Tag Archives: apple

InvenSense Sales Expected To Topple After Apple iPhone Shortfall

Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) iPhone shortfall could draw InvenSense ( INVN ) into the tornado late Monday when the sensor-chipmaker is expected to report its first-ever sales decline and its biggest earnings fall to date. InvenSense stock toppled 5.5% to 7, falling the most of IBD’s 41-company Electronic Semiconductor-Fabless industry group which was up a fraction on the stock market today . Fellow Apple suppliers Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Qualcomm ( QCOM ) stocks rose 1.2% and 0.1%, respectively, vs. flat shares of NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) and Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ). InvenSense follows radio-frequency supplier Qorvo ( QRVO ), which reported earnings last Wednesday. The consensus of 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters models $79.9 million in sales and 2 cents earnings per share ex items for InvenSense’s fiscal Q4. On a year-over-year basis, sales and EPS would be down 20% and 83%, respectively. It would be InvenSense’s fifth straight quarter of decelerating sales growth, and the first time the Apple supplier has seen sales fall vs. the year-earlier quarter. Earnings fell 14% last quarter. Three months ago, InvenSense guided to $77 million to $83 million in sales and 0-2 cents EPS ex items. During the January conference call, CFO Mark Dentinger noted a step-down at “the North American customer” — widely assumed to be Apple — and lighter sales in Korea. He expected Internet of Things sales to help fill those holes. On April 26, Apple reported its first-ever year-over-year iPhone sales decline and its first revenue drop since 2003. Teardowns show InvenSense supplies a gyroscope/accelerometer combination chip for the iPhone 6S. But InvenSense is forecast for 13% sales and 2% EPS growth in fiscal 2016 to $420.9 million and 47 cents, respectively, on healthier metrics earlier in the year. Apple shares rose 1% intraday after hitting a 2-year low on Friday.

Apple Stock Oversold; RBC Sees Buying Opportunity

  Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) recent stock slide is an overreaction to the company’s disappointing March-quarter earnings report and could spell a buying opportunity, RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani said in a research report Sunday. Before Monday, Apple shares had fallen in 14 of the last 16 trading sessions and were down 17.3% since April 14. Apple stock was up nearly 1%, near 93.50, in morning trading on the stock market today . Daryanani reiterated his outperform rating on Apple stock, with a price target of 120. “Investor feedback on Apple post-earnings call is skewed negative,” Daryanani said. “But we think the stock is oversold and should see a healthy bounce from here.” Apple stock has come under “severe pressure” since its fiscal second-quarter earnings report on April 26, he said. “There has been increased investor interest especially at current levels as investors are trying to gauge if the stock is near a bottom,” Daryanani said. “Our perspective remains — stock is oversold and valuation should provide support at these levels.” For fiscal Q2, Apple posted its first year-over-year sales decline since 2003 and first-ever drop in iPhone unit sales. For the current Q3, Apple is targeting sales of $42 billion, down 15% from the same period last year. Apple’s iPhone sales are slumping because of tough comparisons to the huge iPhone 6 upgrade cycle and slowing smartphone sales overall. Bears on Apple stock say iPhone replacement cycles will be extended and that the upcoming iPhone 7 won’t be compelling enough to spur upgrades. They see Apple struggling in China and profit margins heading down. Bulls on Apple stock say iPhone growth will accelerate over the next few years and services revenue, including App Store and Apple Pay, will continue to grow rapidly. Also, new products, such as a rumored Internet TV service, could provide a lift to Apple over the next five years, Daryanani said. RELATED: Apple Stock Hits 2016 Low Amid Doubts About Its Future Apple Watch Still Preferred By Dudes; Fitbit Liked By Ladies

