Tag Archives: apple

Nvidia Conference: Virtual Reality, Smart Cars, Bartender Robots

Robot bartenders, a drone racetrack and liquid nitrogen-concocted food? Silicon Valley geeks know how to get down — and that’s just after-hours. Next week, graphics-chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA ) is slated to host its annual GPU Technology Conference at the San Jose McEnery Conference Center where virtual reality, artificial intelligence and self-driving cars will take center stage. In conjunction, Nvidia will hold its analyst day Tuesday, when CEO Jen-Hsun Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote talk. RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves expects Nvidia to offer an update on its Pascal GPU architecture, virtual-reality offerings and automotive efforts. Steves upped his price target to 36 from 32 on Nvidia stock, which he rates a sector perform. “Overall, we are positive on the VR opportunity and believe that growth rates will remain robust,” he wrote in a research report. Virtual reality is getting a big splash this year, and tech names Apple ( AAPL ), IBM ( IBM ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) are on deck to attend the GTC alongside myriad startups like BriSky, a maker of industrial drones, and Lucid, which makes 3D cameras. Under the GTC umbrella, BriSky, Lucid and 10 others will compete Wednesday for $100,000 during the Emerging Companies Summit. Another eight are slated to present their VR tech in an eight-minute elevator pitch for a chance at $15,000. There’s no denying the summit’s success, which helped launch VR headset-maker Oculus and video game-streaming service Gaikai into worldwide recognition. Facebook ( FB ) later acquired Oculus for $2 billion, and Sony ( SNE ) paid $380 million for Gaikai. Mellanox Technology ( MLNX ) and Xilinx ( XLNX ) will present during the OpenPower Summit, Tuesday through Friday. Moore’s Law physics make power a challenge within the industry. Data centers need faster chips, but those chips overheat quicker. Other splashy GTC events include keynotes from IBM Watson Chief Technology Officer Rob High and Toyota Research Institute (under Toyota Motors ( TM )) CEO Gill Pratt on Wednesday and Thursday. Separately, GTC will feature speakers from Nvidia, Twitter ( TWTR ), IBM, Baidu ( BIDU ), Google and Disney ’s ( DIS ) Pixar.

‘Record Breaking’ Model 3 Order Frenzy Sends Tesla To 6-Month High

Loading the player… Tesla Motors ( TLSA ) stock hit its highest level since October at the start of trade Friday, after its Model 3 reveal Thursday night proved to be a hit. The electric car maker has already received 180,000 orders for the $35,000 car in the first 24 hours, far more than Wall Street expected. That has prompted analysts to raise their order projections, with Global Equities Research seeing over 300,000 pre-orders through the first weekend. The analyst said that $10 billion worth of reservations would set a world record for pre-orders for a consumer tech company. The mass-market car has some of the same features as its luxury counterparts, including supercharging and autopilot. The Model 3 also comes with a 215-mile battery charge, and can go from zero to 60 in less than six seconds. And with customers lining up to make their reservations as if they were in line for the latest Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone, analysts expect this car to dominate its price category. Shares gapped up nearly 8% in heavy volume Friday morning to hit their highest level in six months, close to 250, before paring their gains to a 2.4% rise in the early afternoon. Tesla has been finding support at the 200-day line over the last few sessions, and the stock is now trading about 18% below its high reached last July. Tesla CEO Elon Musk indicated Thursday night that he expects Model 3 deliveries to begin on time, before the end of next year. That’s about a year after GM ’s ( GM ) Chevy Bolt is expected to enter production. But Global Equities Research said that the “Model 3 has been designed for the iPhone generation consumer,” and “there is no way BMW, Porsche, GM, Toyota ( TM ), Honda ( HMC ) or any other existing auto manufacturer can even come close to competing with Tesla Model 3.” But what if Apple decides to make its own car? Guess we’ll have to wait to find out. Apple rose fractionally Friday, while GM and Toyota lost nearly 3%, and Honda dropped about 4%, as most automakers reported weaker-than-expected March U.S. auto sales.

Yahoo Reportedly Plans To Amend Bylaws; Proxy Battle Looms

Yahoo ( YHOO ) is implementing “proxy access” — an increasingly used strategy making it easier for longtime shareholders to nominate a board member — as the company girds for what’s being called an epic proxy battle. Yahoo said that it had amended its bylaws to allow a stockholder or group of as many as 20 investors that hold at least 3% of its shares continuously for three years to nominate directors, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The move goes into effect after Yahoo’s 2016 annual meeting, which is expected in June or July. Activist hedge fund investor Starboard Value has nominated its full slate of directors under Yahoo’s existing bylaws. The newly announced proxy-access change wouldn’t have affected Starboard’s ability to replace the directors even if proxy access had been in place for the upcoming meeting, Patrick McGurn, special counsel for proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, told the WSJ. About 21% of S&P 500 companies have adopted proxy access, up from about 1% in 2014, according to ISS. Apple ( AAPL ) amended its company bylaws in December to make it easier for shareholders to make board nominations. General Electric ( GE ) and AT&T ( T ) are among other companies that have instituted proxy access, said the WSJ, with 117 U.S. companies embracing the change last year. At the annual meeting, Yahoo shareholders will vote on whether to replace all nine board members with a slate nominated by Starboard, which wants to see change. Starboard said last week that since Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and others in the company’s leadership “have repeatedly failed shareholders,” the hedge fund wants to sweep out all of the ailing Web company’s directors and replace them with its own slate. Yahoo advisors have contacted potential buyers, including Verizon Communications ( VZ ), IAC/InterActivecorp ( IAC ) and Time ( TIME ), as well as private-equity firms TPG and KKR ( KKR ). Yahoo stock rose a fraction Thursday but was down a fraction in midday trading in the stock market today , near 36.