Tag Archives: request

Will Commvault Hit Another Home Run With Earnings Report?

On the heels of a company transition, Commvault Systems ( CVLT ) is set to report earnings before the market open Tuesday, with the stock up sharply from its previous quarterly earnings report. The provider of data management services is expected to post revenue of $157 million, up 4% year over year and marking the second quarter in a row of revenue growth after three previous quarters of declines. The consensus on earnings per share minus items, based on analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, is 25 cents, down from 27 cents in the year-earlier period, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. After reporting fiscal Q3 earnings after the close on Jan. 27 that beat estimates, Commvault stock soared 16% the following day. From that point, the stock is up 21%, about where it was one year ago. Commvault stock was trading near 43.50, down a fraction, in midday trading in the stock market today . Commvault has an IBD Accumlation/Distribution Rating of A+, suggesting heavy institutional buying and little selling of late. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brent Bracelin said in a research note that much of Commvault’s turnaround is now behind it, giving the company a “line of sight to a recovery.” This, he said, was further proof of Commvault’s success in enabling businesses to migrate to cloud services from providers such as Amazon ( AMZN ), Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ). “We see new products driving a return to double-digit license growth in the coming year,” Bracelin wrote.

Windows 10 Adoption Slows As PC Users Resist Upgrade Push

Microsoft ‘s ( MSFT ) Windows 10 operating system saw its adoption slow in April as users of older PCs resisted frequent on-screen alerts to upgrade. The percentage of personal computers on the Internet using Windows 10 inched up to 14.4% in April from 14.2% in March, Net Applications reported Sunday. The operating system, released nine months ago, ended 2015 with nearly 10% market share. It hit 11.9% in January and 12.8% in February. Microsoft is offering Windows 10 as a free upgrade to users of Windows 7 and 8 machines, but that deal ends on July 29. With sales of new PCs in the doldrums, Microsoft has been relying on free upgrades to boost the market share for its latest PC operating system. Windows 10 is now the second-most-popular PC operating system in use after Windows 7, which took a 48.8% market share in April. Windows 10 has received generally positive reviews, but has been criticized for its privacy policies and its collection and use of customer data. In recent months, Microsoft has been sending pop-up reminders to Windows 7 and 8 users about the free upgrade program. The nagging has reached comical levels. On April 27, a Windows 10 upgrade request popped up on a weather map during a live news broadcast by TV station KCCI in Des Moines , Iowa. Meteorologist Metinka Slater was warning viewers about thunderstorms and heavy rainfall when the Win 10 pop-up covered most of her radar screen. “Microsoft recommends upgrading to Windows 10, what should I do?” a surprised Slater asked. “Don’t you love when that pops up?” A video of the goof went viral on YouTube . RELATED: Microsoft Stock Plummets On March-Quarter Miss, Weak Guidance

Could Sunrun-NRG Energy Pairing Topple No. 1 Rival SolarCity?

No. 2 residential installer Sunrun ( RUN ) could fortify against top rival SolarCity ( SCTY ) by acquiring NRG Energy ‘s ( NRG ) rooftop business, a Credit Suisse analyst suggested Monday. But both Sunrun and SolarCity stocks were torched by the analyst’s estimate cuts. In morning trading on the stock market today , SolarCity stock was down 4.5%, while Sunrun stock was down nearly 2%. SolarCity and Sunrun are slated to report Q1 earnings on May 9 and May 12, respectively. Installations appear to be tracking in line, but bookings are below guidance and will likely jeopardize the companies’ respective 44% and 40% growth guidance, said Credit Suisse analyst Patrick Jobin. Jobin cut his price targets on SolarCity and Sunrun stocks to 62 from 89, and to 18 from 21, respectively. In a research note, Jobin said he expects SolarCity to have installed 178 megawatts in Q1, up 18% year over year, vs. guidance for 180 MW. “We believe we are being very conservative, a necessary measure as the company has missed guidance (in) three of the last five quarters,” he wrote. Jobin expects Sunrun to hit installation views for 56 MW, down 17% vs. the year-earlier quarter, on the exclusion of 12 MW in Nevada. Nevada recently cut payments to solar customers for energy fed back into the grid, and it retroactively applied the new rules to existing customers, prodding solar companies to exit the state. That Nevada net-metering decision, complicated by “regulatory flux” — California and Massachusetts’ rule-making and the Investment Tax Credit extension — is the likely culprit behind slow Q1 bookings, Jobin wrote. For Q1, the consensus of 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters tips SolarCity to report $108.5 million in sales, up 61% year over year, and a $2.34 per-share loss minus items, widening from a $1.52 loss in the year-earlier quarter. Three months ago, SolarCity guided to a $2.55-$2.65 per-share loss minus items. Sunrun is expected to report $83.4 million in sales and a 53-cent per-share loss minus items. Sales would fall 16% from Q4, and losses would deepen from a 15-cent loss in the prior quarter. Sunrun made its IPO last August. Jobin cut his U.S. 2016 residential demand to 3 gigawatts, up 45%. Of that, he expects SolarCity to install 1.2 GW, and Sunrun to install 271 MW. NRG could prove a wildcard, Jobin said. A deal with Sunrun would make sense, given the firm’s platform model. “NRG’s residential business has been earmarked for a change — potentially an imminent sale or partnership,” he wrote. “Whatever happens will be critical, as it could enable a weaker player or strengthen an incumbent.”