional
meters, their increased usage creates opportunities for utilities to offer new
services and analytics-driven insights for their customers.
Through its utility customers, Opower today serves 32.1
million households, up sharply from 1.4 million households in 2010.
The company claims that last year its approach helped
utilities and their customers save more than 1,900 gigawatt hours of energy and
improve customer sentiment metrics by a median of 6%.
Opower has the ability to expand within its existing
customer base, as its core Energy Efficiency offering, introduced in 2007, has
a penetration rate of just 10% of households served by its utility clients.
With a major focus by utilities to reduce peak demand,
Opower’s newest offerings—Thermostat Management and Demand Response—provide
additional growth drivers. Thermostat Management involves mobile and Web apps
that connect to third-party thermostats in order to control and optimize peak
and overall HVAC utilization, while Demand Response is a zero-hardware solution
consisting of virtually real-time texts, emails and automated phone alerts
intended to motivate peak reductions in energy consumption.
Goldman Sachs, one of the main Opower underwriters, has a
‘Buy’ rating and price target of $30 on the shares because it believes the
company is capable of sustained 20%+ revenue growth, supported by an estimated
$14-billion addressable market that’s shifting to lower-cost cloud software.
Opower can capture an outsized market share because of its
highly differentiated Hadoop-based analytics technology and vertical foothold,
says Goldman. The firm thinks
Opower can support a premium multiple thanks to its “sticky” revenue stream and
proven ability to operate in a challenging regulatory environment.
|
|
Monday, July 21, 2014, 9:05 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Barclays Upgrades Qlik Tech |
Barclays upgrades Qlik Technologies (QLIK, $21.15) to ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $31 based on valuation and the upcoming release of QlikView.Next, the company’s next-generation BI solution, which the firm believes could drive meaningful upside.
|
|
Friday, July 18, 2014, 1:36 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Canaccord Sets Google Target of $715 |
Canaccord Genuity raises its Google (GOOGL, $601.24) price target to $715 from $700, saying the search business appears to be benefiting from a virtuous cycle of audience growth and pricing power.
The firm looks for this positive trend to continue for a “sustained period,” driven by further deepening of search algorithms, commerce initiatives like PLAs and ongoing Android share gains.
|
|
Friday, July 18, 2014, 11:17 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
TubeMogul IPO Jumps 44% |
The IPO for TubeMogul (TUBE, $10.10), provider of a digital video advertising platform, this morning was priced at $7 a share and opened for trading at $9.
In 2013, TubeMogul’s revenue rose 67% to $57.2 million. For Q1 2014, revenue of $22.02 million was up 130%.
There are 28.68 million shares outstanding after the offering.
TubeMogul shares are up 44% from the IPO price. The recent market cap is $289 million.
|
|
Friday, July 18, 2014, 10:20 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
FBR Capital Positive on Expedia |
FBR Capital says its Expedia (EXPE, $77.75) checks for Q2 point to potential upside. The firm’s main positive metric: U.S. bookings growth coming in at 30% to 35%, above the consensus estimate of 27%. FBR Capital maintains its price target of $85.
|
|
Friday, July 18, 2014, 9:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Baird Ups Google Target to $690 |
Baird looks for Google (GOOGL, $580.82) to continue to benefit from multiple long-term growth opportunities across mobile, video, enterprise, local and wearables. For Q2, key metrics (paid clicks and CPCs) were in line with expectations, while the international unit turned in a strong performance. Baird lifts its price target to $690 from $675.
|
|
Thursday, July 17, 2014, 3:35 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Yelp |
Shares of Yelp (YELP, $66.35) have taken out the 50-day moving average at $67.25 to the downside. There’s short-term support from June at $64.25 and $62.53.
|
|
Thursday, July 17, 2014, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Pacific Crest Boosts Palo Alto Networks Target |
Pacific Crest raises its Palo Alto Networks (PANW, $77.59) price target to $105 from $90 based on the company’s strong fundamentals in IT security. The firm also points out Palo Alto’s fast ramp in profitability, with the fiscal 2014 (July) consensus EPS estimate at 40 cents (.vs 21 cents for FY’13) and the fiscal 2015 estimate at 66 cents. The Street-high estimate for next year is 82 cents.
|
|
Thursday, July 17, 2014, 9:05 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Intel Estimates on the Rise |
Following the Q2 report, the Intel (INTC, $34.65) 2014 consensus EPS estimate has risen to $2.15 from $2.03 last week, while the 2015 consensus is now at $2.27, up from $2.13. The Street-high estimate for this year is $2.28.
|
|
Wednesday, July 16, 2014, 6:06 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Sterne Agee Lifts Electronic Arts Target |
Sterne Agee lifts its Electronic Arts (EA, $37.12) price target to $44 from $37 because it thinks the company has peak earnings power in this videogame cycle of $2.50 to $2.75 a share.
