Tag Archives: request

WhatsApp Just Added End-To-End Encryption For Over 1 Billion Users

The Apple ( AAPL )-FBI over iPhone privacy is so last month. While the FBI may have cracked the smartphone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists, Facebook ( FB ) unit WhatsApp on Wednesday launched end-to-end encryption. More than one billion people use Facebook’s WhatApp. WhatsApp founders Brian Acton and Jan Koum  explained how the system will work in a blog post. “From now on when you and your contacts use the latest version of the app, every call you make, and every message, photo, video, file, and voice message you send, is end-to-end encrypted by default, including group chats. The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us.” That means that WhatsApp couldn’t help governments crack your messages even if it wanted to. The app will work for the Apple iPhone, as well as smartphones using Alphabet-owned Google Android software or any other mobile device. Koum, who is WhatsApp’s CEO and a former Yahoo ( YHOO ) employee along with Acton, cited his childhood in the communist Soviet Union as key to his “desire to protect people’s private communication.” Facebook stock fell 0.3% to 112.22 in the stock market today . The stock is near a buy point of 117.69, which would be a new high. Facebook could be forming a handle that would create a slightly lower buy area. Apple fell 1.2% to 109.80 Tuesday after crossing above its 200-day line Monday and failing to close above that level. Alphabet fell 0.8% to 758.67, below a buy point at 810.45. Yahoo retreated 1.65%.  

Apple Should Be Valued Like Internet, Not Hardware, Company

Apple ( AAPL ) is grossly undervalued because investors wrongly treat it like a computer hardware company, Needham analyst Laura Martin said in a research report Tuesday. Martin initiated coverage of Apple with a strong buy rating and a 12-month price target of 150. Apple stock fell 1.2% to 109.81 on the stock market today . Based on four different valuation methodologies, Apple’s long-term value is 180, or 64% above current levels, she said. “For each of the past five years, Apple’s profit margins have been higher than Disney ’s ( DIS ) and its asset productivity (i.e., earnings per asset employed) have been higher than Facebook ’s ( FB ),” Martin said. Apple “should not be valued like a hardware company if its fundamentals are better than world-class content and Internet companies.” If Apple were valued as a top content or Internet company, its shares likely would trade at 200, she said. Apple’s business also is similar to a cable company’s recurring subscription model, she said, and Apple’s iPhone customers are predictably loyal and upgrade to the latest smartphones roughly every two years. If Apple was valued at an average cable company multiple today (even though Apple has a far less capital-intensive business model), Apple would trade at 180, she said. Under Needham’s worst-case scenario, where Apple has 1 billion active devices and zero unit growth for the next 20 years, the stock still should be valued at 168, she said. RELATED: Apple Stock Rises On Upbeat Analyst Reports, Video Services Upside

Palo Alto Networks Falls After Analyst Day As Price Targets Change

Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) hosted an upbeat Analysts Day at its Ignite 2016 cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas Monday, but the stock erased weeks of gain Tuesday. It’s still up 39% from a low point on Feb. 8. The biggest pure-play computer network security company fell 6% to 151.92 in the stock market today . The drop reflected its worst day since a 7.2% slide on Feb. 18 in the throes of the January-February software sag of 2016. Palo Alto Networks stock is now trading 24% off its record high, set July 24 at 200.55. It went public priced at 42 in July 2012. The market was down Tuesday, but none of the major U.S. indexes was off more than 1% at midday, while Palo Alto Networks became the topic of a slew of analyst reports issued after Monday’s big show. Let’s go to the tape: Needham’s analyst raised a price target on Palo Alto to 187 from 171, affirming its buy rating. Goldman Sachs trimmed a price target to 188 from 191. Pacific Crest’s analyst assured, “The party is still getting started.” Credit Suisse’s analyst noted: “The company anticipates being able to sustain this level of revenue growth (over 30% in 2017 and beyond) and operating profile (35%-45% free cash flow and 100-200 basis points of operating margin expansion by 2017) for several years.” William Blair’s Jonathan Ho “came away with a stronger appreciation for the company’s … opportunity to ultimately become the largest player in the cybersecurity space,” he said in a research note issued Tuesday. Let’s do the math: If computer networking behemoth Cisco Systems ( CSCO ), which is growing its cloud-related services much faster than its traditional on-premise products, were able to sustain its fiscal 2015 growth rate for security services — up 12% to $1.747 billion, or 88% more than Palo Alto’s entire $928 million in 2015 sales — Palo Alto’s estimated 30%-plus growth rate by 2017 suggests that it would overtake Cisco’s security sales sometime in fiscal 2019, something like $3.05 billion vs. $2.74 billion in projected Cisco security revenue. But who’s counting? The analysts are. “We continue to believe investors are underestimating how large Palo Alto will ultimately be, particularly given that most of its revenue is still derived from competitive displacements, as opposed to a refresh of its captive installed base (which has only recently modestly begun),” said William Blair’s Ho. “Our industry discussions suggest Palo Alto continues to dominate next-generation firewall win rates and is still in the relatively early phases of a market undergoing significant transition. Furthermore, increasing traction in (Palo Alto products) WildFire, Traps, Aperture and AutoFocus could create opportunities in new markets for the company to broaden its platform reach. As a result, we would continue to be buyers of the stock, particularly given its recent pullback.” Given Tuesday’s slide in Palo Alto stock, Pacific Crest analyst Rob Owens’ take on Palo Alto seems even more the case: “Palo Alto Networks is our top pick in security,” he said in a late Monday research note. “It is rapidly gaining share against competitors, trades at a discount to comparable-growth companies and has potential upside drivers from new subscription services.” He affirmed Pac Crest’s 190 price target with an outperform rating. Palo Alto gets an IBD Composite Rating of 82 out of a possible 99, factoring in its earnings track record, stock performance and other measures.