Tag Archives: mrvl

Yahoo To Add 4 Independent Directors In Deal With Starboard

Yahoo ( YHOO ) has reached a deal with Starboard Value to name four independent directors  while the hedge fund ends its bid to replace the entire board of the ailing web giant. Under the terms of the agreement, Starboard has withdrawn its Yahoo board nominees. Former Deutsche Bank Securities M&A head Tor Braham, media exec Eddy Hartenstein, Tessera Technologies ( TSRA ) chairman Richard Hill, and Starboard CEO and Chief Investment Officer Jeffrey Smith will become board members, effectively immediately, said Yahoo in a statement. Current directors Lee Scott and Sue James will not stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting to allow for an 11-member board. “This constructive resolution will allow management and the board to keep our focus on our extremely important objectives,” said Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in the statement. Starboard had late last year pressured the Internet heavyweight to nix its Alibaba ( BABA ) spinoff, then in March issued a letter to Yahoo shareholders, telling them it was “extremely disappointed” with the company’s “dismal financial performance, poor management execution, egregious compensation and hiring practices, and general lack of accountability and oversight by the Board.” Under pressure from Starboard, Yahoo has accepted bids for all or part of the company. Verizon ( VZ ) is seen as a lead suitor in the first round of bids. Yahoo stock fell fractionally soon after the opening bell on the stock market today . Separately,  Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) agreed to add five directors, giving in to demands from Starboard Value. Starboard took a 6.7% stake in Marvell in February. Marvell Technology stock rose 1.4% to 10.10.

Silicon Motion Jumps As Preliminary Q1 Revenue Exceeds Estimates

Silicon Motion Technology ( SIMO ) stock hit a record high Thursday after the company said first-quarter revenue would come in higher than expected. The Taiwan-based provider of flash-chip storage devices used in consumer products said revenue is expected to be 14% to 15% higher than the previous quarter. It’s prior guidance was in the range of a 2.5% decrease to a 2.5% increase. The consensus estimate, prior to the improved guidance, is for Silicon Motion to report revenue of $99 million, up 1% sequentially and up 23% year over year, which would be the eighth quarter in a row of double-digit gains. The consensus on earnings per share is 56 cents, up 17%, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Silicon Motion also said its gross profit margin is expected to be in the upper half of its original guidance range of 49% to 51%. Silicon Motion stock was up 4%, near 39.50, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Shares rose as much as 6.4% earlier, hitting an all-time high of 40.27. Silicon Motion has an IBD Composite Rating of 99, the highest possible, and broke out of a cup-with-handle base at 34.08 last month. That leaves the stock 16% extended. The company is scheduled to release full Q1 earnings after the market close April 27. The majority of Silicon Motion products are integrated in consumer electronic devices. A significant portion of revenue is from customers that use the products in removable and embedded solid state storage solutions for smartphones, tablets, digital cameras, notebooks and desktop PCs. Its customers include Samsung and SK Hynix. Competitors in the mobile storage market include Marvell Technology ( MRVL ). On Tuesday, husband and wife co-founders Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai resigned under pressure as CEO and president, as the company in March completed a review by its audit committee that found sales staff was under significant pressure from management to meet revenue goals. The company has delayed the filing of its 10-K statement, and Nasdaq has put the company on notice of possible delisting. Marvell stock jumped 13% on Tuesday on that news, but was down a fraction, near 10.80, Thursday afternoon.

Apple Supplier Broadcom, Tech Giant Cisco Pitted In Data Center War

Tech giant Cisco Systems ‘ ( CSCO ) 16-nanometer data center semiconductor could slug Apple ( AAPL ) supplier Broadcom ( AVGO ), which is ramping its 28-nm Tomahawk technology, an RBC analyst said Monday. Broadcom’s Tomahawk will go for $600-$700 per chip, replacing the outmoded Trident chip that costs less than $500, on average. Unlike Trident, however, Tomahawk won’t win across-the-board vs. Cisco, RBC’s Amit Daryanani wrote. Cisco recently unveiled its CloudScale application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in direct competition with data center chipmakers Broadcom, Cavium ( CAVM ), Intel ( INTC ), Marvell Technology Group ( MRVL ) and Mellanox Technologies ( MLNX ). In the past, Broadcom’s Trident won “across the board” at Cisco. This time, Cisco is likely to use its own CloudScale ASIC in its Nexus 9000, 9200 and 9300 platforms, leaving the 9500 to hold the Tomahawk silicon, Daryanani said. Other users include Hewlett-Packard Enterprise ( HPE ), Arista Networks ( ANET ) and Juniper Networks ( JNPR ), which had a two-year head start to begin ramping Tomahawk-based solution, Daryanani wrote. He sees a five- to six-year lifespan for the product. Still, “we believe Cisco encroachment into the merchant silicon market needs to be monitored by Broadcom investors,” he wrote. “For now, we continue to believe Broadcom’s solutions are the market-leaders for cloud/data center spenders.” Daryanani maintained his 180 price target and top performer rating on Broadcom stock. Shares rose a fraction Monday, to 152.89, on a day when Apple released new products that didn’t represent huge advances and were expected. Cisco stock fell a fraction on Wall Street Monday, while Apple was flat.