The firm believes EA could have a particularly strong 2015 thanks to a solid portfolio of upcoming new games.
The current consensus EPS estimates:
*FY’15 (March): $1.89 *FY’16 (March): $2.21
Electronic Arts shares today hit a new 52-week high at $37.29.
|
|
Wednesday, July 16, 2014, 6:02 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Goldman Upgrades FireEye to 'Buy' |
Goldman Sachs upgrades FireEye (FEYE, $34.57) to ‘Buy’ and raises its price target to $42 from $36, saying the company’s status as the market leader in fighting advanced persistent threats (APTs) leaves it well-positioned in the current market.
IT surveys indicate most respondents plan to increase their APT-related spending, with a full 59% of those surveyed planning to spend more money on solutions from a new vendor, according to Goldman.
|
|
Wednesday, July 16, 2014, 5:55 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Piper Jaffray Ups Intel Target to $37 |
Piper Jaffray raises its Intel (INTC, $34.65) price target to $37 from $31, saying recent positive trends in corporate PC demand are expected to continue into the end of the year. Sluggish consumer PC demand could be aided by new, lower-priced form factors expected to ship in 2H, according to the firm. For 2014, Piper raises its EPS estimate to $2.14 from $1.90.
|
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2014, 4:13 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Intel: Strong Q2 Results & Upbeat Q3 Guide |
Intel (INTC, $31.71) reports Q2 EPS of 55 cents, two cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $13.8 billion, vs. the consensus of $13.7 billion.
*PC Client Group revenue: $8.7 billion +6% y/y, +9% seq. *Datacenter Group revenue: $3.5 billion +19% y/y, +14% seq. *Gross margin 64.5%, above consensus of ~64%
For Q3, Intel looks for revenue of $13.9 billion to $14.9 billion, vs. the consensus of $14.02 billion, with gross margin at 66% +/- a couple of percentage points.
|
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2014, 12:15 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
JMP Sets $60 Target on GoPro |
JMP Securities starts GoPro (GPRO, $39.40) at ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $60, saying the brand has a lot of potential given that the company is pursuing a greater than $70-billion TAM across cameras, wearables and channel advertising as well as other accessory and multimedia content opportunities.
GoPro went public late last month at $24 a share, opened at $28.65 and closed the first session at $31.34.
For more on GoPro, see the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the latest issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
|
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2014, 11:21 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: F5 Networks |
Shares of F5 Networks (FFIV, $110.39) have managed to hold above the 50-day moving average at $108.82. The stock over the past few weeks has settled into a holding pattern in the $106-$114 range. The RSI is steady at 50.1.
|
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2014, 10:28 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Susquehanna Ups Apple Target |
Susquehanna raises its Apple (AAPL, $96.01) price target to $115 from $104, saying it sees upside for fiscal Q3 (revenue and gross margin at the high end of guidance) and in-line results for fiscal Q4.
The firm expects Apple to introduce iWatch when it debuts the iPhone 6. Its checks indicate that iWatch builds (two versions with different screen sizes) are running a little better than expected, and sees the build rate reaching 10 million to 12 million units (up from its previous estimate of 5 million to 6 million units) in 2H of calendar ‘14.
|
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2014, 9:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Imperial Capital Bullish on Intel |
Imperial Capital initiates coverage of Intel (INTC, $31.49) at ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $37 ahead of the release of Q2 results after today’s close.
From the firm:
Following the Q2 upside pre-announcement on June 12, we expect the company to report results consistent with the revised Street non-GAAP EPS estimate of 52 cents. The revised revenue outlook for Q2 was $13.7 billion at the midpoint, up from the prior outlook of $13.0 billion. The midpoint of Intel’s guidance implies 7% y/y and quarter-over-quarter growth, or better than seasonal trends.
