Author Archives: Scalper1

Abiomed, Boston Scientific Move Opposite Ways On Quarterly Reports

Medical device maker Abiomed ( ABMD ) popped in early trading after it beat quarterly estimates and raised guidance Thursday, while its larger counterpart Boston Scientific ( BSX ) was falling after a more mixed report. Abiomed’s earnings for its fiscal Q3 ended Dec. 31 totaled 23 cents a share, down 23% from the year-earlier quarter but well ahead of analysts’ consensus of 15 cents as reported by Thomson Reuters. Sales rose 38% to $85.8 million, about $5 million above consensus. Abiomed raised its revenue guidance for the full fiscal 2016 to $326 million, up from a previous range of $305 million to $315 million. It said that sales in the current quarter should be $90 million, above Wall Street’s estimate of $85.1 million and up from $62.6 million in last year’s fourth quarter. The company didn’t guide earnings, but it did say that gross profit margin should be higher than its previous guidance of 15% to 17%. Abiomed stock was up 5% in morning trading on the stock market today , near 89. The news wasn’t a total surprise, since Abiomed issued preliminary Q3 sales last month that matched the current report. Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy wrote that the EPS and guidance numbers brought further upside, supporting strong uptake of Abiomed’s Impella heart pump. “In the U.S., Abiomed clearly continues to drive what we believe is sustainable adoption momentum that should continue to ramp with the recent Impella 2.5 PMA (premarket approval), as the company can more aggressively market to physicians than before,” Antalffy wrote in a research note. “This is further supplemented by the Impella RP and upcoming late-calendar-year 2016 Japan regulatory and reimbursement approval.” Boston Scientific Revenue Falls Short Boston Scientific stock was down 4% Thursday morning, near 17, after the company reported Q4 sales of $1.98 billion, up 5% from the prior year’s Q4 but about $16 million below consensus. Profit rose 18% to 26 cents a share, a penny over the Street. Boston Scientific said that sales in the current quarter should be $1.89 billion to $1.94 billion, somewhat on the low side of analysts’ $1.93 billion consensus, though up from $1.77 billion last year. It said earnings will be 23 to 25 cents a share, in line with consensus and up from 21 cents last year. For the year, the company’s sales guidance of $7.9 billion to $8.1 billion bracketed consensus, while EPS was on the high side at $1.03 to $1.07. “Gross margins (in Q4) came in slightly above our expectations, but operating expenses came in well above our estimate driven by higher sales, general and administrative and R&D expenses, that were offset by tax (which we estimate contributed 1 to 2 cents),” Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar wrote in an email to clients. “Overall, in the context of a tough health care tape and concerns over slowdown in emerging markets and ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) share losses, we view today’s print and guidance as solid.” Image provided by Shutterstock .

Apple Supplier NXP Semiconductors Earnings Beat Amid ‘Challenges’

Apple ( AAPL ) supplier NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) reported much-better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue late Wednesday, despite some “challenges.” Fellow iPhone chipmaker Qorvo ( QRVO ) on tap after the market close Thursday. NXP Semiconductors earned $1.25 a share excludng various items, down 7% vs. a year earlier but easily exceeding Wall Street estimates for $1.07. Revenue climbed 4.5% to $1.61 billion. Analysts had expected a 16% drop to $1.29 billion. The fourth-quarter results include one month of contribution from newly acquired Freescale Semiconductor. The Freescale deal is aimed at making NXP an automotive chip powerhouse. Automotive-related sales rose 45% to $422 million. The deal also halves its Apple iPhone exposure. For the current Q1, NXP expects revenue of $2.15 billion to $2.27 billion with non-GAAP EPS of $1.05-$1.15. Analysts expect Q1 EPS of $1.09. Revenue also was in line. “Looking forward, our task is to continue to outgrow the market despite the uncertain environment,” said CEO Richard Clemmer. NXP stock rose 6.2% in morning trading On Wednesday, shares closed down 3.1% on the  stock market , near 52-week lows set last month. Apple rose 0.6% intraday. On Wednesdsay, its shares rallied 2%, as Apple regained its market cap crown from Alphabet ( GOOGL ) after Alphabet took the lead on Tuesday.  (Alphabet lost 4% Wednesday.) Late Thursday, Qorvo should report a 16% sales decline to $620.3 million, with non-GAAP EPS down 37% to 94 cents. Qorvo slashed its revenue forecast in December. Goldman Sachs downgraded Qorvo Wednesday, saying it’s losing out to rival radio frequency chipmaker  Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), yet another Apple supplier. Qorvo stock rose 3.4% after losing 0.2% Wednesday. Skyworks Solutions dipped 0.4% intraday after falling 0.4% on Wednesday.

Apple Steals ‘Biggest Stock’ Crown As Alphabet Loses Search Chief

Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) gain and Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) fall Wednesday — as Google’s head of search exits — made Apple the biggest stock of all, again — and Apple widened its lead Thursday. At the closing bell Wednesday, Apple stock was up almost 2% to 96.35, giving it a market cap over $534 billion, and Alphabet stock was down 4% at 749.38, with a market cap a little over $515 billion. The trend continued Thursday. In early trading in the stock market today , Apple was up a fraction (market cap near $538 billion) and Alphabet was down 1.5% (market cap near $506 billion). Alphabet initially wrested the top market value title from Apple mid-Monday ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings report, the first that detailed business outside Alphabet’s main Google unit. The two stocks have been jostling for supremacy since. Google Head Of Search Leaving Google’s senior vice president for search, Amit Singhal, wrote in a Google Plus blog post Wednesday that he is leaving Feb. 26, after starting with the company when it was “a small startup” in 2000. “As I entered the fifteenth year of working at Google, I’ve been asking myself the question, ‘what would you want to do for the next fifteen?’ The answer has overwhelmingly been: give back to others. It has always been a priority for me to give back to people who are less fortunate, and make time for my family amidst competing work constraints — but on both fronts, I simply want to give and do more,” Singhal wrote. “Now is a good time to make this important life change. Things are in amazing shape. Search is stronger than ever, and will only get better in the hands of an outstanding set of senior leaders who are already running the show day-to-day.” Google engineering VP John Giannandrea will take Singhal’s place , Re/Code noted, adding that Giannandrea leads Google’s sprawling research and artificial intelligence efforts, and that Google is now merging the research efforts with search, indicating the priority of machine learning at Alphabet. Oh what a journey! Fifteen amazing years at @google . Time for me to take the next turn. https://t.co/TjZhFG1bm6 — Amit Singhal (@theamitsinghal) February 3, 2016 Apple, Alphabet On Their ‘A’ Game? Apple, which gets an IBD Composite Rating of 68 out of a possible 99, was in the lead at the end of Monday’s regular trading as the largest stock of all. Then Alphabet climbed to a $555 billion market cap in extended trading after the close Monday, as investors cheered its Q4 report, vs. Apple at a $533 billion market value. Companies that have held the largest-stock spot in the past include General Electric ( GE ), General Motors ( GM ) and IBM ( IBM ). Alphabet, which gets a best-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99, is down about 3% so far this year, owing to Wednesday’s reversal. YouTube video, mobile search and programmatic ads helped drive Alphabet revenue up 18% from a year earlier to $21.32 billion in its Q4 report, where analysts expected $20.76 billion. Earnings ex items lifted 26% to $8.67 a share, rocketing past the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $8.09. Image provided by Shutterstock .