Tag Archives: apple

LinkedIn, Tableau Specter Haunts Apple Chips, Security Stocks

Tech stock declines piled on Monday, snowballing after badly received quarterly reports last week from the likes of  LinkedIn ( LNKD ) and Tableau ( DATA ), whose stocks sheared off.  Apple ( AAPL ) supplier NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ), GoPro ( GPRO ) supplier Ambarella ( AMBA ) and cybersecurity bigwig Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) all were down Monday following a brutal last week, among other decliners. IBD’s 26-company Computer Software-Security industry group was collectively down 6.9% in afternoon trading. The 41-company Electronics-Semiconductor Fabless industry group was down 2.7%. Ahead of the closing bell on the stock market today , Palo Alto stock was down 9%. Shares of CyberArk Software ( CYBR ), FireEye ( FEYE ) and Proofpoint ( PFPT ) were down about 9%, 9.5% and 10%, respectively. Shares of NXP and Ambarella were down 9.5% and 6.4%, respectively.  Apple suppliers Avago Technologies ( AVGO ) and Skyworks Solutions ( SWKS ) both fell more than 5% while Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ) and Qorvo ( QRVO ) were each down about 2%. Only a handful of stocks escaped the high-tech sell-off — a continuation of a Friday deluge that saw LinkedIn stock lose nearly half its value on Wall Street after the professional networker announced a low 2016 forecast. Compounding the pressure, analysts see Big Data analytics software maker Tableau losing market share to Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ). Tableau, too, guided to current-quarter sales and earnings that missed the consensus expectation. Security vendors lost 7.4% and fabless chip makers closed down 4% on Friday. NXP Halves Apple Exposure NXP’s plunge looks incongruous after the Apple chip supplier’s Q4 beat last week, but comes on a day when techs are broadly down, and amid an acquisition. In the long run, picking up Freescale is making NXP an automotive powerhouse  — sales in that segment bounded 45% year over year to $422 million. The Freescale deal also halves NXP’s Apple iPhone exposure as the smartphone giant deals with floundering demand. Apple chip suppliers Cirrus Logic, Qorvo, Qualcomm ( QCOM ) and InvenSense ( INVN ) recently issued March-quarter views that lagged the consensus . At least six analysts this month have rated NXP stock a buy, including two on Monday. A Jefferies analyst boosted his price target on NXP stock to 112 from 107. Ambarella stock sank as GoPro stock rocketed 10% as of Monday afternoon on its partnership with Microsoft. GoPro and Microsoft will partner on a patent-licensing agreement for file storage and other system technologies. “This agreement with GoPro shows the incredible breadth of technology sharing enabled through patent transactions,” Microsoft’s technology licensing president, Nick Psyhogeos, said in a press release. Last week, GoPro stock wiped out after missing Wall Street’s Q4 earnings views and guiding well below consensus Q1 expectations. Shares closed down nearly 9% on Feb. 4. But chip maker Ambarella missed the scrum and pulled ahead 5.1% that day. At least seven analysts cut their price targets on GoPro stock following the Q4 report. But at least three reiterated a buy rating, and another boosted his price target. Ambarella tried distancing itself from GoPro during its December quarter, instead highlighting the company’s expansion into drones and home security.

Yelp Plunges After Out-Early Report Shows Key Metrics Slowed

Online consumer-review website Yelp ( YELP ) sank on Monday, in a tumultuous market, after posting Q4 earnings that showed a decline in the rate of growth of cumulative review and local ad accounts. Also, its CFO is on his way out. In addition to forecasting full-year 2016 sales growth of about 26% year over year at the midpoint of guidance, Yelp guided adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $90 million to $105 million, up from $69.1 million in 2015. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had modeled 2016 adjusted EBITDA of $106.82 million. Yelp stock was down 12% in early afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 16. Yelp stock is down 63% from where it was trading last year and is down nearly 83% from its all-time high of 101.75 brushed in early March 2014. The company’s earnings were released several hours in advance of its scheduled time on Monday due to “a vendor error by PR Newswire.” A conference call with analysts is scheduled for after the close. Growth in three key metrics slowed. Cumulative reviews grew 34% from a year earlier to 95 million, after growing 35% in Q3. Local advertising accounts grew 32% to 111,00 vs. 37% in Q3.  App unique devices, or the number of unique mobile devices accessing Yelp’s apps, grew 38% to 20 million vs. 39% in Q3. Yelp claims that app users “were more than 10 times as engaged as website users based on number of pages viewed.” Diners seated via reservation platform SeatMe rose 120% year over year. Yelp is facing competition in online reviews from multiple fronts — including from Facebook ( FB ), Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google — as other websites build or buy their own databases of user-generated reviews to attract viewers. Yelp also competes with online travel agency TripAdvisor ( TRIP ) and Priceline Group ( PCLN ), the world’s largest Web travel-service company. Thomson Reuters noted Yelp’s Q4 EBITDA as coming in light of the consensus analyst estimate: $17.54 million vs. the $21.9 million that analysts had anticipated. Yelp posted Q4 EPS ex items of 11 cents, down 40% year over year. Yelp reported that revenue rose 40% year over year to $153.7 million. That exceeded the $152.35 million that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had wanted to see. “We are pleased with the progress we made on the key initiatives we set at the beginning of 2015,” said Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman in a statement. “We have evolved to a mobile-centric company and have successfully completed our transition to a performance-based advertising business. In 2016, our priorities are to continue to build our core local advertising business, further increase engagement and awareness and grow transactions. With our rich, relevant review content and highly engaged consumer traffic, we are well-positioned to capture the enormous opportunity ahead of us.” Yelp guided Q1 revenue of $154 million to $157 million, up 31% year over year at the midpoint. Analysts have been expecting $154.4 million. The company announced that its chief financial officer, Rob Krolik, will be stepping down “in the coming months.” The company said it will start looking for a new CFO immediately. Yelp stock opened Monday at 17.08, down 5.6% from Friday’s close. Shares spiked briefly to 18.84 around the time of the midsession earnings release, then quickly dropped to the vicinity of 16. Yelp, LinkedIn ( LNKD ) and others “are trading lower due to Facebook and Google’s competitiveness,” said Chilton Capital Management economist Samuel Rines, in an email to IBD.    