With a richer product mix, gross margins were guided up 100 basis points to 64%. The better than seasonal revenue performance can be attributed to the ongoing PC replacement cycle in the commercial segment and not just an end-of-life Windows XP event. We see improving sales for both desktop and notebooks PCs from pent-up corporate demand and Microsoft’s license fee reduction for value-priced PCs fueling emerging market sell-through.
Intel now expects some y/y revenue growth for 2014 versus prior expectations of flat top line. We believe that current Street 2014 revenue estimate of $54.6 billion, up 4%, could prove conservative. The stock remains highly correlated with gross margins. Gross margins for the year are expected to come in the upper half of the prior outlook of 61%, +/- a few points.
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2014, 4:02 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Intel Hits New 52-Week High Ahead of Q2 Results |
Ahead of the release of Q2 earnings tomorrow after the close, Intel (INTC, $31.49) shares today traded to a new 52-week high at $31.58.
With the stock up sharply since the middle of June on the Q2 guidance raise, expectations are high going in this report.
The consensus estimates for the June quarter: EPS of 52 cents on revenue of $13.69 billion. The Street-high estimates are 55 cents/$14 billion.
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2014, 1:10 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Evercore Cautious on Yelp |
Evercore starts Yelp (YELP, $71.25) at ‘Underweight’ with a price target of $65 based on valuation, the intense competitive environment in local, smaller newer U.S. markets (lacking the scale and density of the company's early, major markets) and high industry churn.
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2014, 12:04 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Nomura Downgrades TripAdvisor |
Nomura downgrades TripAdvisor (TRIP, $103.32) to ‘Neutral’ with a price target of $103 based on valuation following the sharp rebound off the April low.
The firm continues to like the company’s fundamentals (continued global user growth, faster growth in user monetization and higher CPCs driven in part by instant booking), but would wait for a better entry point.
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2014, 11:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
JP Morgan Positive on NXP Semi |
JP Morgan expects the EMV (chip card) trend to kick off in the U.S. before the October 2015 deadline for conversion to the new technology, a major positive for NXP Semiconductors (NXPI, $66.79).
The firm believes the proliferation of EMV in the U.S. could increase NXP’s EPS by about $1 from 2014 to 2018. JP Morgan maintains its price target of $74.
For more on NXP Semi, see TechStock Radar--June 19, 2014.
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2014, 10:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Barclays Upgrades Apple |
Barclays upgrades Apple (AAPL, $96.41) to ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $110 (up from $95), saying it expects FQ3 revenue and earnings to come in ahead of the consensus estimates. The firm raises its iPhone unit sales estimate to 37 million from 35 million.
Longer term, Barclays sees troubles at Samsung opening up an opportunity for Apple to regain share. Also, the firm says its checks around new products (builds, demand and quality) into 2015 are strong.
|
|
Monday, July 14, 2014, 9:19 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Wunderlich Cautious on Twitter User Growth |
In the upcoming Q2 report, Wunderlich looks for Twitter (TWTR, $38.33) to show monthly active users (MAUs) in a range of 260 million to 262 million, below the consensus of 267 million. While the firm expects engagement and monetization to continue to improve, it says expectations for MAU growth are still too high, as Twitter struggles to meaningfully expand its user base.
|
|
Friday, July 11, 2014, 5:12 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Facebook |
Shares of Facebook (FB, $66.34) this week bounced off the 50-day moving average. There is short-term support at Tuesday’s low of $62.21 and resistance at the July 1 high of $68.44.
|
|
Friday, July 11, 2014, 12:01 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Proofpoint's TAP Solution a Key Growth Driver |
From the all-time high of $45.66 reached in early March,
shares of cybersecurity solutions vendor Proofpoint
(PFPT, $33.60) declined 47% to a low of $24.04 in late April before a recent
rebound.
In Q1, Proofpoint’s revenue rose 39% to $42.7 million,
coming in above the guidance range of $40 million to $41 million and the
consensus estimate of $40.5 million. Subscription revenue advanced 45% (+36% on
an organic basis) to $41.2 million. Billings rose 33% to $46.6 million, above
the guidance range of $43 million to $45 million. Non-GAAP gross margin of 71%
declined 100 basis points sequentially, in line with expectations.
Since the vast majority of Proofpoint’s revenue comes from
subscriptions, management has better than 90% visibility at the start of each
quarter, according to CFO Paul Auvil. For Q2, the company looks for revenue of
$43 million to $44 million (above the consensus estimate of $41.7 million at
the time of guidance), indicating growth of 39% at the midpoint, consistent
with Q1 growth.
