Author Archives: Scalper1

If I Could Only Buy 1 Consumer-Goods Stock, I'd Buy This

Diversification gets a lot of lip service in the investing world. And while spreading your wealth across multiple asset classes and industries has been shown to guard against risk, one great stock can be the

Apple Suppliers Broadcom, Qualcomm Could Battle For Xilinx: Analyst

Apple ( AAPL ) suppliers Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM ) were pitted Tuesday in a theoretical battle to acquire Xilinx ( XLNX ) which, late Wednesday, is expected to report flat fiscal fourth-quarter sales along with down earnings. Xilinx stock was up 1.3% to 46.38 on the stock market today . It split the difference between gains by fellow takeover candidates Cavium ( CAVM ) and Marvell Technology Group ( MRVL ), up 3.4% and 0.75%, respectively. MKM analyst Ian Ing lists the trio among small- and medium-size fabless firms subject to acquisition as semiconductor companies scramble to serve the top 20 customers: Apple, Samsung, Cisco Systems ( CSCO ), Nokia ( NOK ), Ericsson ( ERIC ) and China’s Huawei, among others. “Customers prefer the fewest suppliers while preserving multi-sourcing choice,” Ing wrote in a research report. “Fabless companies can improve their operating models with more scale in manufacturing and operations.” Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) makers are proving attractive targets. In December, Intel ( INTC ) completed its acquisition of Altera, an FPGA-maker. For Broadcom, the technology would round out its networking and communications equipment needs. Qualcomm needs to diversify from its core mobile business which is threatened by chipsets and disagreements with licensees in China, Ing wrote. Ing expects Xilinx to tack on $3 earnings per share to 2017 run rates, “should a large acquirer apply scale benefits.” He rates Xilinx stock a neutral and has a 46 price target, noting it’s coming off a 2015 data center and communications trough. For Q4, which ended in December, Xilinx is expected to report flat sales of $566.2 million and adjusted earnings per share of 52 cents, down 10% year over year. For fiscal 2016, the consensus of 21 analysts models $2.2 billion and $2.03, down a respective 7% and 16.5%.

How Much Did iPhone Sales Fall In Apple’s March Quarter?

Apple ( AAPL ) investors are bracing for bad news in the company’s fiscal second-quarter report due out after the market close Tuesday. Apple executives have already signaled that iPhone unit sales will fall on a year-over-year basis for the first time ever in Q2. The big money questions are: How much will iPhone sales fall and how will the product fare ahead of the fall launch of the iPhone 7? Wall Street analysts on average expect Apple to report fiscal Q2 iPhone sales of about 50 million units. That compares with 61.17 million units in the same quarter last year. “Given that Apple is nearing the end of the iPhone 6-series cycle and facing difficult iPhone comparisons, we are modeling a year-over-year decline in sales, profits and iPhone units in Q2,” Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White said in a research note Monday. He remains positive on the stock because of the potential for upgrades around the iPhone 7 as well as an enhanced capital return program for shareholders expected to be announced Tuesday. White rates Apple stock a buy, with a price target of 200. Apple shares fell 0.7% to 104.35 on the stock market today , closing just above its 50-day moving average. White is modeling for Apple to sell 48.05 million iPhones in Q2, down 21%. He predicts that Apple will sell 39.05 million iPhones in fiscal Q3 and 42.05 million in fiscal Q4, down 18% and 12%, respectively. RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani on Sunday reiterated his outperform rating on Apple stock with a price target of 130. He predicts that Apple sold 48.3 million iPhones in the March quarter. Cowen analyst Timothy Arcuri on Sunday maintained his outperform rating on Apple stock with a price target of 135. Arcuri is modeling for Apple to sell 47 million iPhones in fiscal Q2. He is looking for Apple to sell 44.5 million units in Q3 and 50.5 million units in Q4, down 6% and up 5%, respectively. BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Long estimates that Apple sold 52 million iPhones in the March quarter, down 15%. For the June quarter, he sees 44 million iPhone sales, down 7%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect Apple to earn $2 a share on sales of $51.97 billion in the March quarter. On a year-over-year basis, earnings per share are forecast to fall 14% with sales down 10%. It would mark the company’s first quarterly decline in EPS in nearly three years and first drop in sales since 2003. For the current quarter, Wall Street is modeling Apple to earn $1.76 a share, down 5%, on sales of $47.32 billion, also down 5%. Image provided by Shutterstock . RELATED: Apple Q2 Earnings To Clash With New Cash Return Plan