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Yahoo News Sites Attract British Tabloid Daily Mail: Report

Yahoo ( YHOO ) stock rose Monday as British tabloid newspaper Daily Mail reportedly confirmed its interest in the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Web portal, attracted to its news and media properties. The Daily Mail said that it is in preliminary talks with other investors to launch a bid for Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, confirming a previous WSJ report out Sunday. Buying Yahoo’s media operations could help the Daily Mail establish a stronger presence in the U.S., where it launched a website in 2012, the WSJ  said. “Given the success of DailyMail.com and Elite Daily, we have been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders,” the WSJ said it was told by a spokesperson for DailyMail.com. Discussions are said to be at a very early stage. A bid by the Daily Mail could occur through a private equity partner acquiring all of Yahoo’s U.S. operation, according to the WSJ. After that, the Daily Mail would take over Yahoo’s news and media units, which include Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports and Yahoo News, the report said. It’s also possible a private equity firm would acquire Yahoo and merge its media and news properties into a new company that would include the Daily Mail’s online properties, the report said. The Daily Mail has spoken with six private equity firms in regards to a bid, including General Atlantic, the WSJ said, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter. The Daily Mail & General Trust PLC is just one of an estimated 40 groups that have expressed interest in buying Yahoo. Yahoo sent a letter to possible buyers last month, asking them to submit bids. Some buyers might be interested in all or part of Yahoo’s core Web business, while others might want Yahoo’s stakes in China e-commerce giant Alibaba Group ( BABA ) or Yahoo Japan. Yahoo pushed back the deadline for bids to April 18 from April 11, according to media reports. Verizon Communications ( VZ ) is said to be planning to bid for Yahoo’s Web business and its holdings in Yahoo Japan, according to Bloomberg. Google, the main division of Alphabet ( GOOGL ), reportedly is considering a bid for Yahoo’s core business. Time ( TIME ); Japan’s SoftBank ( SFTBY ), the majority owner of Yahoo Japan; and several private equity firms also are kicking the tires, reports Bloomberg. Yahoo has also held meetings with IAC/InterActiveCorp. ( IAC ) and CBS Corp. ( CBS ), the WSJ said. One-time potential suitors including AT&T ( T ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ) have decided against bidding, Bloomberg reported.  Microsoft ( MSFT ), which failed with a hostile bid for Yahoo in 2008, also won’t bid, according to Bloomberg. Re/Code said last week that documents Yahoo provided to potential bidders predict the Web portal’s 2016 revenue will drop by close to 15% and its earnings by more than 20%. Yahoo has recently implemented layoffs and begun the process of selling itself and spinning off its hefty stake in Alibaba, and it is also in the midst of a proxy fight seeking to oust its entire board. Yahoo stock was up more than 1% in midday trading in the stock market today , near 36.50. Yahoo stock touched an eight-month high of 37.50 last week.

Apple Investors Should Brace For Two Rough Quarterly Reports

With current iPhone sales looking soft, Apple ( AAPL ) is likely to face two rough quarterly financial reports before the launch of the iPhone 7 this fall, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Andy Hargreaves said Sunday. “We continue to view the medium-term risk/reward on AAPL positively,” Hargreaves said in a research report. “However, we believe soft near-term iPhone demand should drive fiscal Q2 results at the low end of guidance and prompt fiscal Q3 guidance below consensus estimates, which is likely to prevent further near-term stock appreciation.” Hargreaves reiterated his overweight rating on Apple stock, with a price target of 127. Apple stock was up 1%, near 110, in midday trading on the stock market today . Hargreaves forecasts Apple sold 47.5 million iPhones in the March quarter, which is below the consensus estimate on Wall Street of 50 million units. “Supply and demand checks continue to suggest mediocre iPhone unit volume,” he said. Because of the lower fiscal Q2 iPhone sales volume, Hargreaves expects Apple will report earnings per share of $1.88 on sales of $50 billion, which is below Wall Street’s consensus estimates of $2 in EPS and $52.2 billion in sales. Also, Wall Street’s June-quarter estimates “appear slightly high,” he said. For the company’s fiscal Q3, Hargreaves expects Apple to sell 41.8 million iPhones, below the consensus estimate of 44 million. Sales of the current iPhone 6S series handsets have disappointed, but potential consumer upgrades with the iPhone 7 should keep Apple shares from falling too much, he said.

Apple, Facebook, Netflix Stocks Face Key Technical Tests

Facebook ( FB ), Apple ( AAPL ) and Netflix ( NFLX ) are among the coolest and widely used tech companies. But their stocks have struggle to break through key levels in recent sessions. Facebook is trying to stay in sight of a buy point, while Apple and Netflix keep bumping into resistance at their 200-day moving averages. Facebook A Buy, or Bye-Bye? Facebook holds its big F8 Developers Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, with analysts and investors eager to hear what Mark Zuckerberg has on offer. The stock has formed a cup-with-handle base that started when it peaked at 117.59 on Feb. 2. Shares have formed a handle with a buy point at 117.09. But Facebook fell 2.7% on Friday and 4.7% for the week and its stock is now closer to its 50-day line than buy area. Facebook users are posting less  on the site, according to Friday reports that helped pushed the stock lower. Get a better read on Facebook’s stock health and how it stacks up vs. rivals at IBD Stock Checkup Apple Looks To Break Above 200-Day Apple has rallied nearly 18% since hitting 92.39 on Jan. 28 to 108.66 but is still down 19% from its record high of 134.54 set in April 2015. Twice last week Apple closed within 20 cents of its downward sloping 200-day moving average. The stock hasn’t closed above the line since early October. Apple recently released a new 4-inch iPhone SE along with a smaller iPad Pro. Both have gotten solid reviews, but neither is likely to be a huge blockbuster. Apple is expected to post its first year-over-year sales decline in years later this month. Sales may continue to struggle at least until Apple releases its iPhone 7 later this year. Netflix Looks To Rewrite Script Netflix hasn’t closed above its 200-day average since Jan. 20. Twice last week the stock crossed that technical line intraday but ended below that level. On Friday, Wall Street analyst Richard Greenfield said Walt Disney ( DIS ) should buy Netflix. A Disney-Netflix deal would give the Mouse a leader in video streaming and provide a possible future leader in Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. That unsolicited advice didn’t move Netflix’s stock though. Netflix is spending heavily on expansion and content. While revenue growth has been strong and consistent, profits have fallen for the last three quarters and aren’t projected to rise until Q4 2017. But analysts are betting on powerful earnings growth from 2018-2021.