Shares of HP Enterprise (HPE, $21.02) today rose 3.5% in heavy trading on reports that private equity firms are looking at the company or parts of it. The stock traded to a high of $21.90.

Reuters says HPE is interested in divesting some software assets worth between $6 billion and $8 billion.

Jefferies sets a price target of $1,000 on Alphabet (GOOGL, $765.24), saying the company’s Q2 earnings beat indicates accelerating growth at Google Websites, specifically mobile search and YouTube. 

The firm believes Google via YouTube remains well-positioned to benefit from the online video megatrend, which is the biggest online ad growth driver.

Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL, $807 after hours, +5.3%) are gaining more than 5% in after-hours trading following the release of above-consensus Q2 results.

EPS of $8.42 beat the consensus estimate by 38 cents on revenue of $21.5 billion (+21% y/y), above the consensus of $20.7 billion.

Paid clicks rose 29%, while cost per click declined 7%.

Jefferies raises its Facebook (FB, $125) price target to $170 from $160 based on the company’s “soaring mobile ad business” and ramping Instagram unit. 

The firm sees more challenges in 2017 because of tough comps and the planned stabilization in ad loads starting in the middle of next year.

Facebook is a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Vulture Portfolio, added in March 2014, when the stock was trading at $59.35.

After NetSuite (N, $108.18)—a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Vulture Portfolio—agreed to be acquired by Oracle (ORCL), expect lots of speculation about the next cloud software buyout targets.

Tech-Stock Prospector subscribers should see today’s Rob’s Journal for our latest tech M&A ideas.

Goldman Sachs lifts its Facebook (FB, $127.78) price target to $162 from $142, saying the company “remains in the sweet spot of digital advertising trends and is well-positioned to increase its share of wallet given its reach and effectiveness for advertisers.”

The firm raises its 2016 EPS estimate to $4.09 from $3.57 and takes up its 2017 estimate to $5.24 from $4.41.

Oracle (ORCL) will acquire NetSuite (N, $91.57), a provider of cloud-based ERP software (and a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Vulture Portfolio), for $109 a share in a deal worth $9.3 billion. 

The purchase price is a 19% premium to last night’s close. But NetSuite shares have rallied sharply since late June on takeover speculation, with Oracle mentioned as the potential buyer. 

On June 28, NetSuite stock closed at $69.01. The buyout chatter really kicked in the following day (after Oracle launched a $14-billion bond sale, its largest ever), sending the shares up 4.6% for the session.

The all-cash transaction is expected to close this year.

Facebook (FB, $131.35 after hours, +6.5%) shares are advancing more than 6% after hours after the company reported an excellent Q2: EPS of 97 cents topped the consensus estimate by 15 cents on revenue of $6.44 billion (+59% y/y), above the consensus of $6.02 billion. 

Ad revenue was up 63% to $6.24 billion. Mobile ad revenue accounted for 84% of total ad revenue.

*DAUs rose 17% to 1.13 billion, while mobile DAUs advanced 22% to 1.03 billion

*MAUs rose 15% to 1.71 billion, while mobile MAUs advanced 20% to 1.57 billion

Facebook is a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Vulture Portfolio, added in March 2014, when the stock was trading at $59.35.

In after-hours trading, Facebook is up 6.5% to $131.35.

Dougherty upgrades Mobileye (MBLY, $47.55) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $60, saying there are near-term catalysts in the advanced driver assistance (ADAS) space that compensate for the loss of Tesla (TSLA) as a customer. 

The firm points out that Mobileye is a leader in the ADAS market, working with 20+ OEMs that collectively produce more than 50% of the vehicles sold worldwide. Solid growth in ADAS will carry Mobileye through 2019, says Dougherty.

Apple (AAPL, $103.27 after hours, +6.8%) reports fiscal Q3 (June) EPS of $1.42, three cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $42.4 billion, vs. the consensus of $42.1 billion.

Unit sales by segment:

*iPhone: 40.4 million—Beats consensus of 40.1 million

*iPad: 9.95 million—Beats consensus of 8.8 million

*Mac: 4.25 million—Slight Miss compared to consensus of 4.3 million

For FQ4, revenue guidance of $45.5 billion to $47.5 billion compares favorably to the consensus of $45.7 billion.

Apple shares are up 6.8% in after hours trading.

Shares of Twitter (TWTR, $16.83 after hours, -8.7%) are down more than 8% after hours following a Q2 revenue miss and a Q3 revenue guide-down.

In Q2, revenue of $602 million (+20% y/y) fell short of the consensus estimate of $607.4 million. Average MAUs of 313 million (the consensus was 312 million to 315 million) rose 3% from the year-ago level.

For Q3, the company sees revenue of $590 million to $610, well below the consensus of $681.3 million.

Shares of Check Point Software (CHKP, $79.86) are down more than 4% today after the company issued Q3 EPS guidance of $1.03 to $1.10, below the consensus estimate of $1.12. Revenue guidance of $405 million to $435 million means a midpoint of $420 million, below the consensus of $432.5 million.