Will Apple Ad-Blocking, China Expansion Worries Curb Criteo?

How ad tech firm Criteo ( CRTO ) fares in Wall Street’s eyes after reporting Q4 earnings on Wednesday morning hinges on the company’s outlook for 2016 after the Paris-based firm transitions to reporting in U.S. dollars, an analyst says. “The key issue into earnings is the 2016 guidance,” wrote Cowen and Co. analyst John Blackledge in a research note on Monday. He said Paris-based Criteo will cease reporting in euros after Q4. The company is transitioning to a U.S. domestic issuer and will be adhering to GAAP reporting in U.S. dollars. Blackledge said he is looking for 2016 revenue guidance ex-TAC at 20-25% year over year, assuming a “5% foreign exchange headwind.” For Q4, he also expects Criteo’s customer additions to rise a “strong” 10% year over year to 10,000. Criteo embeds browser cookies — tiny text files that let websites recognize users and their preferences when they return to a site — for about half of the 100 largest retail and travel websites in the U.S. Criteo gets paid for serving ads only if a user clicks on them and collects a bigger cut if the user goes on to buy a product from or otherwise engage with that advertiser. Wall Street is also keen to get an update on how an  Apple ( AAPL )‘s decision to allow browser ad blocking on iPhones for the first time is impacting Criteo, said Blackledge. Apple began letting users install apps that prevent ads from appearing in its Safari mobile browser last year. Apple’s action is seen as a potential blow to Criteo. which gets paid for serving ads only if a user clicks on them, and it collects a bigger cut if the user goes on to buy a product from or otherwise engage with that advertiser. Analysts have said reducing the ad supply could impact Criteo’s growth. However, Jefferies analyst Brian Pitz wrote in a note on Oct. 2 that he doubted “the enabling of ad blockers for Apple iOS 9 will meaningfully impact” Criteo, which “has stated that a majority of their mobile revenue is driven through Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google Android products rather than Apple.” Criteo is “creating one of the largest cross-device advertising mousetraps, which will complement advertisers’ ability to measure performance outside of Facebook ( FB ) and Google,” said another analyst, RBC Capital Markets’ Rohit Kulkarni, in a November research note. Another major point of interest for investors this week is Criteo’s strategy in China and whether Alibaba Group ( BABA ) emerges as a major client in 2016. Blackledge said he also wants an update on how the company is faring with the mobile Dynamic Product Ad inventory on Facebook as well as what new search products may be ahead. In Q3, Criteo posted revenue minus traffic acquisition costs — what it must pay other websites to carry ads — of 120.3 million euros, about $134 million at current exchange rates, up 55% year over year in local currency. That beat the 117.9 million euros analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had been expecting. For Q4, the company guided revenue minus traffic acquisition costs of between 134 million euros and 139 million euros, up 39% to 44% year over year in local currency, equal to about $153 million at the midpoint at current exchange rates. That Q4 revenue guidance was short of the 141.63 million euros that analysts had wanted to see. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are expecting Criteo to report Q4 revenue minus TAC — traffic acquisition costs, or what the company pays other sites to carry its ads — of 138.2 million euros, up 43% year over year in euros. Analysts are modeling Q4 EPS ex items of 0.40 euros, up 8% year over year in euros. Criteo stock was down 8% in midday trading in the stock market today , near 25.50. Criteo stock is 35% below where it was trading this time last year and is off 58% from its all-time high of 60.95 touched in early March 2014.