Tag Archives: technology

Interesting June Stock Options for MSFT

Consistently, one of the more popular stocks people enter into their stock options watchlist at Stock Options Channel is Microsoft Corporation (Symbol MSFT). So this week we highlight one interesting put contract, and one interesting call contract, from the

Will Commvault Hit Another Home Run With Earnings Report?

On the heels of a company transition, Commvault Systems ( CVLT ) is set to report earnings before the market open Tuesday, with the stock up sharply from its previous quarterly earnings report. The provider of data management services is expected to post revenue of $157 million, up 4% year over year and marking the second quarter in a row of revenue growth after three previous quarters of declines. The consensus on earnings per share minus items, based on analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, is 25 cents, down from 27 cents in the year-earlier period, for its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. After reporting fiscal Q3 earnings after the close on Jan. 27 that beat estimates, Commvault stock soared 16% the following day. From that point, the stock is up 21%, about where it was one year ago. Commvault stock was trading near 43.50, down a fraction, in midday trading in the stock market today . Commvault has an IBD Accumlation/Distribution Rating of A+, suggesting heavy institutional buying and little selling of late. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brent Bracelin said in a research note that much of Commvault’s turnaround is now behind it, giving the company a “line of sight to a recovery.” This, he said, was further proof of Commvault’s success in enabling businesses to migrate to cloud services from providers such as Amazon ( AMZN ), Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ). “We see new products driving a return to double-digit license growth in the coming year,” Bracelin wrote.

Could Sunrun-NRG Energy Pairing Topple No. 1 Rival SolarCity?

No. 2 residential installer Sunrun ( RUN ) could fortify against top rival SolarCity ( SCTY ) by acquiring NRG Energy ‘s ( NRG ) rooftop business, a Credit Suisse analyst suggested Monday. But both Sunrun and SolarCity stocks were torched by the analyst’s estimate cuts. In morning trading on the stock market today , SolarCity stock was down 4.5%, while Sunrun stock was down nearly 2%. SolarCity and Sunrun are slated to report Q1 earnings on May 9 and May 12, respectively. Installations appear to be tracking in line, but bookings are below guidance and will likely jeopardize the companies’ respective 44% and 40% growth guidance, said Credit Suisse analyst Patrick Jobin. Jobin cut his price targets on SolarCity and Sunrun stocks to 62 from 89, and to 18 from 21, respectively. In a research note, Jobin said he expects SolarCity to have installed 178 megawatts in Q1, up 18% year over year, vs. guidance for 180 MW. “We believe we are being very conservative, a necessary measure as the company has missed guidance (in) three of the last five quarters,” he wrote. Jobin expects Sunrun to hit installation views for 56 MW, down 17% vs. the year-earlier quarter, on the exclusion of 12 MW in Nevada. Nevada recently cut payments to solar customers for energy fed back into the grid, and it retroactively applied the new rules to existing customers, prodding solar companies to exit the state. That Nevada net-metering decision, complicated by “regulatory flux” — California and Massachusetts’ rule-making and the Investment Tax Credit extension — is the likely culprit behind slow Q1 bookings, Jobin wrote. For Q1, the consensus of 17 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters tips SolarCity to report $108.5 million in sales, up 61% year over year, and a $2.34 per-share loss minus items, widening from a $1.52 loss in the year-earlier quarter. Three months ago, SolarCity guided to a $2.55-$2.65 per-share loss minus items. Sunrun is expected to report $83.4 million in sales and a 53-cent per-share loss minus items. Sales would fall 16% from Q4, and losses would deepen from a 15-cent loss in the prior quarter. Sunrun made its IPO last August. Jobin cut his U.S. 2016 residential demand to 3 gigawatts, up 45%. Of that, he expects SolarCity to install 1.2 GW, and Sunrun to install 271 MW. NRG could prove a wildcard, Jobin said. A deal with Sunrun would make sense, given the firm’s platform model. “NRG’s residential business has been earmarked for a change — potentially an imminent sale or partnership,” he wrote. “Whatever happens will be critical, as it could enable a weaker player or strengthen an incumbent.”