In Q2, EPS of $1.09 topped the consensus by two cents. Revenue of $422.7 million (+7% y/y) came in above the consensus of $421.5 million. Software blades subscription revenue advanced 21% to $93 million. Deferred revenue of $892 million rose 14%.

For more on Check Point, see TechStock Radar--June 16, 2016.

Mobileye (MBLY, $44.21 pre market, -10.3%) reports Q2 EPS of 17 cents, two cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $83.5 million (+58.1% y/y), vs. the consensus of $77.3 million.

For 2016, the company sees revenue of $344 million to $350 million, above previous guidance of $336 million to $340 million. The consensus estimate is $338.8 million.

The stock is down more than 10% in pre-market trading after Mobileye on its conference call said its relationship with Tesla (TSLA) is ending with the current EyeQ3 processor.

Shares of Pure Storage (PSTG, $12.17) have pushed above the 50-day moving average of $11.73 and taken out short-term resistance at $12.08. There is a gap on the price chart from May that runs from $12.61 to $14.40.

For more on Pure Storage, see TechStock Radar—July 19, 2016.

Shares of security solutions vendor Proofpoint (PFPT, $71.63) this morning are up more than 9% on heavy volume following a strong Q2 earnings report. 

The stock is approaching its all-time high of $75.46 reached last November.

Proofpoint is a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Small-Cap Portfolio, added in September 2013, when the shares were trading at $27.91.

In Q2, PayPal (PYPL, $40.13) saw its mobile payment volume rise 56% to $24 billion, representing 28% of total payment volume of $86 billion (+28%). For the company’s Xoom international money transfer service, 74% of Q2 transactions were on mobile.

PayPal’s total Q2 revenue rose 15% to $2.65 billion, in line with the consensus estimate. 

Goldman Sachs upgrades Qualcomm (QCOM, $60.06 pre market, +7.6%) to ‘Conviction Buy’ and raises its price target to $70 from $64 based on a strong chipset product cycle, improved low-end smartphone demand and a recovery in royalties in China. 

Last night, Qualcomm reported fiscal Q3 (June) EPS of $1.16, 19 cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $6 billion, beating the consensus of $5.58 billion. The company said its chipset business is benefiting from strong demand from OEMs in China.

For FQ4, Qualcomm looks for EPS of $1.05 to $1.15, vs. the consensus of $1.08. Revenue is expected to come in at $5.4 billion to $6.2 billion, vs. the consensus of $5.73 billion.

With Qualcomm gaining share at Samsung and collecting royalties from new licensees in China, Goldman looks for accelerated revenue growth in fiscal 2017 (Sept.).

In the February 2016 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector, we pointed out that Qualcomm offers investors exposure to three key emerging segments of the technology sector: Internet of Things (IoT), connected cars and drones. At the time, we said Qualcomm shares—then trading at $44.02 and yielding 4.3%—had an attractive risk/reward balance.

In pre-market trading, Qualcomm shares are up more than 7%.

Facebook (FB, $121.36) shares this morning hit an all-time high at $121.63.

Facebook is a holding in the Tech-Stock Prospector Vulture Portfolio, added in March 2014, when the stock was trading at $59.35.

Microsoft (MSFT, $53.09) reports fiscal Q4 (June) EPS of 69 cents, nine cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $22.64 billion, vs. the consensus of $22.1 billion. Some of the highlights from the quarter:

*Office 365 commercial revenue +54% y/y

*Office consumer products & cloud services revenue +19%

*Azure revenue +102%

*Xbox Live MAUs +33% to 49 million

Susquehanna has turned more moderate on Pure Storage (PSTG, $11.82), saying its bearish thesis has played out. The firm goes to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Negative’ with a price target of $11. 

The introduction of the FlashBlade offering expands Pure’s TAM to include the faster-growing unstructured data storage segment, says the firm. However, Susquehanna remains cautious because of the increasingly competitive all-flash array marketplace and the lack of visibility in terms of Pure reaching profitability.

For more on Pure Storage, see TechStock Radar—July 15, 2016.

The onset of the un-grandfathering process in April resulted in Netflix (NFLX, $85.50 pre market, -13.5%) delivering lighter-than-expected Q2 global subscriber additions and Q3 guidance. 

Jefferies expects the uptick in churn to continue as the price increase moves across the subscriber base throughout Q3 and into Q4. The firm reduces its Netflix price target to $76 from $80.

Piper Jaffray ups its Mobileye (MBLY, $48.48) price target to $60 from $50 because the firm now expects a faster rate of adoption for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) over the next three years.

A recent survey of U.S. fleet owners and small businesses conducted by Piper Jaffray indicated rising acceptance of ADAS technology.

Cannacord raises its NVIDIA (NVDA, $53.10) price target to $60 from $55, citing recent strong growth in the enterprise and automotive segments. The firm sees upside to near-term consensus estimates.

For more on NVIDIA, see TechStock Radar—July 11, 2016.

Japan’s SoftBank will acquire chip designer ARM Holdings (ARMH, $67.37 pre-market, +43.1%) in an all-cash transaction valued at $32 billion. The deal premium to Friday’s closing price is 43%. 

