Tag Archives: technology

Why You Should Be Paying Attention To Netflix’s Stock Chart

Loading the player… Get ready to grab your popcorn — we’re now less than a week away from Netflix ’s ( NFLX ) Q1 earnings report next Monday, April 18. In Tuesday’s session, the stock was able to retake a critical level — the 200-day line — that it has been struggling to recapture. Can it hold above that level Wednesday? Global Rollout Impacts Financials The video-streaming powerhouse’s bottom line is projected to drop 73% to three cents a share as amid rising costs for its global rollout. Netflix hasn’t seen that large an earnings decline since Q4 2012. Analysts expect revenue for the quarter to jump 25% to $1.97 billion, which would be Netflix’s fastest growth in the last four quarters. All Eyes On Subscriber Growth And maybe even more so than those figures, Wall Street will be looking closely at subscriber growth — a key metric for Netflix. In Q4, Netflix’s earnings and revenue beat estimates. So did its overall subscriber additions of 5.6 million, boosted by international markets. But its U.S. subscriber additions of 1.56 million missed expectations for 1.65 million new subscribers. The miss represented a slowdown in U.S. growth and sent shares tumbling over the next several weeks. Netflix may be able to redeem itself. A Baird survey out late last month points to “solid” U.S. additions in Q1, fueled by the recent launches of new seasons of original shows like “House of Cards” and “Daredevil.” Netflix itself has projected 6.1 million net additions for Q1 vs. 4.9 million a year earlier. Stock Retakes Key 200-Day Line Look for positive results to be a catalyst for the stock, which is currently trading 20% below its all-time high, reached in early December. Netflix has struggled to retake the 200-day line but finally climbed above that level Tuesday as it rallied 4.2%. Shares have risen more than 30% from their February low, hit in the wake of Netflix’s last quarterly report. Netflix Originals Seen As No. 1 In May, “grandfathered-in” subscribers will see a $2 price increase to $9.99 a month. One analyst sees the price increase creating a churn of just 3% to 4%, which is relatively low. One big reason why cord cutters may be unlikely to cut their Netflix subscriptions is the content. Morgan Stanley says that Netflix’s original content is now No. 1, putting it above Time Warner ( TWX )-owned HBO for the first time in the six years that Morgan Stanley has been tracking the video services. Still, the company faces stiff competition from a growing list of competitors besides HBO, including Hulu — co-owned by Walt Disney ( DIS ), 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ) — and Amazon ( AMZN ) Video. Will Disney Acquire Netflix? Netflix’s leadership in video streaming could make it a good acquisition target for Disney — or so said BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield in a report last week. He says that the buy would help the House of Mouse with succession planning and the erosion of its ABC and ESPN broadcast businesses. But whether or not Disney is actually interested in the move remains to be seen. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Valeant Dives As Bondholder Seeks Default; Buyout Buzz Lifts Medivation

Valeant Pharmaceuticals ( VRX ) fell in late trade after Valeant said bondholders submitted a default notice, citing delays in the drugmaker’s annual report. Meanwhile, Medivation ( MDVN ) jumped late on a Bloomberg report , citing sources, that the drugmaker rejected a takeover overture from Sanofi ( SNY ). Valeant fell more than 6% in early after-hours action, pared losses to 4%. Shares closed up 2% at 31.99. Dow Jones, which initially reported the news, said Centerbridge Partners was a bondholder seeking the default notice. Valeant has until June 11 to file its 10-K annual report or be compelled to repay bonds early. Valeant has said it will file by April 29. Centerbridge, which holds some $250 million in Valeant debt, may be seeking concessions rather than a default. Meanwhile, Medivation jumped more than 9% after hours following a 1.1% gain to 45.73 at the close. Sanofi was little changed after hours. Sanofi hasn’t ruled out a hostile bid for Medivation, Bloomberg reported. Sanofi would like to expand its cancer drug portfolio. It was a wild day for some drugmakers. Horizon Pharmaceuticals ( HZNP ) dived 26%, close to its October lows. Horizon gave  weak sales guidance . Meanwhile, Clovis ( CLVS ) fell 5.4% to 14.24 after tumbling intraday to 12.25. An FDA advisory panel overwhelmingly opposed early approval for Clovis’  lung cancer drug, saying the agency should await phase 3 data for rociletinib. The stock had fallen 17.7% on Friday and 4.5% on Monday after the panel’s documents were released  

