Category Archives: apple

Google Has Plenty Of Cash, Even If It Loses Android Battle To Oracle

The Oracle ( ORCL ) vs. Google copyright battle over the Android mobile operating system is slated to resume with a second trial on Monday. Oracle is seeking $8.8 billion in damages. But even if Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google loses, it has deep pockets. Google reported $75.3 billion in cash , cash equivalents and marketable securities in its Q1 earnings release. Oracle claims Google violated its copyright on parts of the Java programming language when it created the Android OS, now used in mobile phones worldwide. Android’s chief competition is Apple’s iOS software, used in iPhones and other Apple devices. Unlike Apple ( AAPL ), Google has made Android open source and widely available to mobile phone makers, such as Samsung. Google says it should be able to use Java without paying a fee under the fair-use provision of copyright law. Oracle acquired Java when it purchased Java developer Sun Microsystems in 2010. The case previously went to trial in 2012, but a jury deadlocked. In the new trial, U.S. District Judge William Alsup has set time limits and has ruled on what evidence will be introduced . Oracle is also seeking an injunction against Google’s future use of Java in Android, which would give Oracle more leverage to negotiate an ongoing royalty, according to a Reuters report .

Drone Delay Bad Karma For GoPro; Stock Skids On Q1 Report

Action-camera maker GoPro ( GPRO ) took an ugly spill on Friday, a day after it reported mixed Q1 earnings results and postponed the launch of its flying-camera drone. GoPro shares tumbled more than 7%, below 10, in morning trading on the stock market today . GoPro stock started the year near 18. Investors have dumped GoPro shares in recent months on concerns that the company is a one-hit wonder that has largely saturated the market for its wearable cameras. In the March quarter, San Mateo, Calif.-based GoPro lost 63 cents a share, compared with earnings per share of 24 cents in the year-earlier period. Sales fell 49%, $183.5 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected GoPro to lose 60 cents a share on sales of $169.1 million. GoPro pushed back the launch of its Karma drone by about six months to the holiday season from the end of Q2. GoPro needs Karma to be a hit, Dougherty analyst Charles Anderson said in a research report Friday. “It is incumbent upon GoPro to release a great drone, not merely a good one, considering how strong the competition is,” Anderson said. “So if they need more time to work on it, we endorse the idea.” Anderson rates GoPro stock as neutral. “Until investors can judge the commercial appeal of Karma and the forthcoming Hero 5 camera, we don’t see any upside or downside catalysts for the stock,” he said. GoPro is preparing to launch a consumer drone at a time when current vendors, such as DJI, Parrot and 3DR, are cutting prices, Piper Jaffray analyst Erinn Murphy said in a report Friday. She rates GoPro stock as underweight. “Pricing has slipped from the $700-$900 range to the $400-$600 range, and we are continuing to see promotional activity accelerate in the space,” Murphy said. “GoPro will be releasing its drone at a time where the consumer has not only seen growing options of drones, but following what amounted to be an increasing promotional environment for the category since last holiday.” GoPro Promises Drone With ‘Revolutionary Features’ On the company’s earnings conference call with analysts late Thursday, GoPro CEO Nick Woodman said Karma will have “revolutionary features” not found on other drones currently on the market. “Karma includes revolutionary features that differentiate it from other drones — features that make it much more than a drone and deliver the versatility, value and performance that consumers expect from GoPro,” Woodman said. “To give ourselves more time to fine-tune these features, we have made the difficult decision to push Karma’s launch to the holidays.” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter remained positive on GoPro’s longer-term prospects. He reiterated his outperform rating on GoPro stock, with a 12-month price target of 13. “After a series of high-profile missteps, including the disastrous Hero 4 Session launch, the lack of new Hero cameras at year-end, and a negative pre-announcement in January, 2016 presents an inflection point for GoPro stock,” Pachter said. “Given its history of innovation, we are willing to give GoPro the benefit of the doubt for the time being, and see upside if the Karma drone and the Hero 5 are well-received. “However, the delay of the Karma launch suggests delayed gratification for investors, and we do not expect investors to return to GoPro stock until there is greater visibility into the company’s product launches.” GoPro maintained its full-year revenue guidance, but might be too optimistic, Pachter said. “In order to hit the high end of its guidance, GoPro would have to have wild success with its next motion-capture devices, and the Q4 Karma launch would have to drive all-time record quarterly sales,” Pachter said. “While we think that these outcomes are possible, we are reluctant to remain Pollyannaish about GoPro’s prospects.” GoPro expects full-year sales of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion, or $1.43 billion at the midpoint. Wall Street had been modeling full-year sales at $1.37 billion. In 2015, GoPro posted sales of $1.62 billion. Shares of Ambarella ( AMBA ), which makes image processing chips for GoPro cameras, were flat, near 38, in morning trading Friday. RELATED: GoPro Adds Developer Program After Snatching Apple Designer

