Tag Archives: technology

ExOne Drops, But Q4 Earnings Add More Hope To 3D Printer Turnaround

ExOne ( XONE ) late Tuesday became the third 3D printer maker to report better-than-expected earnings for its most recent quarter, adding more hope for a turnaround in the beleaguered industry, even though 3D printer stocks fell Wednesday. After the market close Tuesday, ExOne reported Q4 revenue of $16.2 million, topping expectations of $14.7 million. Revenue rose 2.5% year over year, reversing three straight quarters of revenue deceleration. The company lost eight cents per share minus items, but that was seven cents better than the consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. 3D Systems ( DDD ) and Stratasys ( SSYS ), the two largest providers of 3D printers, both also  beat expectations  with their Q4 earnings reports. ExOne stock initially rose as much as 7.5% in the stock market today , hitting an 11-month high near 14, but it closed Wednesday down 6.3%, at 12.12. That’s up from an all-time low of 6.61, touched on Jan. 20. Stratasys stock fell 8.6% Wednesday to 23.25, while 3D Systems fell 5.1% to 14.44. 3D Systems and Stratasys had soared over a two-year period that ended as 2013 came to a close. ExOne went public in February 2013 with shares priced at 18. The stock had traded above 70 in early January 2014, then headed downhill. All three gave back their gains starting in 2014 as the promise of 3D printing seemed to fade with disappointing quarterly earnings reports. 3D Systems stock hit its record low of 6 set on Jan. 20. Stratasys touched a record low of 14.88 set on Jan. 26. Some analysts continue to hold a cautious tone on 3D printing stocks. After Stratasys reported its Q4 earnings, Cowen analyst Robert Stone said that its visibility was still limited, though he raised his price target on the company to 23 from 19. 3D Systems, in its Q4 earnings release, said that industry conditions remain challenging. But Terry Wohlers, president of Wohlers Associates, which provides technical, market and strategic analysis on the 3D printer market, is upbeat. He says that corporations, governments and universities have embraced 3D printing technology. “If you look at the industry through the lens of investors and share price, that will give you a distorted view of what’s happening in the 3D printer market,” Wohlers told IBD.

Apple Music Rival Pandora Spending More To Boost Its ‘Lean Forward’

Pandora Media ( P )  is spending big as it digests its $75 million purchase of Web-streaming service Rdio, said investment bank Needham, which on Wednesday significantly lowered its 2016 EBITDA estimate for the No. 1 music streaming service. Pandora stock has sagged since the June launch of Apple ( AAPL ) Music — a service combining paid subscription music streaming with a 24/7 live global Internet radio station. While Pandora remains the Internet streaming leader, its market share is falling as competition grows. Pandora stock was down almost 3%, below 10, in late-afternoon trading in the stock market today . Besides Apple Music, Pandora is also in a heated battle with rivals including Spotify, iHeartRadio, Amazon.com ‘s ( AMZN ) Amazon Prime Music and Google Play Music from Alphabet ( GOOGL ). Needham analyst Laura Martin cut her 2016 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) estimate for Pandora to “negative $70 million” from her prior positive $50 million. “The gap downward is largely due to $50 million extra research-and-development spending for a new on-demand service, $30 million for Rdio employees (mostly engineers) and $40 million to market/launch a new on-demand service,” Martin wrote in a research note. “By implication, about $90 million of spending might get pushed into next year if Pandora can’t complete agreements with all record labels by Q3 2016.” Pandora posted an EBITDA loss of $31.1 million in 2015, according to Needham, down 57% from $72.5 million in 2014. “Recall that today Pandora competes in the 80% of the market that is ‘lean back,’ ” said Martin, referring to curated versions where the music-streaming service picks the tunes listeners hear. The remaining 20% is “lean forward,” she said, a term referring to more personalized music that “Pandora is investing in during fiscal year 2016 in order to create an on-demand service similar to Spotify.” Needham maintained a buy rating and 12 price target on Pandora stock. Pandora bought Ticketfly for $450 million in October, vaulting the online music-streaming leader into the live-event and ticket sales business. The company completed its purchase of Rdio in December. Overseas expansion will likely take center stage in 2016, analysts say. Pandora’s biggest rival outside the U.S. is Spotify, which is in more than 60 markets. Besides the U.S., Pandora operates only in Australia and New Zealand, launching in those markets in 2012. Pandora must pay to acquire music rights country by country, which can significantly add to its already heavy spending on music-acquisition costs. Pandora reported a fourth-quarter earnings miss in February, as its active listener base fell and acquisitions and other costs took a toll.

Apple Vs. FBI: Israeli Firm Reportedly Will Unlock iPhone

In a bid to unlock the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters, the FBI has turned to Israeli digital forensics firm Cellebrite, according to a number of media reports Wednesday. Reuters said that the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in Tel Aviv was the first to report that Cellebrite was working with U.S. law enforcement to unlock the device. Cellebrite provides mobile forensic software. Executives at Cellebrite and Apple have declined to comment on the reports. So have FBI officials. Apple is engaged in a legal battle with the U.S. Justice Department over a judge’s order that it write new software to disable pass-code protection on the iPhone that the shooter used. The ensuing legal fight has become a lightning rod for a broader debate on data privacy vs. security. Led by CEO Tim Cook, Apple had refused to create code to unlock the phone, saying that doing so would create a “back door” to bypass its security protections and thus threaten the personal data of millions of iPhone users. Apple says that the government is overstepping its bounds by ordering Apple to unlock the phone. But the case between Apple and the FBI could come to an abrupt end if Cellebrite can unlock it. Apple and the FBI were set to face off in court on Tuesday, but on Monday a federal judge agreed to the government’s request to postpone the hearing after U.S. prosecutors said that a “third party” had presented a possible method for opening an encrypted iPhone without Apple’s help. Cellebrite signed a sole-service contract with the FBI in 2013 to provide data-extraction service, according to Buzzfeed . Cellebrite says on its website that it can obtain data from Apple phones that use the iPhone’s most recent operating system. A case study on the Cellebrite site shows that the company has worked with U.S. law enforcement to unlock phones, including an LG phone for the Tacoma, Wash., police department. A subsidiary of Japan’s Sun Corp., Cellebrite has its revenue split between two business segments: technology for mobile retailers and a forensics system that law enforcement, military and intelligence use to retrieve data hidden inside mobile devices, Reuters said.