Tag Archives: aapl

Marvell Catches Activist Starboard Investment; Upgraded To Buy

Beleaguered Marvell Technology Group ( MRVL ) stock pocketed a major upgrade Monday on activist investor Starboard Value’s nearly 7% stake in the Bermuda-based chipmaker. Marvell stock flew almost 7% on Feb. 3, the day Starboard’s investment was announced. Starboard has built its investment since December, B. Riley analyst Craig Ellis wrote in a research report. Ellis upgraded Marvell stock to buy from a sell rating. Yet, in the stock market today , shares were down 1.5%, trading near 8.80. Starboard’s 6.7% stake in Marvell “casts significant doubt on our ‘sell’ rating which was predicated on financial inquiry completion risks and post-review financial execution concerns,” Ellis wrote. In October, Marvell revealed an accounting error may have shifted 7%-8% of sales to Q2, rather than Q3. Marvell’s PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor resigned amid the probe. The resulting internal investigation questioned senior management’s operating style. The SEC and U.S. Attorney’s Office joined the investigation in December. Marvell noted it’s “common for governmental agencies to open investigations in these circumstances.” Starboard’s investment isn’t a panacea, but could come with several Marvell board seats, “a tier-1 auditor and marque CFO,” Ellis wrote. Starboard also was an investor in TriQuint before it became Apple ( AAPL ) supplier  Qorvo ( QRVO ) and Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ). “We believe (Starboard) knows semiconductors well, with a record of agitating for increased shareholder interest,” he wrote. Starboard consultants include Tessera Technologies ( TSRA ) Chairman Rick Hill, Viavi Solutions ( VIAV ) CEO Oleg Khaykin and former Integrated Devices interim CEO Jeff McCreary. It’s also possible Starboard could help Marvell wrangle R&D capabilities, Ellis wrote. “Past checks show undisciplined and at times ineffectual field sales and engineering,” he wrote. At least two analysts rate Marvell stock a sell, and 21 others rate the stock as a hold. Ellis is among at least five analysts to rate Marvell stock a buy. Ellis boosted his price target on Marvell stock to 12 from 7.  

Apple Chipmakers Skyworks, NXP, Avago Plunge On Qorvo Sales Outlook

Qorvo ( QRVO ) drew fellow  Apple ( AAPL ) suppliers Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ), NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ), Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ) and Avago Technologies ( AVGO ) into a hole Friday, after the company late Thursday guided current-quarter sales below Wall Street’s consensus by $20 million. IBD’s 41-company Electronic-Semiconductor Manufacturing industry group fell by as much as 3.7% Friday and was down more than 2% in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Qorvo was down nearly 4%. Avago and Cirrus Logic stocks were down 5.5% and 4%, respectively. Shares of Skyworks and NXP were both down about 6% Friday afternoon. Apple stock was down nearly 2.5%. For its fiscal Q3 ended Jan. 2, Qorvo reported $620.7 million in sales and $1.03 earnings per share ex items, down 16% and 20%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier quarter. Both measures topped the consensus of 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $620.34 million and 94 cents. Qorvo also topped its Jan. 7 sales pre-announcement of $620 million, but missed its earlier, unchanged guide for $1.25-$1.30 EPS ex items. For the current quarter, Qorvo guided to $600 million in sales minus items and 90-95 cents EPS ex items. The consensus saw $620.1 million and 92 cents. At least four analysts cut their price targets Friday on Qorvo stock. Citigroup downgraded shares. DA Davidson analyst Thomas Diffely blamed Apple iPhone weakness as a “key contributor” to Qorvo’s 15% sequential decline in mobile sales. During Q3, Apple sales comprised 42% of Qorvo’s total revenue, he estimated in a research report. The March quarter will largely depend on Samsung’s Galaxy S7 ramp-up, MKM analyst Ian Ing wrote in a report. Qorvo is approaching the quarter cautiously. “We perceived an abundance of caution and potential volatility to both the current quarter as well as the calendar year,” he wrote. “That said, Qorvo feels ‘very good’ on designs for marquee phones with a September quarter, December quarter ramp.” Qorvo expects dollar-content growth in “the most highly-anticipated marquee smartphones this year at our three largest mobile customers,” CEO Robert Bruggeworth told investors on the company’s earnings conference call late Thursday. Infrastructure/defense sales grew sequentially, analyst Diffely noted. “We expect growth (in infrastructure and defense products) to continue for several more quarters buoyed by a combination of stable markets and a number of new product introductions,” he wrote. Ing and Diffely slashed their price targets on Qorvo stock to 65 from 66, and to 65 from 70, respectively. Both rate Qorvo stock a buy.

Comcast, Like Dish, Mashing Web TV And Pay TV Subscribers In Results

How is Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) $15-per-month Web-based TV service, called Stream, doing?   Comcast, the nation’s biggest cable TV firm, launched Stream in Boston and Chicago last quarter. Comcast’s Stream service targets broadband-only homes, mainly millennials who have never subscribed to pay TV services. No set-top box is required, and Stream works with Apple ( AAPL ) TV, Roku and other devices. With Stream, Comcast got the jump on Apple, which has been delayed in launching its expected Web TV service. Comcast included Stream subscribers in its surprising 89,000 net video subscriber additions in Q4. But Comcast did not break out how many Stream subscribers it has. “Stream is in the numbers, but I don’t think it moves the needle a lot,” UBS analyst John Hodulik told IBD in an email. Comcast has stated plans to bring Stream to its entire cable TV territory in 2016. Comcast’s Stream service includes the major live broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — along with HBO and local TV channels. Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit, on the company’s earnings conference call Wednesday, said “it’s probably too early to say what it (Stream) will be, what it will turn into over time. But we feel good about the usage and good about the product. It’s a good value proposition for the customer, and we’ll continue to roll it out to other markets.” Comcast May Face Net Neutrality ‘Issue’ The Federal Communications Commission is likely curious about how Stream is doing in hard numbers, given that the agency has been asking questions about the Web service related to its net neutrality rules. The problem, according to critics, is that Comcast does not count its own Stream service toward the monthly data caps of its broadband customers. Comcast says the Stream service is not a net neutrality issue because the service uses IP technology over its own network, not the public Internet, to reach households. A federal court is expected to rule on the FCC’s net neutrality rules in April. The agency’s clout could again be gutted — or not, which might lead to more enforcement of the new net neutrality rules. Comcast joins Dish Network ( DISH ) in mashing new Web streaming video subscribers along with traditional pay TV customers in earnings reports. In Dish’s case, new subscribers to its $20-per-month Sling Web TV service have helped offset its loss of satellite TV customers. Dish discussed Sling subscriber additions for the first time when reporting Q2 earnings in early August. Sling had 240,000 subscribers as of June 30. Dish Network did not update Sling’s subscriber total when reporting Q3 earnings. Goldman Sachs has forecast that Sling could hit 2 million by the end of 2016. For Comcast, Stream numbers might be more material by the time it reports Q1 earnings. Comcast’s 89,000 video subscriber additions in Q4 were way up from 6,000 in the year-earlier period. Aside from launching Stream, Comcast has also stepped up its promotion of lower-priced skinny bundles, with fewer TV channels and broadband-first promotions to college students. Analysts say its deployment of  Internet-ready X1 set-top boxes and improved customer service have improved video subscriber results. On Comcast’s earnings call, Smit played down the impact of  lower-revenue skinny bundles. He said 75% of video subscribers added in the December quarter had “higher-end packages.”