SoftBank’s CEO says the company is investing in ARM to “capture the very significant opportunities provided by the Internet of Things (IoT).”

Back in the October 2013 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #140), we called out ARM as a beneficiary of the IoT trend because of the company’s chip-design success in the low-power, embedded market. At the time, ARM shares were trading at $47.70.

Barclays lowers its Apple (AAPL, $98.78) price target to $115 from $121 based on reduced iPhone unit sales estimates for the June and September quarters. 

The firm expects the stock to be volatile following the iPhone 7 rollout and ahead of the major form factor change on next year’s iPhone 8. For both calendar years 2016 and 2017, Barclays lowers its iPhone unit sales estimates by 4%.

Fortinet (FTNT, $34.23) shares, back above the 50-day moving average of $33.20, face short-term resistance at $34.45. There is additional resistance at $34.93 from June.

JMP Securities remains upbeat on Pure Storage (PSTG, $11.67), saying the 23% decline in the stock from the May high of $15.20 has created an attractive entry level. 

The firm looks for Pure Storage’s growth in 2017 to get a boost from the new FlashBlade product aimed at Big Data use cases. 

Disruptions caused by Dell’s acquisition of EMC should benefit the company, says JMP. The firm reiterates its Pure Storage price target of $19.

UBS remains bullish on Salesforce (CRM, $81.33), reiterating its price target of $100. The firm believes the acquisition of Demandware (now closed) was a smart move in the cloud e-commerce space. 

UBS sees a seamless integration of Salesforce and the e-commerce suite. The firm expects the deal to provide a compelling and powerful value proposition to enterprises looking to re-platform for the new digital world.

BofA/Merrill raises its NVIDIA (NVDA, $52.02) price target to $55 after the chipmaker debuted its midrange PC gaming card for $249, which complements the higher-end cards launched earlier at prices ranging from $329 to $599.

The firm believes the launches solidify NVIDIA’s leadership position and enable continued content expansion. There is solid pent-up demand across the user base of gamers still using older-generation products that are not virtual reality (VR) ready, says BofA/Merrill.

NVIDIA shares today hit an all-time high at $52.40.

We profiled NVIDIA in the April 2016 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #170) when the stock was trading at $36.29.

Shares of Imperva (IMPV, $48.48) today are up more than 8% following a Reuters report out late on Friday saying the security solutions vendor is seeking to hire an investment bank to help it explore strategic options. 

In the middle of last month, activist investor Elliott Associates disclosed a 9.8% stake in Imperva. On June 28, the firm disclosed the stake had been raised to 10.9%.

Earlier in the session, Imperva stock hit a high of $51.70.

Fleetmatics (FLTX, $45.07) shares today surged 6.3%, pushing back up to the high end of the recent trading range just below the 200-day moving average at $45.71. 

The RSI has rebounded to 60.3. The 50-day moving average is trending upward from $41.20. There is short-term congestion in the $45.50 to $45.60 range.

For more on Fleetmatics—a provider of cloud-based mobile workforce solutions for service-oriented business—see the June 2016 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector.

T. Rowe Price today discloses a 10.1% stake in NXP Semiconductors (NXPI, $78.70). The money manager owns 35.15 million shares. 

In Q1, T. Rowe Price purchased 18.23 million shares, ending the quarter with holdings of 27.58 million shares.

We cover NXP Semi’s growth prospects in the June 2016 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector.

First Analysis downgrades Paylocity (PCTY, $42.83), a provider of cloud-based payroll & HCM solutions, to ‘Equal Weight’ based on valuation, as the stock has moved above its price target of $42. The firm favors shares of competitor Paycom (PAYC, $44,.85) at current levels.

Here are the consensus revenue estimates for each:

PCTY: FY’16 (June): $228.4 million, +49.6%

PAYC: 2016 consensus of $322 million, +43.3%

Apple (AAPL, $96.15) shares have retaken the downwardly sloping 50-day moving average at $95.71. There is short-term resistance around $96.50.

The stock is rebounding from the recent pullback to the June low of $91.50, which held the May 12 low of $89.47.

Paycom (PAYC, $43.83) shares are back at the top of their recent range following the rebound off of the June 27 low of $38.94. The RSI stands at 60.8. There’s short-term resistance at $43.96.

There’s resistance at $44.38 from late November. The all-time high of $46.35 was reached on November 5.

Barclays upgrades CyberArk Software (CYBR, $49.50) to ‘Overweight’ with a price target of $60 (up from $44) based on a positive view for 2H and the longer term. The firm expects the provider of security solutions over the next three years to deliver 20% to 25% annual revenue growth. The 2016 consensus revenue estimate indicates growth of 31.1%. There is the potential for U.S. federal security spending to drive upside to estimates, says Barclays.

After rebounding off of Monday’s low of $34, shares of PayPal (PYPL, $36.35) today tried to retake the 200-day moving average at $36.37, hitting an intraday high of $36.67. 

A close above $36.75 is needed to break the downtrend line from the April high of $41.49. The 50-day moving average is trending downward from $37.99.