Author Archives: Scalper1

Cablevision-Altice, Charter-TWC Mergers Seen Advancing

Cablevision Systems ( CVC ) stock jumped Friday on a report that New York City will not block its acquisition by Europe’s Altice Group. In New York, Altice would compete against  Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and its FiOS services. Verizon said earlier this week it plans to expand FiOS services to Boston. Cablevision stock was up more than 2%, near 33.70, in morning trading in the stock market today , breaking out of a flat base at 33.45 buy point. Altice had been under scrutiny because of its debt. New York City, however, determined that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave away its authority in cable mergers to the state, the New York Post said in a report. Meanwhile, Charter Communications ( CHTR ) is awaiting the Federal Communications Commission’s approval for its acquisition of Time Warner Cable ( TWC ). An administrative law judge in California on Tuesday recommended that the Charter-TWC deal be approved with conditions, clearing a hurdle. The FCC thwarted Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) proposed purchase of TWC in early 2015. If both the Charter-TWC and Altice-Cablevision deals go through, cable TV firms are likely to explore asset swaps of cable systems in different markets, a Barclays analyst has speculated. Comcast could be involved, says Barclays. Charter also plans to buy privately held Bright House Networks. Altice in May acquired a 70% stake in Midwest-based Suddenlink Communications. Altice agreed to pay about $10 billion, or $34.90 per share, for Cablevision, including $3 billion in cash.

HP Acquisition Of 3D Systems ‘Unlikely’; Citi Downgrades DDD

It’s “highly unlikely” HP Inc. ( HPQ ) will acquire 3D Systems, says Citigroup, which downgraded both 3D Systems ( DDD ) and its rival Stratasys ( SSYS ) on valuation after their stocks jumped on Thursday. HP plans to enter the 3D printer market this year. 3D System stock was down 4% in early trading in the stock market today , after rising 10% on Thursday. Stratasys stock was down 8.5%, negating a 5.9% rise on Thursday. Another 3D printer maker, ExOne ( XONE ), was down more than 3% early Friday. Citigroup analyst Kenneth Wong downgraded 3D Systems to sell and downgraded Stratasys to neutral. “(3D System) shares have nearly tripled since troughing mid-February and have doubled year-to-date, despite (3D printer) market conditions that remain unsettled. We believe the upside scenarios from operational efficiencies upside to take-out potential are overstated,” said Wong in a research note. 3D Systems on April 4 named Vyomesh Joshi as its CEO. Joshi had been executive vice president of the imaging and printing business of HP, formerly Hewlett-Packard before its split last year. “We expect Joshi to bring a fresh set of eyes to DDD’s strategic growth and profit initiatives,” Wong said. “Investors believe Joshi’s HP roots enhance the possibility of an HP acquisition of DDD. While we see how bullish investors might connect the dots here, (we) believe that an acquisition by HP is highly unlikely.” Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded 3D Systems on Thursday to buy on views that Joshi will spark a rebound at the company. Stratasys’ stock run-up also raises valuation issues, said the Citigroup analyst. “We don’t believe ‘good enough results’ will be sufficient with the recent boost in sentiment, and with industry checks still soft, we believe near-term upside is limited,” said Wong. “Our conversations with those in the industry suggest unit volumes have held, but there has been a downshift in buying towards smaller lower priced systems. “Contrary to investor expectations, we still believe that under ‘normal’ operating conditions, SSYS can generate double digit margins.”