Best And Worst Q2’16: Energy ETFs, Mutual Funds And Key Holdings

The Energy sector ranks last out of the ten sectors as detailed in our Q2’16 Sector Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. Last quarter , the Energy sector ranked ninth. It gets our Very Dangerous rating, which is based on aggregation of ratings of 22 ETFs and 100 mutual funds in the Energy sector. See a recap of our Q1’16 Sector Ratings here . Figures 1 and 2 show the five best and worst rated ETFs and mutual funds in the sector. Not all Energy sector ETFs and mutual funds are created the same. The number of holdings varies widely (from 25 to 144). This variation creates drastically different investment implications and, therefore, ratings. Investors should not buy any Energy ETFs or mutual funds because none get an Attractive-or-better rating. If you must have exposure to this sector, you should buy a basket of Attractive-or-better rated stocks and avoid paying undeserved fund fees. Active management has a long history of not paying off. Figure 1: ETFs with the Best & Worst Ratings – Top 5 Click to enlarge * Best ETFs exclude ETFs with TNAs less than $100 million for inadequate liquidity. Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Four ETFs are excluded from Figure 1 because their total net assets are below $100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums. Figure 2: Mutual Funds with the Best & Worst Ratings – Top 5 Click to enlarge * Best mutual funds exclude funds with TNAs less than $100 million for inadequate liquidity. Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Rydex Series Energy Service Portfolio (MUTF: RYVIX ) is excluded from Figure 2 because its total net assets are below $100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums. Market Vectors Oil Services ETF (NYSEARCA: OIH ) is the top-rated Energy ETF and MainStay Cushing Renaissance Advantage Fund (MUTF: CRZZX ) is the top-rated Energy mutual fund. Both earn a Neutral rating. iShares US Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSEARCA: IEO ) is the worst rated Energy ETF and Saratoga Advantage Energy and Basic Materials Portfolio (MUTF: SBMBX ) is the worst rated Energy mutual fund. Both earn a Very Dangerous rating. 178 stocks of the 3000+ we cover are classified as Energy stocks. LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE: LYB ) is one of our favorite stocks held by CRZZX and earns a Very Attractive rating. Over the past five years, LYB has grown after-tax profit ( NOPAT ) by 10% compounded annually. Over the same time period, Lyondell’s return on invested capital ( ROIC ) has improved from 17% to a top-quintile 22%. Additionally, over the past four years, LYB has generated a cumulative $14.8 billion in free cash flow . Despite the strength of the business, LYB is undervalued. At its current price of $88/share, LYB has a price-to-economic book value ( PEBV ) ratio of 0.8. This ratio means that the market expects LYB’s NOPAT to permanently decline by 20% from current levels. If LYB can grow NOPAT by just 4% compounded annually for the next decade , the stock is worth $139/share today – a 58% upside. Hess Corporation (NYSE: HES ) is one of our least favorite stocks held by IEO and earns a Dangerous rating. Contrary to GAAP net income, which has fluctuated wildly over the past decade, Hess’ NOPAT has only worsened by declining from $1.7 billion in 2005 to -$859 million in 2015. Over the same time period, Hess’ ROIC has fallen from 11% to -2%. In a large disconnect from reality, HES has risen over 50% over the past three months, which has made shares more overvalued. In order to justify its current price of $57/share, Hess must immediately achieve positive pre-tax margins (from -22% in 2015) and grow revenue by 20% compounded annually for the next 20 years . In this scenario, 20 years from now Hess would be generating $254 billion in revenue, which would nearly equal oil giant Exxon’s 2015 revenue. The expectations already embedded in HES are unrealistically high. Figures 3 and 4 show the rating landscape of all Energy ETFs and mutual funds. Figure 3: Separating the Best ETFs From the Worst ETFs Click to enlarge Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Figure 4: Separating the Best Mutual Funds From the Worst Mutual Funds Click to enlarge Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings D isclosure: David Trainer and Kyle Guske II receive no compensation to write about any specific stock, sector or theme. Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.