Tesla Model S Electric Car Gets EPA Range Boost To 294 Miles

Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) boosted the EPA-stated driving range of its most popular electric car, the Model S, to 294  miles for the longest-range version for sale at its website, with its own estimated range over 300 miles. And the possibility of an even more souped-up Model S — a 100D version with a bigger battery — remains an open question. One analyst predicts it will happen by August. Also Tuesday, Tesla rolled out a list of design and feature tweaks. The electric car maker’s website now shows the Model 3 90D version with a “range per charge” of 302 miles (at the default 65 mph and 70 Fahrenheit outside temperature), while the EPA rating is 294 miles. That’s Tesla’s longest-range version of the Model S. It shows the higher-performance P90D at an EPA-rated 270 miles between rechargings and the 70D (dual motor) at 240 miles. “They may have done some software upgrade,” Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry told IBD Tuesday. “It seems the range per charge has probably gone up by about 10%.” “We just changed the numbers today to reflect the current EPA rating,” Tesla spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said by email in answer to IBD’s query. A calculator at Tesla’s website shows the 90D as able to get 451 miles between recharges if you adjust the speed down to 45 mph and raise the outside temperature to 90 Fahrenheit. Really? “We know of a person who drove from San Francisco to L.A. on a single charge and that was two years back,” Chowdhry said. And that’s over 380 miles. He says a larger battery-pack option for the Model S is likely by the end of August, which could extend driving range farther. On Tuesday, Tesla announced changes that allow faster recharging and also revealed a redesign of the sedan’s front profile, among other alterations. But the enhancements stop short of what the rumor mill suggested might be announced around the time of the Model 3 launch on March 31: a Tesla Model S 100D, which would indicate a bigger battery pack and longer driving range between recharges than existing Model S sedans. “Today we’re introducing the following updates to Model S,” Tesla’s Georgeson said in a Tuesday morning email, noting that the changes are just now going into production: The front fascia and headlights “now have a design similar to that found on Model X (the electric crossover that Tesla started delivering in September).” A HEPA air filtration system that was only on the Model X is now available, and is “100 times more effective than all other premium automotive filters.” The standard charger in the Model S is now “upgraded from 40 amps to 48 amps,” enabling “faster charging when connected to higher amperage charging sources.” Two new interior choices: Figured Ash Wood Decor and Dark Ash Wood Decor. In March, before the launch of the  Model 3 that topped 325,000 reservations  in its first week, analyst Chowdhry weighed in on the possibility of a longer-range Model S with a bigger battery pack. A “Tesla Model S 100D (not the performance version, but the Dual Motor version) could achieve a range greater than 300 miles per charge,” analyst Chowdhry posited in research note then, commenting on the rumored possibility that a Tesla Model S with a large battery pack was in the skunk works. The rumor stemmed from what a self-described “white hat” hacker saw in some code in the operating system of a Model S, which was alluding to a P100D. That was then reported by the automotive press. In Tuesday’s announced Model S upgrades, the amped-up charger is of note, indicating that Tesla has been looking at ways of maximizing what it can do with its unique battery packs that wrap around a large part of the cars. Incremental improvements in range have also been expected over time, through software tweaks to the battery management system. Tesla stock fell a fraction in the stock market today , to 247.82. The company’s IBD Composite Rating has risen to 65 out of a possible 99, but remains weighed down by the California startup’s string of quarterly losses. It leads automaker Composite Ratings, with Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU ) next at a 60, Ford ( F ) with a 55, China electric-car maker Kandi Technologies Group ( KNDI ) with a 50 and  General Motors ( GM ) with a 49. Tesla stock is up 76% from a February low and down 15% from an all-time high of 291.42 set in September 2014. This Is What It’s Like To Ride In A Tesla Model 3 RELATED: Tesla Stock, Lifted By The Model 3 Launch, Hit By Model X Recall