Tag Archives: technology

Square, Facebook Partner To Bring Ads To Small Businesses

In a blog post Wednesday, digital cash register and payments processor Square ( SQ ) announced that it would integrate Facebook ( FB ) ad buying into its small-business software. The new integration will enable merchants using Square software to buy and target Facebook ads, aiming to help the merchants understand the effectiveness of online ad campaigns on the social network. Square will earn a subscription fee. “There’s a lot of excitement around buying Facebook ads, but the critical missing link is: If I put down $5, how do I know if it worked?” Saumil Mehta, Square’s customer engagement lead, told the New York Times . “The ability to track and close the loop from advertisement to sale — that’s the holy grail.” The company offers a range of digital cash register hardware as well as software that performs marketing tasks. The company’s financial business offers small-business loans — it assesses risk based on the wealth of transaction data it accumulates — and other financial services such as payroll. It also does payments processing — a business that some analysts and investors have criticized for having tight profit margins. Square must share its transaction fees with credit card firms and other financial institutions. Square also has a peer-to-peer payments app called Square Cash that competes with PayPal ( PYPL ) and its offering, Venmo. CEO Jack Dorsey is also CEO of Twitter ( TWTR ), which is based about a block away from Square’s offices in San Francisco. Square stock was down 4%, near 12.50, in afternoon trading on the stock market today but rose earlier to a four-month high of 13.80. The company has an IBD Composite Rating of 46, where 99 is the highest, and its November IPO generally disappointed. Shares priced at 9, peaked at 14.05 the first day and have mostly lagged ever since. Wedbush analyst Gil Luria warns that the stock is volatile because it has a large number of short sellers betting on the stock to fall, as well as a small float. Company insiders, including early venture capital investors who can’t sell until May under the IPO’s lock-up provisions, hold a significant number of shares. Square beat Wall Street expectations for Q4 sales in the company’s first release since going public in November. Executives have said that the company will turn profitable this year. In 2015, the company’s losses widened to $179 million from $154 million in 2014.

Is Apple Inc. Completely Neglecting the MacBook?

Apple’s latest MacBook, the MacBook. Image credit Apple. Late last year, PC processor giant Intel announced a new family of microprocessors based on a new architecture that it calls Skylake. The

Top-Rated Inphi Follows Apple, Tesla Chip Suppliers With Breakout

Top-rated chipmaker Inphi ( IPHI ) is staging a breakout past a secondary entry point in the stock market today after receiving some positive analyst ratings. The bullish reports come as Inphi announced the immediate production availability of a new chip product for data centers’ high-speed networks. Among the wave of analyst ratings moves, Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold and raised its price target to 40, while B. Riley initiated coverage on Inphi with a buy rating and a target of 38.50. Northland Securities raised its price target to 36 and maintained its outperform rating. Inphi shares closed Tuesday at 30.61. The stock gapped up 6.1% to 32.51 in heavy volume Wednesday, breaking out of a cup base with a 32.42 buy point intraday and hitting a new all-time high. Shares are in buy range to 34.04, which is 5% past the pivot. Last week, shares cleared a double-bottom entry at 28.54, and are now extended from that pivot. Apple, Tesla Suppliers In Buy Range Inphi’s breakout comes one week after several Apple ( AAPL ) and Tesla ( TSLA ) chip suppliers broke out. Tesla supplier Nvidia ( NVDA ) is still trading in buy range after breaking out of a cup-with-handle base last week. Nvidia shares hit a new eight-year high in above-average turnover on Wednesday, rising 1.4%. Apple supplier Microsemi ( MSCC ) is also still in buy range after its breakout from a cup-with-handle base last week. Microsemi shares are trading about 5% below their high reached in November, rising 0.2% intraday Wednesday. And fellow Apple supplier Broadcom Limited ( AVGO ) is extended from double-bottom entry cleared earlier this month, but it’s still in buy range from an alternate entry cleared last week. Broadcom shares dipped 0.6% intraday. Meanwhile, Apple shares rose 0.3% Wednesday, and Tesla slid 3.2%.