Author Archives: Scalper1

Yahoo News Sites Attract British Tabloid Daily Mail: Report

Yahoo ( YHOO ) stock rose Monday as British tabloid newspaper Daily Mail reportedly confirmed its interest in the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web portal, attracted to its news and media properties. The Daily Mail said that it is in preliminary talks with other investors to launch a bid for Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, confirming a previous WSJ report out Sunday. Buying Yahoo’s media operations could help the Daily Mail establish a stronger presence in the U.S., where it launched a website in 2012, the WSJ said. “Given the success of DailyMail.com and Elite Daily, we have been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders,” the WSJ said it was told by a spokesperson for DailyMail.com. Discussions are said to be at a very early stage. A bid by the Daily Mail could occur through a private equity partner acquiring all of Yahoo’s U.S. operation, according to the WSJ. After that, the Daily Mail would take over Yahoo’s news and media units, which include Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports and Yahoo News, the report said. It’s also possible a private equity firm would acquire Yahoo and merge its media and news properties into a new company that would include the Daily Mail’s online properties, the report said. The Daily Mail has spoken with six private equity firms in regards to a bid, including General Atlantic, the WSJ said, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter. The Daily Mail & General Trust PLC is just one of an estimated 40 groups that have expressed interest in buying Yahoo. Yahoo sent a letter to possible buyers last month, asking them to submit bids. Some buyers might be interested in all or part of Yahoo’s core Web business, while others might want Yahoo’s stakes in China e-commerce giant Alibaba Group ( BABA ) or Yahoo Japan. Yahoo pushed back the deadline for bids to April 18 from April 11, according to media reports. Verizon Communications ( VZ ) is said to be planning to bid for Yahoo’s Web business and its holdings in Yahoo Japan, according to Bloomberg. Google, the main division of Alphabet ( GOOGL ), reportedly is considering a bid for Yahoo’s core business. Time ( TIME ); Japan’s SoftBank ( SFTBY ), the majority owner of Yahoo Japan; and several private equity firms also are kicking the tires, reports Bloomberg. Yahoo has also held meetings with IAC/InterActiveCorp. ( IAC ) and CBS Corp. ( CBS ), the WSJ said. One-time potential suitors including AT&T ( T ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ) have decided against bidding, Bloomberg reported. Microsoft ( MSFT ), which failed with a hostile bid for Yahoo in 2008, also won’t bid, according to Bloomberg. Re/Code said last week that documents Yahoo provided to potential bidders predict the Web portal’s 2016 revenue will drop by close to 15% and its earnings by more than 20%. Yahoo has recently implemented layoffs and begun the process of selling itself and spinning off its hefty stake in Alibaba, and it is also in the midst of a proxy fight seeking to oust its entire board. Yahoo stock was up more than 1% in midday trading in the stock market today , near 36.50. Yahoo stock touched an eight-month high of 37.50 last week.

Apple Deflates iPad Pro, Taps Broadcom, NXP To Lead Smaller Device

Apple ( AAPL ) deflated its iPad Pro but didn’t skimp on the 9.7-inch machine’s specs, according to an iFixit teardown that found NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) and Broadcom ( AVGO ) among the device’s winners. But the second-generation iPad Pro , which Apple unveiled last month, only scored a 2 out of a best-possible 10 in repairability. Meanwhile, LG’s flagship G5 scored an 8, featuring hardware from Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) and Samsung. How healthy is Apple and its key chipmakers? Find out at IBD Stock Checkup Apple “went back to the drawing board” in its smaller iPad Pro. NXP topped the chip count, providing three for the machine: the Touch ID second, a controller and a charging component. Two Broadcom chips returned from the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and InvenSense ( INVN ) and Maxim Integrated Products ( MXIM ) both provided a chip apiece. Apple’s A9 processor also made a repeat appearance. Samsung and SK Hynix provided RAM and flash memory chips, respectively. But iFixit was especially enamored by the LG G5, which separates itself from other flagship phones by offering an easily removed — and therefore replaced — battery. LG unveiled the device in February. Qualcomm topped the G5 with six chips, including the processor and two power management chips. The chipmaker also supplied charging, audio codec and LTE transceiver chips. Broadcom and Skyworks Solutions each provided two chips, leading NXP, which supplied a controller. LG tapped Samsung for both RAM and flash memory. In midday trading on the stock market today , shares of Qualcomm and NXP were up nearly 1% and more than 1%, respectively. Shares of Maxim and Broadcom were up a fraction, while Skyworks stock was down a fraction.

Apple Investors Should Brace For Two Rough Quarterly Reports

With current iPhone sales looking soft, Apple ( AAPL ) is likely to face two rough quarterly financial reports before the launch of the iPhone 7 this fall, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves said Sunday. “We continue to view the medium-term risk/reward on AAPL positively,” Hargreaves said in a research report. “However, we believe soft near-term iPhone demand should drive fiscal Q2 results at the low end of guidance and prompt fiscal Q3 guidance below consensus estimates, which is likely to prevent further near-term stock appreciation.” Hargreaves reiterated his overweight rating on Apple stock, with a price target of 127. Apple stock was up 1%, near 110, in midday trading on the stock market today . Hargreaves forecasts Apple sold 47.5 million iPhones in the March quarter, which is below the consensus estimate on Wall Street of 50 million units. “Supply and demand checks continue to suggest mediocre iPhone unit volume,” he said. Because of the lower fiscal Q2 iPhone sales volume, Hargreaves expects Apple will report earnings per share of $1.88 on sales of $50 billion, which is below Wall Street’s consensus estimates of $2 in EPS and $52.2 billion in sales. Also, Wall Street’s June-quarter estimates “appear slightly high,” he said. For the company’s fiscal Q3, Hargreaves expects Apple to sell 41.8 million iPhones, below the consensus estimate of 44 million. Sales of the current iPhone 6S series handsets have disappointed, but potential consumer upgrades with the iPhone 7 should keep Apple shares from falling too much, he said.