Author Archives: Scalper1

Fitbit Beats Q1 Targets, But Disappoints On Q2 EPS Outlook

Fitbit ( FIT ) late Wednesday smashed Wall Street’s targets for the first quarter, but delivered mixed guidance for the current quarter that disappointed investors. Fitbit stock plunged as much as nearly 12% in after-hours trading following the earnings news release. In Wednesday’s regular session, Fitbit stock dipped a fraction, to 17.10. Fitbit made its IPO last June, pricing shares at 20. The maker of wearable fitness devices earned 10 cents a share excluding items on sales of $505.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected 3 cents and $444.3 million. On a year-over-year basis, Q1 sales rose 50%. But that’s down from 92% growth in Q4, 168% in Q3 and 253% in Q2. Q1 earnings per share dropped 63% from 27 cents in the year-earlier period. For the current quarter, Fitbit is projecting earnings per share of 8 to 11 cents excluding items on sales of $565 million to $585 million, or $575 million at the midpoint. Wall Street had been modeling for Fitbit to earn 26 cents a share, up 24%, on sales of $531.3 million, up 33%. For the year, Fitbit expects non-GAAP EPS of $1.12 to $1.24 on sales of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion. Analysts on average were looking for 2016 EPS of $1.13 on sales of $2.46 billion. Fitbit competes in the health-and-fitness wearables market with Apple ( AAPL ), Garmin ( GRMN ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Under Armour ( UA ) and others. Last week, Fitbit announced a distribution deal Chinese e-commerce website Tmall.com , a unit of Alibaba Group ( BABA ), that could bolster its prospects in China.

Qorvo Sidesteps Apple iPhone Drag To Crush Fiscal Q4 Views

Qorvo ( QRVO ) sidestepped Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) iPhone drag late Wednesday with a Wall Street-crushing fiscal Q4 earnings report, and with guidance that — unlike rival Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) — topped consensus expectations. In after-hours trading, Qorvo stock rocketed more than 8% after closing down 1.2% in Wednesday’s regular session, and leading shares of radio-frequency rivals Skyworks and Broadcom ( AVGO ), whose stocks both rose a fraction. For its fiscal Q4 ended April 2, Qorvo reported $608.1 million in sales and $1.04 earnings per share minus items, down a respective 4% and 6% vs. the year-earlier quarter, but topping analysts’ model for $599.2 million and 92 cents. Three months ago, Qorvo guided to $600 million and 90-95 cents. Qorvo ended fiscal 2016 with $2.61 billion in sales, up 53%, and $4.38 EPS ex items, down 8%. Sales edged the consensus of 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $2.6 billion, but EPS topped by 12 cents. Current-quarter guidance for $650 million in sales and $1.05 EPS minus items would be down 6% and 12% year over year, but that’s ahead of analyst expectations for $628.6 million and 96 cents. Last week, Skyworks reported fiscal Q2 metrics that topped views, but shares crashed 6.9% on Q3 sales guidance that missed by about $50 million. Analysts called for a similar report from Qorvo, which is more heavily exposed to Apple’s iPhone product cycle. Apple iPhone sales have slowed — for the first time — ahead of the iPhone 7 release expected in September. But all three RF suppliers will ramp up on the iPhone 7, Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari says.

In The Only Top-30 Retail Industry, A Lone Stock Bases

Five of the six lowest-ranked industries among IBD’s 197 industry groups are retail groups. By contrast, only one retail industry group appears in the top 30. That group, specialty retailers, ranked No. 9 on Wednesday, having climbed from No. 120 over the past eight weeks. Not all of the group’s 13 stocks contributed to that climb. GNC Holdings ( GNC ) and salon chain Regis ( RGS ) posted heavy losses in the past two weeks after those companies reported their quarterly results. Others, including Vitamin Shoppe ( VSI ) and Party City Holdings ( PRTY ), posted gradual declines. The big gains, which were mainly responsible for the group’s sharp advance, were shared among three stocks. Beauty supply and salon chain Ulta Beauty ( ULTA ) rose in nine of the past 10 weeks. The run up has been measured, following a 17% spike on March 11 following its fourth-quarter report. Shares are now well extended past a 188.58 buy point. The company reports Q1 results on May 26. Ritchie Bros. ( RBA ) is a heavy equipment auctioneer based in Canada’s British Columbia province. It has run up 37% from a January low as it builds the right side of a pattern. It is forming a handle with a potential buy point at 29.35.  The base looks deep, but declined only 31% — well within acceptable bounds. Ritchie Bros. is one of the few stocks in the group near a buy point, but the company’s fundamentals are not of leadership caliber. The EPS Rating is a poor 53, and the SMR Rating is only a B. Ritchie announces its fiscal fourth-quarter results on Monday. Craft and hobby haven Michaels ( MIK ) is a fraction above a 28.89 buy point in a cup-with-handle base. The handle, however, was flawed because it had a wedging form. Also, volume was unimpressive when the stock cleared the buy point. A new handle is developing now and has a much better form. The new buy point is 29.66. Again, the 13-month base looks imposing, but is an acceptable 35% deep. Also worth noting: It is the stock’s first base since clearing a flat base in October 2014, immediately following its IPO. Michaels has not yet announced a Q1 reporting date. Sally Beauty ( SBH ), also a beauty supplies chain, advanced in November through March. Then it slipped into a flat consolidation. At the end of Wednesday, that consolidation on a daily chart counts out to five weeks: 25 trading sessions. That qualifies the pattern as a flat base, with a 33.03 buy point. That is important because the Denton, Tex.-based company is set to report earnings before the start of trade on Thursday. Expectations are modest, with analyst consensus projecting a 5% EPS gain and a 3% gain in sales. Shares popped 13% on Feb. 4, after reporting an earnings and revenue beat in its fiscal first quarter.