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3D Systems Q4 Report Comes During Painful Time For 3D Printers

Working through a restructuring in a tough market, 3D printer maker 3D Systems ( DDD ) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before the market open Monday. The report follows that of rival Stratasys ( SSYS ), which on March 3 reported a Q4 loss and big drop in revenue that nevertheless beat expectations on the top and bottom lines. Earnings are also coming from 3D printer maker ExOne ( XONE ), before the market open Wednesday. 3D printer companies, which generated widespread excitement a few years ago on the idea that their products represented an innovative leap in manufacturing processes, have been hammered. Shares of Stratasys and 3D Systems, the two industry leaders, have been crushed since mid-2014, as both have posted disappointing quarterly earnings reports going back more than a year. But 3D printer stocks have rebounded in the past month-plus. 3D Systems stock closed Friday at 11.55, up more than 1%, after hitting its all-time low of 6 on Jan. 20. Stratasys closed at 24.19, up 3%. It hit an all-time low of 14.88 on Jan. 26. ExOne rose 5% to close at 10.93. It hit an all-time low of 6.61 on Jan. 20. 3D Systems expects to report Q4 revenue of about $183 million, down 2% year over year. The consensus analyst estimate is $166.4 million among analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. The consensus on earnings per share minus items is three cents, down 86%. It would be the fourth quarter in a row of EPS deceleration. “Industry conditions remain challenging, and demand may be uneven in the coming periods,” Andy Johnson, the company’s interim CEO and chief legal officer, said in a company statement on Feb. 25. “However, we are confident about the long-term opportunities for our technology and solutions.” 3D Systems was originally scheduled to report Q4 earnings on Feb. 29. The company delayed its report to give it more time to complete work on non-cash goodwill and intangible-asset impairment charges. These accounting changes aim to reflect a more realistic balance between the worth of company assets and their financial value. They also relate to the value placed on intangibles such as brand name recognition and reputation. 3D Systems expects these charges to be $510 million to $570 million but does not expect them to impact cash flow. 3D Systems had a dismal third quarter , as revenue fell 9%, its first year-over-year decline in more than 18 quarters. 3D Systems and Stratasys have made forays into the consumer market without much success. In December, 3D Systems announced that it would end production of its $999 Cubify printer, three years after entering the consumer field. Stratasys entered that market in July 2013 with its $403 million acquisition of MakerBot. It began reorganizing the unit in July and also lowered the book value of MakerBot.

TV Remote Control Maker Surges On Deal With Comcast

Universal Electronics Inc. ( UEIC ), a maker of remote controls, has seen its stock soar since it announced a deal Wednesday with cable TV giant Comcast ( CMCSA ). UEI stock rose 1.5% to 65.20 on Friday, just below its all-time high of 66.75 reached on Feb. 17, 2015. UEI shares jumped 4.2% on Wednesday and 11.1% on Thursday. On Wednesday, UEI announced a warrants agreement with Comcast as an extension of its partnership to develop advanced technology products with Comcast Cable Communications Management. “This agreement represents a major milestone in our history,” UEI Chief Executive Paul Arling said in a statement . “We are privileged to have helped Comcast’s X1 redefine the entertainment viewing experience, and we are now positioned to provide innovative products across Xfinity Home as well.” The new agreement follows a development and supply collaboration renewed this year, in which UEI supplies the voice remote as part of Comcast’s X1 Entertainment Operating System. Comcast now has the opportunity to acquire shares of capital stock from UEI tied to the potential fulfillment of pre-defined purchase milestones under the terms of the warrants agreement. Comcast could end up buying up to 725,000 shares of UEI over six years. Comcast’s right to exercise the stock purchase warrant is subject to vesting during three successive two-year periods during which Comcast must purchase, in each two-year period, no less than $260 million in goods and services from UEI. To vest in all of the warrant shares, Comcast must purchase an aggregate of $1.02 billion in goods and services from UEI during the six-year vesting period. UEIC carries a high IBD Composite Rating of 97, but its stock is now extended out of buy range. Comcast has an 86 Composite Rating, and is below a buy point. Comcast stock rose 1.4% to 59.16 Friday. RELATED:  Comcast Bets On ‘Magical’ Voice Remote Controls  