While the company’s core email security solution (roughly
50% of total revenue) still represents a large part of new business each
quarter, the Targeted Attack Protection (TAP) offering, aimed at blocking
advanced persistent threats (APTs), continues to grow at a blistering pace, in
Q1 delivering another quarter of 100%+ growth. Plus, new TAP buyers often add
email security from Proofpoint as well.
Proofpoint in its latest quarter had some major TAP wins,
including a mega deal with a large global enterprise covering 300,000+ users.
The buyer went with Proofpoint after evaluating the company’s APT capabilities
for about a month. Proofpoint was able to deploy TAP across the customer’s
entire user base within 48 hours, a major selling point.
Among the other big Q1 TAP wins: a large university (25,000
users), a global medical technology company (25,000 users), a global
agricultural supplier (16,000 users) and a regional healthcare provider in
North America (13,000 users).
Within TAP, URL Defense is the core element, but Proofpoint
now sells two additional modules (Attachment Defense and Predictive Defense),
which combined can add 75% to 100% to the value of the deal. According to CEO
Gary Steele, Proofpoint is seeing strong take rates out of the gate for these
new modules because customers are increasingly interested in the whole feature
set in order to ensure that protection levels are as high as possible.
Proofpoint’s predictive defense capability uses Big Data
analytics and advanced statistical modeling to proactively perform dynamic
malware analysis on potentially suspicious URLs and email attachments before
users click on links or open attachments. TAP’s real-time dashboard provides an
ongoing view into and defense against these attacks. This end-to-end insight
reduces incident response times, minimizes computer compromises and prevents or
lowers attack-related costs.
On the latest earnings call, Steele said Proofpoint in the
March quarter saw strength across its entire product line (including privacy
and archiving), with more large enterprises switching over to cloud-based
security solutions from expensive and often totally ineffective legacy
offerings. He made a point of saying solutions from major competitors (such as
Symantec and Cisco Systems) continue to experience a decline in terms of
quality and capabilities.
It’s clear that there is plenty of market share available
for the taking, especially as IT security becomes more of a priority in the
enterprise and a greater number of CIOs begin to reevaluate their current
solutions. When it comes to TAP
engagements, Steele said it’s often a “share of wallet” competitive
environment, with budgets continuously being shifted over to APT prevention
from other security-related issues.
For 2014, Proofpoint raised its revenue guidance to a range
of $178 million to $180 million (30% growth at the midpoint) from $174.5
million to $176.5 million previously.
|
|
Friday, July 11, 2014, 11:08 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Goldman Remains Positive on Twitter |
Goldman Sachs reiterates its Twitter (TWTR, $38.67) price target of $52, saying it continues to see elevated levels of product innovation, with more than 3x the number of enhancements designed to drive user growth, engagement and incremental monetization than in any other quarter prior to Q4 2013.
The firm believes the continued elevated level of product innovation, coupled with recent changes in product and engineering leadership, will ultimately positively impact Twitter’s ability to grow and engage its user base.
|
|
Friday, July 11, 2014, 10:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Is Buyout Interest in Rackspace Fading? |
According to Wells Fargo, the pool of potential buyers for Rackspace Hosting (RAX, $33.95) has shrunk down to two--Hewlett-Packard and CenturyLink--from 11 or so.
While the firm sees reduced probability of an acquisition, it maintains its price target range of $38 to $41 because it still sees value in the company.
For more on Rackspace, see TechStock Radar--July 9, 2014.
|
|
Friday, July 11, 2014, 9:41 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Canaccord Lifts Apple Target |
Canaccord Genuity raises its Apple (AAPL, $95.17) price target to $112 from $102 after its June/July surveys indicated that the iPhone 5S remained a top-selling smarphone. The firm says there is growing consumer anticipation for the new, larger-screen iPhones, and that extended replacement rates during the iPhone 5 and 5S product cycles position Apple with a very large installed base ready to upgrade.
|
|
Thursday, July 10, 2014, 4:23 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Symantec Pops on More Buyout Chatter |
Shares of Symantec (SYMC, $22.83) popped late in the session after DealReporter said the company is seeing renewed buyout interest from private equity.
The stock was trading around $22.45 at 3:30 PM, then jumped to a high of $23.03 on the report.
