Tag Archives: request

Apple, Samsung Impact? 2-For-1 iPhone, Galaxy 7 Deals Roil Market

T-Mobile US on Wednesday unveiled a 2-for-1 deal for Apple ’s ( AAPL ) new iPhone SE amid reports that buy one, get one free (BOGO) deals boosted sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S7 smartphones in the first three months of 2016. The 2-for-1 deals vary. T-Mobile ( TMUS ) rolled out a buy one, get one “half off” promotion for Apple’s iPhone SE, which hits store shelves on Thursday. T-Mobile recently ended a similar 2-for-1, half-off the second device, promotion for older iPhones, including the 6 series. AT&T ( T ) in early February rolled out an iPhone buy one, get one free deal for both new and existing customers. AT&T required that the second phone be a newly activated line. An AT&T spokeswoman said the 2-for-1 offer has not been extended to the new 4-inch-screen iPhone SE, which starts at $399. Both AT&T and T-Mobile offer financing plans with monthly installment payments. T-Mobile customers would pay about $600 for two iPhones SE devices under the new promotion. All four U.S. national carriers — including Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and Sprint ( S ) — have offered BOGO deals for Samsung’s new flagship device, the Galaxy 7 series. Some analysts have bumped up estimates for Galaxy 7 sales, owing to the 2-for-1 deals in the U.S., says a Reuters report . Samsung reports earnings in late April. According to a Nomura report, Samsung has pushed U.S. wireless firms to offer the 2-for-1 deals, in order to boost demand. Analysts, however, say phone upgrades by U.S. wireless subscribers in the first quarter were again lower than normal, continuing a trend from Q4. Apple’s release of the iPhone 7, likely in September, could spur more upgrades, analysts say. T-Mobile stock was up a fraction in afternoon trading in the stock market today . Image provided by Shutterstock .

Will Tesla Model 3 Reveal Be More Exciting Than Apple Spring Event?

Loading the player… The mass market Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) Model 3 could drive 5 times growth in the electric car maker’s annual deliveries by 2020, according to an analyst. A new Goldman Sachs report out Wednesday, one day ahead of Tesla’s long-awaited reveal of the Model 3, says the $35,000 price point “has the potential to dramatically increase the total addressable market and drive a bullish outlook for sales growth.” Aside from the company’s sales and earnings, analysts are focused on Tesla’s delivery and production figures. Though delivery growth is expected to boom in the long term, the analyst says near-term deliveries could drag down the stock. Tesla reports first-quarter deliveries in early April, and Goldman expects the luxury car maker to meet its guidance of 16,000 deliveries. Tesla Up Over 60% From Feb. Low Shares reversed lower in above average trade, losing 0.9%, but are continuing to find support around the 200-day line. Despite reaching a 2016 high earlier this month, Tesla is still in the red for the year. The stock is about 20% below its July high, reached as the stock failed to break out of a cup-with-handle base. Still, shares are up 62% from their February low. Tesla Unveiling Like Apple Event? Meanwhile, Credit Suisse says that it does not predict “much incremental information” during the Model 3 unveiling tomorrow evening — much like what happened recently with Apple ( AAPL ) during its spring product launch event. But the analyst said the real key will be seeing what the demand for the new car is like in terms of initial reservations. The Model 3 won’t start production until late 2017, a year after a rival mass market electric car from General Motors ( GM ) — the Chevy Bolt — is expected to begin production. Apple stock rose 1.5% on an upgrade from Cowen Wednesday, while GM edged up a fraction.

Nice Gouges Verint Systems Share On Emerging Market Shake-Up

Nice Systems ( NICE ) gouged Big Data cybersecurity rival  Verint Systems ‘ ( VRNT ) market share last year, with Nice’s share rising 2% as Verint’s enterprise business lost 12%, Deutsche Bank analyst Nandan Amladi wrote Wednesday. Amladi and Credit Suisse analyst Michael Nemeroff both downgraded Verint stock on Wednesday, after the company late Tuesday posted Q4 and 2016 results that missed expectations and gave 2017 guidance that also lagged views. Intraday on the stock market today , Verint stock plunged 12%, near 31. Nice stock was up a fraction in early afternoon trading Wednesday, near 65. For its fiscal Q4 ended Jan. 31, Verint reported $281.8 million in non-GAAP sales and 90 cents earnings per share ex items, down a respective 10% and 15% year over year. Both measures missed the consensus of seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for $318 million and $1.17. On the conference call Tuesday, Verint blamed macroeconomic weakness in emerging markets for the miss. For the year, non-GAAP sales fell 2% to $1.14 billion and EPS ex items fell 9% to $3.04. The consensus modeled $1.17 billion and $3.30. Amladi downgraded Verint stock to neutral from hold and cut his price target to 35 from 50. The emerging markets will continue slowing, and enterprise sales won’t be as strong as Verint suggests, he wrote in a research report. Late Tuesday, Verint guided to a 10%-15% decline in current-quarter security sales, slightly offset by mid- to high-single-digit enterprise sales growth. Fiscal 2017 sales, EPS and margins are expected to be flat. Amladi noted Verint is 50% exposed to the weak emerging-market segment, and that the company’s cyber intelligence head departed in February. Verint hasn’t seen a “blockbuster” deal since a $100 million accord in 2014, and current seven-figure deals are on the government side rather than enterprise, he said. Credit Suisse’s Nemeroff says investors could overlook Verint’s poor revenue guide if the company cut costs to leverage earnings, but adding that such a move “is not their strategy at this time.” Excluding a $150 million, two-year share buyback program — about 7% of Verint’s market cap — growth will stagnate in 2017 for the second year running, Nemeroff wrote in a report. He cut his price target to 29 from 45 and downgraded Verint stock to underperform from neutral. William Blair analyst Jonathan Ho, on the other hand, sees Verint recovering from its poor Q4, the third time in the past four quarters in which Verint either missed expectations or guided down. Investors should take advantage of the cheap valuation, he wrote in a report. “We believe the business should revert to normal,” he wrote. “However, we concede that there is a significant amount of macro uncertainty based on factors that could affect the timing of a rebound that are outside the company’s control.” Ho reiterated an outperform rating on Verint stock. Image provided by Shutterstock .