5 Chip Stocks To Watch, Moving Up, With Apple’s Big Event March 21

A basket of top-rated chip stocks are making moves around buy points now, with several moving up Friday. And Apple ( AAPL ), a big user of semiconductors, just sent out press invitations for a March 21 event where it’s expected to introduce a small iPhone and another iPad. So which chip stocks are highly rated by IBD and get at least some of their business from Apple?  Broadcom ( AVGO ), IBD Leaderboard stock  Macom Technology Solutions ( MTSI ), Cirrus Logic ( CRUS ), Mellanox ( MLNX ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) make the list. All are at least somewhat diversified, with revenue streams in everything from data center and mobile networking systems to powerful graphics chips for virtual reality and gaming, to connected car technology and now even artificial intelligence. Chips And Profit IBD 50 stock Broadcom closed up 3.1% in the stock market today  at 148.82, now just above and out of buy range from a double-bottom base. Macom jumped 5.8%, similarly above its ideal buy range, with positive analyst comments coming out of its analyst day. Macom Leapfrogs Apple-Supplying Chip Rivals With Lasers, Radar https://t.co/Dfqju3Frkr pic.twitter.com/6FyFLs13c0 — Investors.com (@IBDinvestors) March 11, 2016 Broadcom and Macom Technology Solutions made IBD’s Stocks on The Move screen Friday, heading up in high volume. Broadcom made Thursday morning’s screen too. Early Thursday, Broadcom’s management team had presented at a Susquehanna Financial analysts’ conference. “It’s a great time to operate in the semiconductor industry,” CEO Hock Tan said there. “You have a substantial profit pool … compared to similar industries of the same size.” Loading the player…   Broadcom had started giving up some of its gains as stock indexes dipped into the red with falling oil prices, but it ended up with a 1.7% rise Thursday. Several other top-rated chip stocks moved up Friday after declining Thursday. Cirrus Logic closed up 3.4%. Mellanox gained 2.2% and Nvidia lifted 1.7%. On Thursday, Mellanox had slipped to the bottom of buy range, as had Macom Technology Solutions, while Nvidia had edged down to about 4% under a buy point from a cup base. While the stock market’s in a confirmed uptrend, much of the action is choppy with ups and downs in oil prices and economic concerns around the globe. Going into Friday trading, all five of these top-ranked chipmakers had fallen from a week ago, between 1% and 7%, with the S&P 500 index down 1%. Cirrus Logic and Mellanox were up 14% and 15% this year, respectively — the only ones of the five with notable gains. Nvidia, an IBD 50 stock, has the strongest IBD Composite Rating of the bunch, a best-possible 99, taking into account earnings growth, stock price gains and several other metrics. The others range between 90 and 98 in Composite Rating. Apple Chips It will take awhile for teardowns to show whose chips go into whatever new products Apple introduces, and longer for those chips to translate into reported sales, and lagging iPhone sales growth lately hasn’t helped the chips. Apple Sets March 21 To Launch Small iPhone, New iPad, Watch Bands https://t.co/MxIpxMFKvc pic.twitter.com/iPxQ1lTAFF — Investors.com (@IBDinvestors) March 10, 2016 Other markets are driving growth, however. Nvidia, for instance, said in its fourth quarter report, in February, that it’s at the “center of four exciting growth opportunities — PC gaming, VR (virtual reality), deep learning and self-driving cars.” Nvidia is a partner to electric car maker  Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) and other auto manufacturers, and said last month that it’s in an alliance with Facebook ( FB ) and Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group ( BABA ) for speedy artificial intelligence chips.