With the recent restructuring and CEO shakeup, there has been a lot of buyout chatter surrounding Symantec.
|
|
Thursday, July 10, 2014, 11:14 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: ServiceNow Tests Support |
Shares of ServiceNow (NOW, $57.27) this morning have recovered from an early low of $54.12 to rebound into the green. On the pullback, the stock successfully tested the 50-day moving average; it’s once again above the 200-day moving average at $56.53.
|
|
Thursday, July 10, 2014, 10:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Feltl Cuts Yelp Target |
Feltl & Co. lowers its Yelp (YELP, $68.66) price target to $86 from $106, saying its recent checks show business deceleration and a notable slowdown in the sequential growth rate for total U.S. reviewed businesses to ~3% in Q2 from 8% in Q1. The firm maintains its ‘Buy’ rating.
|
|
Thursday, July 10, 2014, 9:38 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
JMP Positive on NetSuite |
JMP Securities thinks recent weakness in NetSuite (N, $78.89) shares is a buying opportunity, saying all of its checks for Q2 performance came back positive. The firm maintains its price target of $101.
NetSuite shares are now back below the 50-day moving average of $80.28.
|
|
Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 4:59 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Rackspace Buyout Chatter Quiets |
Speculation about a potential buyout of Rackspace Hosting (RAX, $34.54), a provider of datacenter hosting services, has recently calmed down a bit (the stock has come off the June high of $38.45), particularly with the company today announcing the release date for Q2 results of August 11.
In May, Rackspace said it hired Morgan Stanley to “evaluate the inbound strategic proposals, and to explore any other alternatives.”
There have been rumors that both IBM and H-P have made acquisition offers for Rackspace. However, critics say IBM’s SoftLayer unit already covers Rackspace’s offerings from a professional services perspective, making a purchase unnecessary.
From the May 9 low of $26.18, Rackspace shares surged to a high of $37.37 just five sessions later on takeover chatter.
|
|
Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 12:12 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
BofA/Merrill Reduces Gigamon Target |
BofA/Merrill downgrades Gigamon (GIMO, $12.27) to ‘Neutral’ and lowers its price target to $11 from $23 following last night’s Q2 warning. The firm reduces its 2014 EPS estimate to nine cents from 33 cents and its 2015 estimate to 23 cents from 57 cents.
|
|
Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 11:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Goldman Cuts Gigamon Target |
Goldman Sachs downgrades Gigamon (GIMO, $12.75) to ‘Neutral’ and cuts its price target to $14 from $29, saying execution issues are to blame for the lowered Q2 revenue outlook.
|
|
Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 10:21 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Gigamon Issues Another Warning, Shares Fall 30% |
Shares of Gigamon (GIMO, $12.65), a provider of networking visibility and control solutions, this morning are down 30% after the company issued a negative pre-announcement for the second quarter in a row.
For Q2, Gigamon now sees revenue of $34.5 million to $35 million, below previous guidance of $38 million to $42 million and the consensus estimate of $40.2 million.
The company once again blamed difficulties in closing deals in the pipeline (longer review and approval cycles) during the later stages of the quarter.
In April, Gigamon shares dropped 34% in a single session following the Q1 warning.
|
|
Wednesday, July 9, 2014, 9:39 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Mizuho Lifts Apple Target |
Mizuho Securities ups its Apple (AAPL, $95.69) price target to $105 from $90, saying fiscal Q4 (Sept.) consensus estimates have upside potential of around $1 billion to $2 billion on the revenue line and five to 10 cents for EPS based on expected guidance. The firm remains positive about Apple’s upcoming new product cycle.
|
|
Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 1:23 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Yelp Gives Back Some Recent Gains |
Yelp (YELP, $70.17) shares today are down 7.3% on heavy volume, taking out the 200-day moving average at $71.74. There’s support at the 50-day moving average at $65.65.
From the May 7 low of $49.11, Yelp shares had rebounded 68% to the July 2 high of $82.81.
|
|
Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 11:06 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Marathon Partners Ups Shutterfly Stake |
Marathon Partners Equity Management this morning discloses a 5% stake in Shutterfly (SFLY, $46.20), the provider of digital photo printing services. The firm now owns 1.95 million shares, up from 1.46 million shares as of Q1. In the March quarter, Marathon Partners added 755,000 shares.
