Tag Archives: stocks
AT&T, Verizon Reach Stock Buy Points; High-Rated Nvidia Rockets
Loading the player… After three straight up days for the stock market through midweek, some top-rated tech stocks are flashing buy signals, and others are on the move. Graphics chip maker Nvidia ( NVDA ) jumped as much as 12% early Thursday after the Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) partner blew past estimates for the fourth quarter, as well as beating on guidance, with its Wednesday afternoon earnings report . Heading toward the closing bell Nvidia stock was up almost 9% for the day, near 30. The company gets a strong 93 Composite Rating out of a possible 99 from IBD, and while not yet in buy range, it is moving in the right direction. Wednesday, the company said Facebook ( FB ) and Alibaba Group ( BABA ) will use its accelerator technology for machine learning, an aspect of artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 index was down fractionally approaching Thursday’s closing bell, tempering the stock market rally this week. Telecoms Grab Top Ratings Sole IBD Leaderboard tech stock AT&T ( T ) climbed into buy range above 36.55 as of Tuesday, from a recent base. It was up almost 1% ahead of the closing bell in the stock market today , near 37. Fund managers have increased holdings, drawn partly by AT&T dividends and the company’s stability as a defensive play. It gets a best-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99. That other big telecom, Verizon ( VZ ), also has a high dividend and gets a best-possible Composite Rating from IBD. Up more than 1% in afternoon trading, it rose into buy range today, just above a 50.96 buy point. Near the closing bell Verizon flirted with that number. It’s on IBD’s Big Cap 20 list, as is cable giant Comcast ( CMCSA ), expected to bid for wireless spectrum in a March FCC auction. Comcast could become a significant wireless provider, Mobilocity analyst Gerry Purdy said Wednesday. It’s about 9% under a buy point and was trading near 57 Thursday afternoon, down a fraction. Research this week from S&P Capital IQ analyst Lindsey Bell pegs telecom services as the leader in terms of Q4 earnings growth among 10 sectors it tracks, at about 20%. Verizon stock is up about 10% so far this year, and AT&T is 8% higher. Comcast is up about 2%, while Nvidia remains down 9%.
Comcast, AT&T Fire Back As FCC Moves Ahead With Set-Top Box Proposal
Federal regulators Thursday moved forward with a proposal to make it easier for consumers to switch from set-top boxes leased monthly from pay-TV companies to new devices sold at retail by consumer electronics or Internet companies. Comcast ( CMCSA ), AT&T ( T ) and other pay-TV companies quickly criticized the Federal Communications Commission’s vote to begin making the new rules, calling it unneeded because of advances in Internet and app-based technology. Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google and Tivo ( TIVO ) are among companies that could gain from the FCC’s proposal. Roku, a maker of video streaming devices, has sided with cable TV industry partners amid the lobbying battle. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, an Obama administration appointee, said Thursday in a hearing that rising set-top box leasing fees have hurt consumers. The FCC, with a Democratic majority, voted 3-to-2 to begin a formal rule-making process. The agency aims to develop technical standards so that new hardware suppliers can provide access to programming sold by pay-TV companies. The FCC says that its set-top box initiative is not a threat to copyright protections, although pay-TV providers pay content companies for programming. Republican FCC member Michael O’Rielly said that it would take three years for new products to appear, because pay-TV companies would have two years to comply with any new technical standards for sharing programming. He added that technology innovation would render the FCC’s rules “obsolete” in the meantime. Comcast, in a blog post, said: “A new government technology mandate makes little sense when the apps-based marketplace solution … is driving additional retail availability of third-party devices without any of the privacy, diversity, intellectual property, legal authority or other substantial concerns raised by the FCC chairman’s mandate.” Comcast has stepped up deployment of Internet-ready X1 set-top boxes. The FCC proposal has pressured shares of Arris International ( ARRS ), a supplier of set-top boxes to the cable industry; they were down 13% in afternoon trading on the stock market today , following the vote, but pay-TV stocks saw no big moves. AT&T, in a statement, said: “While consumers are embracing an apps-based approach that offers a variety of content on more than 450 devices, the FCC has chosen to go down a path that threatens the very competition that has led to a vibrant marketplace. As this proceeding continues, we hope these concerns are given the weight they deserve and the commission allows consumers and not Google to continue to drive the market.” By selling set-top box type devices, Google could target the TV advertising market, raising privacy issues, according to critics. Wheeler’s proposal could also impact Charter Communications ( CHTR ), Time Warner Cable ( TWC ) and Verizon Communications ( VZ ), as well as satellite TV broadcasters DirecTV and Dish Network ( DISH ).