Tag Archives: apple

Forget Apple — Here Are 4 Tech Stocks Near Buy Points Pre-Earnings

More earnings reports from big-name companies are due out this week, and positive results could fuel their shares higher. A lot of attention will be on Apple ’s ( AAPL ) earnings late Tuesday, but its stock is in a downtrend. Let’s take a look at four tech stocks with earnings on tap that are trading in or near buy range: Facebook ( FB ), Amazon ( AMZN ), PayPal ( PYPL ) and Baidu ( BIDU ). Facebook reports after the close on Wednesday. Both earnings and revenue are projected to jump 48%. The social media leader is trading 6% below a cup-with-handle buy point at 117.09, and shares are looking to find support at the 50-day moving average again on the stock market today as they dip 0.8% intraday. PayPal also reports late Wednesday, with analysts expecting earnings growth of 20% on a revenue rise of 19%. PayPal is trading just below buy range from an alternate entry at 40.03, and the stock was off 1.3% Monday. It’s also trading 6% below its all-time high as it works on a larger consolidation pattern. Amazon reports after the close on Thursday. Revenue is expected to climb 23%, while the bottom line is projected to swing to a profit of 58 cents a share vs. a 12-cent loss last year. Amazon is still trading in buy range from a cup-with-handle base buy point of 603.34, which it initially broke out of two weeks ago. Shares are currently 11% below their high reached in late December, and they dipped 0.2% Monday. China Internet giant Baidu reports after the close on Thursday as well, with the bottom line projected to fall 10%. Baidu is trading 15% below its 52-week high. Shares have drifted back below a cup-with-handle buy point, but positive results could send shares back within buy range. Baidu was down 1.6% in intraday trade. Meanwhile, Apple is trading 22% below its all-time high reached a year ago and is nearing its downward-sloping 50-day line.

Feds Drop Second Big iPhone Encryption Case Against Apple

For the second time in recent weeks, the Department of Justice has dropped a legal bid to force Apple ( AAPL ) to unlock an iPhone in a criminal investigation. The DOJ said late Friday that it no longer needs Apple’s assistance to unlock an iPhone used by a New York drug dealer, because the phone’s owner provided the passcode. Just last week, Apple asked a U.S. district court judge to dismiss the case, saying the government had failed to demonstrate that it had exhausted all other options before demanding the company’s help, the Wall Street Journal reported . On March 28, the DOJ withdrew its demand that Apple help it hack an iPhone belonging to one of the shooters in the San Bernardino, Calif., massacre. The FBI reportedly paid an unidentified third party more than $1 million to unlock the iPhone. Apple has fought government attempts to get it to weaken its smartphone security, saying that would create vulnerabilities that could be exploited by criminals and hackers. The company says it is increasing security on its devices to protect users’ personal data, including financial and health information. The FBI and law enforcement officials are worried that criminals will use the built-in security on smartphones like the iPhone and software apps to “go dark.” They have found sympathetic members of Congress, including Sens. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Burr and Feinstein have proposed legislation called the “Compliance With Court Orders Act of 2016.” As drafted, the legislation would require any individual or company to comply with any U.S. court order and hand over data to authorities, including data that is encrypted. The bill has been roundly criticized by civil liberties and digital privacy groups.