As of Q1, Primecap Management was the #1 holder of Shutterfly, with 2.71 million shares, while Columbia Wanger Asset Management was in the #2 spot, holding 2.33 million shares.
Shutterfly shares on July 2 jumped 14.9% after Bloomberg reported that the company had put itself up for sale, hiring investment bank Qatalyst Partners to try to find a buyer.
|
|
Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 10:30 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Splunk |
Shares of Splunk (SPLK, $47.91) this morning are down more than 7%, as heavy selling once again hits the momentum names. The stock has dipped below the 50-day moving average at $48.62.
|
|
Tuesday, July 8, 2014, 9:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
UBS Bullish on Facebook |
UBS raises its long-term growth forecast for Facebook (FB, $65.29), citing the company’s emerging businesses leveraged to brand ad dollars, mobile messaging proliferation and next-generation hardware platforms. The firm maintains its price target of $90.
|
|
Monday, July 7, 2014, 2:43 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Mobile Ad Spending on the Rise |
A new forecast from eMarketer shows digital ads this year expected to represent 28.2% of all U.S. ad spending, up from 25.2% last year. Digital is expected to top the 30% share mark in 2015.
The firm estimates that mobile ads this year will reach 9.8% of total spending (topping key traditional segments such as newspapers, magazines and radio on an individual basis), then grow to 14% next year and more than 22% in 2017.
Mobile is expected to surpass all print advertising in 2016, according to eMarketer.
|
|
Monday, July 7, 2014, 11:15 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Expedia Expands in APAC |
Expedia (EXPE, $80.71) announces the acquisition of Wotif, an online travel agency serving the APAC region, for $658 million in cash. The deal is expected to close in Q4.
|
|
Monday, July 7, 2014, 10:36 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Apple Shows Relative Strength |
Shares of Apple (AAPL, $95.17) this morning are showing relative strength, hitting a new 52-week high at $95.21.
|
|
Monday, July 7, 2014, 9:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Pacific Crest Ups Apple Target |
Pacific Crest boosts its Apple (AAPL, $94.03) price target to $100 from $93, saying it remains confident in the momentum of the current iPhone lineup and thinks the iPhone 6 could enable the company to increase its market share.
|
|
Thursday, July 3, 2014, 1:15 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Intel Hits Fresh 52-Week High |
Intel (INTC, $31.14) shares today hit a new 52-week high at $31.36. So far this year, the stock has gained 20%.
|
|
Thursday, July 3, 2014, 10:27 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Cisco Systems |
Cisco Systems (CSCO, $25.23) shares have broken out to the upside from their near-term trading range. The RSI is rising from 69.4. The 52-week high stands at $26.49.
|
|
Thursday, July 3, 2014, 9:40 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
OpCo Positive on Priceline & Expedia |
OpCo says the International Air Transport Authority (IATA) monthly passenger report for May showed international growth of 7%, with APAC leading the regions at 7.3% growth. The firm notes that all regions except Africa experienced positive traffic growth. Europe was up 6.1% and the U.S. gained 4.4%.
OpCo sees the report as a positive datapoint for the online travel sector, and maintains its ‘Outperform’ rating on Priceline (PCLN, $1,242) and Expedia (EXPE, $80.48).
|
|
Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 4:40 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Varonis Systems Rebounds 55% |
From the May 15 low of $19.69, shares of Varonis Systems (VRNS, $30.58)—a
provider of solutions used to map, analyze, manage and migrate human-generated
unstructured data (including documents, Word files, presentations,
spreadsheets, emails and PDFs)—have rebounded 55%.
But the stock is still well below its post-IPO high of
$56.80 from early March. Varonis went public in late February at $22 a share
and opened for trading at $39.
IDC estimates that 90% of all data created in the next
decade will be of the unstructured variety.
Varonis is really a security play, providing unstructured data governance.
Data breaches within an enterprise are often caused by
people having too much access to certain types of critical information. Varonis
solutions visualize where data is being accessed across an enterprise and
determine who can view various types of files, images, emails and records.
Started in 2005, Varonis now has more than 2,550 customers
(including 158 added in Q1), with no single customer accounting for more than
4% of revenue. Including renewals and up-sells, about half of revenue each
quarter comes from the installed base.
The company has six solutions in its portfolio (up from
three in 2010), with 40% of customers taking two or more offerings. The
maintenance renewal rate is above 90%. About 40% of the company’s revenue comes
from international markets.
