Tag Archives: apple

Apple Going Small With Spring Product Announcements

Apple ( AAPL ) is thinking small with its upcoming products, including a new, small-screen iPhone and smaller-screen iPad Pro, according to media reports. The Cupertino, Calif.-based consumer electronics giant hasn’t announced a date for its spring product rollout, but several news outlets now say that Apple has chosen March 21 for that media event. Apple is widely expected to unveil a 4-inch smartphone called the iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro tablet, Mashable reported Sunday . KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the iPhone SE will look like the iPhone 5S, released in September 2013, but will have internal components much like the iPhone 6S, released last September, MacRumors reported Friday . The iPhone SE will sport an A9 chip, NFC technology to enable Apple Pay and a 12-megapixel, rear-facing camera, Kuo said. The 4-inch handset likely will come in one version with storage capability of 16 gigabytes and another with 64 GB. But it won’t have a pressure-sensitive 3D touch screen like the latest iPhones, he said. Kuo says that the iPhone SE will sell for $400 to $500 and that Apple will slash the price of the iPhone 5S by 50%. The 16 GB model iPhone 5S will sell for $225, down from $450 today. By comparison, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6S starts at $649. Apple will target the handsets to emerging markets such as China and India. Apple is also expected to unveil a 9.7-inch iPad Pro tablet at the March event, 9to5Mac reported last week . The current iPad Pro has a 12.9-inch display. The smaller iPad Pro will have the same internal components as its big brother. It will support accessories like the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. At the March event, Apple also is seen offering new Apple Watch wristbands and perhaps a software update, but no second-generation hardware.  

Amazon Seen Prepping Cable-TV-Like Web Service, Live Content

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) is moving closer to launching a live TV streaming service to complement its Prime video service, which offers movies and on-demand content, analysts speculate in the wake of media companies’ earnings calls. In the pay-TV industry, “virtual MVPD” (multi-channel video programming distributor) is a term for a cable-TV-like service delivered via the Internet. “Amazon appears most likely to launch a virtual MVPD in 2016,” Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves said in a research report. “Amazon was hinted at multiple times throughout the quarter as being in negotiations with content providers in the hopes of launching a video product in the future.” AMC Networks ( AMCX ) referred to ongoing “experimentation” at Amazon on its Q4 earnings call on Feb. 25. Walt Disney ( DIS ), meanwhile, mentioned Amazon while discussing ESPN’s streaming strategy on Feb. 17. Satellite TV broadcaster Dish Network ( DISH ) has more than 500,000 subscribers to its “Sling” Web TV service, launched in early 2015, analysts estimate. However, Sling does not offer live content from the four major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC). Bloomberg reported in October that Amazon was in talks with Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) NBCUniversal, CBS ( CBS ) and others. Amazon’s challenge would be aggregating content licensed from major programming networks. Apple ( AAPL ) reportedly has, for now, broken off talks with the broadcast networks for a Web TV service. If Amazon’s offers live content, it would set itself apart from Netflix ( NFLX ) and Hulu, both of which do not. Amazon, like Netflix, has already moved into producing original content. One Amazon strategy could be licensing content for current seasons of popular programming now available mainly from pay-TV companies. Federal regulators are probing the influence of cable TV companies over content deals, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. In a report in mid-February, Jefferies noted that Amazon’s Prime video service offers the most content from CBS, including “Vegas.” Its on-demand shows, though, are from prior broadcast seasons. “Relative to Netflix and Hulu, Amazon Prime carries significantly less network programming,” said the Jefferies report. “Overall, the platform only carries nine fall shows aired between 2012 and 2015, six of which aired on CBS.” Amazon in 2015  licensed season-one episodes from NBCUniversal’s hit, “Mr. Robot,” which airs on the USA Network. Amazon also signed content deals with AMC Networks and Time Warner ( TWX ) for six seasons of HBO’s “Sex and the City.”

Best And Worst Q1’16: All Cap Value ETFs, Mutual Funds And Key Holdings

The All Cap Value style ranks fourth out of the twelve fund styles as detailed in our Q1’16 Style Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. Last quarter , the All Cap Value style ranked fourth as well. It gets our Neutral rating, which is based on aggregation of ratings of 11 ETFs and 272 mutual funds in the All Cap Value style. See a recap of our Q4’15 Style Ratings here. Figure 1 ranks from best to worst the seven all-cap value ETFs that meet our liquidity standards and Figure 2 shows the five best and worst-rated all-cap value mutual funds. Not all All Cap Value style ETFs and mutual funds are created the same. The number of holdings varies widely (from 20 to 2025). This variation creates drastically different investment implications and, therefore, ratings. Investors seeking exposure to the All Cap Value style should buy one of the Attractive-or-better rated ETFs or mutual funds from Figures 1 and 2. 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 Five 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 The Northern Lights Fund Trust II Al Frank Fund ( VALAX , VALUX ) is excluded from Figure 2 because its total net assets are below $100 million and do not meet our liquidity minimums. The PowerShares FTSE RAFI US 1000 Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PRF ) is the top-rated All Cap Value ETF and the Transamerica Partners Institutional Large Value Fund (MUTF: DIVIX ) is the top-rated All Cap Value mutual fund. PRF earns an Attractive rating and DIVIX earns a Very Attractive rating. The First Trust Value Line Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA: FVD ) is the worst-rated All Cap Value ETF and the Copley Fund (MUTF: COPLX ) is the worst-rated All Cap Value mutual fund. FVD earns a Neutral rating and COPLX earns a Very Dangerous rating. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC ) is one of our favorite stocks held by PRF and earns an Attractive rating. Wells Fargo was also featured as a long idea in November2015. Wells Fargo’s ability to grow after-tax profits ( NOPAT ) has been extremely impressive. Over the past decade, the company has grown NOPAT by 12% compounded annually. Over this same time, Wells Fargo has consistently earned a double-digit return on invested capital ( ROIC ) and over the trailing-twelve-months, earns an 11% ROIC. Despite the impressive business strength, the company remains undervalued. At its current price of $48/share, Wells Fargo has a price-to-economic book value ( PEBV ) ratio of 0.9. This ratio means that the market expects the company’s NOPAT to permanently decline by 10% from current levels. If Wells Fargo can grow NOPAT by just 5% compounded annually for the next decade , the stock is worth $67/share today – a 40% upside. Orbcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: ORBC ) is one of our least favorite stocks held by FRAVX and earns a Dangerous rating. Over the past five years, Orbcomm’s NOPAT has declined by 20% compounded annually. In fact, the business has never generated positive economic earnings in any year since going public in 2006. Orbcomm currently earns a bottom-quintile ROIC of 1%. In spite of the poor fundamentals, ORBC is up nearly 20% in the last year and is now significantly overvalued. To justify its current price of $7/share, Orbcomm must grow NOPAT by 34% compounded annually for the next 14 years. Figures 3 and 4 show the rating landscape of all All Cap Value ETFs and mutual funds. Figure 3: Separating the Best ETFs From the Worst Funds Click to enlarge Sources: New Constructs, LLC and company filings Figure 4: Separating the Best Mutual Funds From the Worst 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, style, 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.