ETF Update: Social Media Sentiment And Millennials Get Their Own Funds

Welcome back to the SA ETF Update. My goal is to keep Seeking Alpha readers up to date on the ETF universe and to gain some visibility, both for the ETF community and for me as its editor (so users know who to approach with issues, article ideas, to become a contributor, etc.). Every weekend, or every other weekend (depending on the reader response and submission volumes), we will highlight fund launches and closures for the week, as well as any news items that could impact ETF investors. There was a lot to cover from the last three weeks, so let’s dive right in. Fund launches for the week of April 18th, 2016 Guggenheim launches an ETF focused on low correlation (4/19): The Guggenheim Large Cap Optimized Diversification ETF (NYSEARCA: OPD ) is a smart beta fund designed to provide optimized diversification to the U.S. large-cap equity market. By investing in a portfolio of 100 to 120 holdings that have a lower correlation to a large-cap index the ETF hopes to deliver higher returns than a standard large-cap index. As described by William Belden, Guggenheim Managing Director and Head of ETF Business Development, in a press release, “combining differentiated return streams from lowly correlated stocks may provide the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns.” Global X invests in Catholic values (4/19): The Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF (NASDAQ: CATH ) offers investors a way to be sure their investments are considered acceptable under social responsibility standards, as designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. For further analysis on CATH, please read Religion Meets Investing In This New ETF , by Dave Dierking, and ETF Investing According To Your Religious Beliefs , by David Fabian. Sprott launches an ETF that watches social media for holdings (4/19): The Sprott BUZZ Social Media Insights ETF (NYSEARCA: BUZ ) tracks an index of U.S. stocks which rank highest in terms of bullish investor perception from insights derived from the social media collective. The “social media collective” being Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, Reddit, etc. “This ETF brings together the powerful combination of social media and big data analytics. Not only does the Index measure investor sentiment, it also identifies and ranks social media members who have historically been the most successful in their forecasting accuracy,” stated John Ciampaglia, Head of ETFs at Sprott, in a press release . For further analysis on BUZ, please read A New Social ETF With Seeking Alpha Data Used For Index Selections , by Brad Kenagy. Deutsche Asset Management expands its Comprehensive Factor ETF line up (4/19): The Deutsche X-trackers FTSE Emerging Comprehensive Factor ETF (NYSEARCA: DEMG ) targets five factors for investing in emerging market equities: value, momentum, size, volatility and quality. This is following the path laid down by the Deutsche X-trackers Russell 1000 Comprehensive Factor ETF (NYSE: DEUS ) and the Deutsche X-trackers FTSE Developed ex US Comprehensive Factor ETF (NYSE: DEEF ), which were both launched in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Amplify ETFs launches its first ETF (4/20): The newcomer is starting on a recent hot topic, online shopping. The Amplify Online Retail ETF (NASDAQ: IBUY ) targets an index of companies that generate at least 70% of their revenues from transactions in the online retail, online travel or online marketplace spaces. While the fund does cover international companies, 75% of the holdings will be weighted to domestic firms. For further analysis on IBUY, please read Amazon Is Not The Only Name In Online Retail , by Jane Edmondson. iShares launches an ETF for investing in positive global impact (4/22): The iShares Sustainable MSCI Global Impact ETF (NASDAQ: MPCT ) tracks an index of public companies whose products and services aim to address major social and environmental challenges. As stated by Jane Haines, Managing Director and Head of Equity Index Products for the Americas for MSCI, in a press release , “based on MSCI ESG Sustainable Impact Metrics , a new framework aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) adopted by the United Nations, the index weights securities by companies’ revenue exposure to sustainable impact themes and excludes companies that fail to meet minimum ESG standards.” Fund launches for the week of April 25th, 2016 Fund launches for the week of May 2nd, 2016 REX Shares launches 2 new VIX ETFs (5/3): The REX VolMAXX Long VIX Weekly Futures Strategy ETF (NYSEMKT: VMAX ) and the REX VolMAXX Inverse VIX Weekly Futures Strategy ETF (NYSEMKT: VMIN ) are actively managed funds that invest in near-month VIX futures. “We believe VMAX and VMIN are exactly what sophisticated investors have been asking for: exchange-traded funds that get closer to spot VIX,” said Greg King, Founder and CEO of REX Shares, in a press release . Weekly expirations for VIX futures were introduced by the CBOE in July 2015. For further analysis on VMAX and VMIN, please read Is The Holy Grail Of VIX Investing Finally Here? by Stephen Aniston. Global X targets millennial spending habits with a new fund (5/5): The Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (NASDAQ: MILN ) will track an index of stocks that have a high likelihood of benefiting from the rising spending power and unique preferences of the U.S. Millennial generation (birth years ranging from 1980-2000). Rather than focusing on a specific market category, MILN will invest across a broad range of industries that align with the spending trends of millennials. All companies included are domestic and have a market cap of at least $500 million, with an average daily turnover for the preceding six months of at least $2 million. This is the first ETF to give investors access to the spending habits of a generation, but now that the idea is out there I would be surprised if it was the last. Fund closures for the weeks of April 18th, 25th, and May 2nd 2016 Global X GF China Bond ETF ( CHNB) Horizons Korea KOSPI 200 ETF (NYSEARCA: HKOR ) Have any other questions on ETFs or ETNs? Please comment below and I will try to clear things up. As an author and editor I have found that constructive feedback is the best way to grow. What you would like to see discussed in the future? How can I improve this series to meet reader needs? Please share your thoughts on this first edition of the ETF Update series in the comments section below. Have a view on something that’s coming up or a new fund? Submit an article. 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.