Tag Archives: request

Google Seen Closer To Driverless Car Pact With Fiat Chrysler

Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ( FCAU ) are moving closer to a non-exclusive pact to develop self-driving cars, says a Bloomberg report. Google and Fiat Chrysler initially plan to develop self-driving prototypes based on the carmaker’s Pacifica minivan, the report  said. Speculation over a Google-Fiat Chrysler deal  had surfaced late last month. Google and Fiat Chrysler would both be free to cooperate in driverless technology with other partners despite their pending pact. Google had earlier been in negotiations with General Motors ( GM ), but those talks reportedly stalled. GM has invested in Lyft as part of an alliance that involves autonomous efforts with the ride-hailing service. Other companies in the autonomous car race include Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), Apple ( AAPL ), Toyota ( TM ) and Ford ( F ). Apple has yet to confirm any car plans, though its intentions are seen as an open secret. In April, the company hired Chris Porritt, who had been Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering. He will work on Titan, Apple’s car project, say reports. A German newspaper last month said a potential Apple partner is Magna Steyr, the world’s largest contract automaker.

Abiomed’s Impella Pumps Up Q4 Earnings, But Hot Stock Slows

Cardiac device maker Abiomed ( ABMD ) beat quarterly estimates and guided the current fiscal year above consensus Tuesday, but its elevated stock still slipped in trading. For its fiscal Q4 ended March 31, Abiomed’s sales totaled $94 million, up 39% from the year-earlier quarter and beating analysts’ consensus by about $3 million, according to Thomson Reuters. Earnings fell 14% to 24 cents a share but still beat consensus by 9 cents. The earnings decline in both Q3 and Q4 were due to tough year-over-year comparisons, but analysts expect growth to return in the current quarter and accelerate thereafter. Abiomed supported this with its guidance for the current fiscal year: $430 million to $445 million in sales vs. last year’s $329.5 million, beating consensus of $421 million. It does not provide EPS guidance but said operating margin should be 18% to 20%, which would be flat to slightly below last year’s. The margin guidance might have been a bit below expectations. Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy had estimated it at 20%, and Thomson Reuters’ consensus for net income was also about 20% of revenue. Abiomed stock was down 2% in midday trading on the stock market today , near 97. The stock had been trading strong lately, with a consistent IBD Relative Strength Rating in the 90s. Shares are up more than 40% since touching a nine-month low in early February. Antalffy still was positive on Abiomed’s report, noting good adoption trends for the company’s Impella heart pump in the percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) market. “We believe this adoption momentum is under-appreciated by the Street — particularly given what we view as a possibly open-ended market opportunity in protected PCI as previously untreated patients are now increasingly treated — paving the way for consistent “beat and raise” quarters over the near-to-medium term,” Antalffy wrote in her research note.

Priceline Q1 Sales Seen Rising Sharply But Lagging Rival Expedia

A week after its CEO Darren Huston tendered his resignation over an inappropriate-at-work relationship, No. 1 online travel agency Priceline ( PCLN ) is expected Wednesday to report double-digit Q1 sales and earnings growth. The consensus of 30 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, however, doesn’t foresee Priceline surpassing the growth rate for No. 2  Expedia ( EXPE ), which last week reported respective year-over-year gains of 39% and 31% for sales and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA). Priceline’s Q1 earnings are slated to come out before the open Wednesday. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , Priceline stock was down a fraction, near 1,347. Expedia stock was down more than 1%. Priceline stock broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a 1,361.73 buy point on April 18. Priceline is expected to report $2.12 billion in sales, $9.65 earnings per share minus items and $620.6 million EBITDA, up 15%, 19% and 17%, respectively vs. the year-earlier period. Three months ago, Priceline guided to $9-$9.60 EPS ex items and $580 million to $620 million EBITDA. Sales were guided up 9%-16% vs. the year-earlier quarter, or about $2 billion to $2.13 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Priceline expects room-night stays booked and gross bookings to grow 20%-27% and 12%-19%, respectively. Last week, Expedia reported  Q1 room-night stays and gross bookings rising a respective 42% and 32%. Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson reiterated his overweight rating and 1,540 price target last week on Priceline stock. Huston’s resignation isn’t “a risk to near-term financials, but it does pose a slight risk of distraction for employees of the company’s Booking.com segment, as well as investors,” he wrote in a research report. Gillian Tans, chief operating officer and president of Booking.com, was tapped to succeed Huston as Booking.com CEO. Booking.com is Priceline’s accommodations-booking website. Priceline Chairman Jeffrey Boyd, former longtime CEO of the company, assumed the role of interim CEO while it searches for a new CEO.