While direct competition at the moment isn’t all that
threatening (Symantec is the main competitor), Varonis is small, with revenue
last year totaling just $74.6 million. For 2014, the consensus revenue estimate
of $97.5 million represents growth of 30.7%. At the recent market cap of $747
million, the stock trades at a forward revenue multiple of 7.7.
|
|
Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 12:01 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Read Tech-Stock Prospector on Kindle |
Download the June 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector to
your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
Order the latest issue of TSP for Kindle here.
Here are some of the topics covered in the June 2014 issue:
*Workday is building a cloud-software dynasty
*Apple shares back in favor among institutional investors
*F5 Networks bulks up on security
*Big deals are key to recent growth at NetSuite
*The networking upgrade cycle helps drive new spending
*Gigamon regroups after its Q1 shortfall
*Cloud Watch: Cornerstone OnDemand primed for growth
*M&A Alert: Shaking up the call center at inContact
*Varonis Systems secures unstructured data
*IT Security Watch: Targeted attacks continue to surge
*Palo Alto Networks gaining market share from rivals
*Growth in machine data boosts demand for analytics
*Splunk expands its Big Data use cases
*Veeva Systems brings the cloud to life sciences
*Tech Focus: Amber Road simplifies global trade
*Akamai benefiting from Internet traffic growth
*Aruba Networks delivers solid quarterly results
*IPO Update: Q2 Holdings shares on the rebound
*Deal Report: Arista Networks disrupts the datacenter
|
|
Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 11:46 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Chart Watch: Marketo |
Since hitting a low of $22.02 on June 4, shares of Marketo (MKTO, $30.85), a provider of interactive marketing solutions, have bounced back 40% and are now approaching the 200-day moving average at $33.13. The RSI is strong at 71.3.
|
|
Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 10:19 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Q2 Holdings Bounces Back |
Shares of Q2 Holdings (QTWO, $14.73)--a provider of cloud-based, customer-facing virtual banking solutions for regional and community financial institutions--have rebounded 46% since we wrote about the beaten-up IPO in the May 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #147).
The stock is up 53% from the May 9 low of $9.62 and has retaken its March IPO price of $13.
|
|
Wednesday, July 2, 2014, 9:15 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Northland Positive on Fortinet |
Northland Capital starts Fortinet (FTNT, $25.15) at ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $30, saying it expects the investments made in the sales force during 2013 to drive share gains in IT security and margin leverage through 2015.
|
|
Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 3:55 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Proofpoint Rebounds 63% |
In IT security, Proofpoint (PFPT, $39.19) shares have pushed through recent resistance. The stock has rebounded 63% from the April 28 low of $24.04. The RSI is on the rise from 71.1 and the 50-day moving is now trending upward.
|
|
Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 12:12 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Twitter Contines to Bounce Back |
Both Cantor and Nomura in late May made good calls when they upgraded Twitter (TWTR, $42.72) to ‘Buy.’ The stock has rebounded nearly 45% from the post-IPO low of $29.51 reached on May 7.
For more on these two calls, see TechStock Radar--May 28 & 29, 2014.
In addition, SunTrust upgraded Twitter to ‘Buy’ in the middle of May when the shares were trading around $32 (see TechStock Radar--May 12, 2014).
|
|
Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 11:24 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Deutsche Bank Bullish on Arista Networks |
Deutsche Bank starts Arista Networks (ANET, $67.63) at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $75, saying its research suggests the company has the potential to grow revenue at a 35% to 40% CAGR over the next two to three years in a 10/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet switching market that’s worth at least $7.7 billion.
The firm expects Arista to target high-growth IT spenders in the Web 2.0 and cloud segments.
Deutsche Bank says its CAGR assumption correlates with its research indicating 30% to 40% growth in Web 2.0 datacenter IT spending.
For more on Arista, see TechStock Radar--June 6, 2014.
|
|
Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 10:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Imperva Rebounds 44% |
Shares of Imperva (IMPV, $26.62) have rebounded 44% from the May 9 low of $18.40. The RSI is up to 70.6. The large gap on the price chart starts at $32.10.
|
|
Tuesday, July 1, 2014, 9:05 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
Baird Ups Apple Target |
Robert W. Baird raises its Apple (AAPL, $92.93) price target to $102 from $95 based on expectations for solid fiscal Q3 results, driven by strong iPhone demand. The firm also cites Apple’s upcoming product cycle.
|