Tag Archives: technology

Apple Supplier Broadcom, Tech Giant Cisco Pitted In Data Center War

Tech giant Cisco Systems ‘ ( CSCO ) 16-nanometer data center semiconductor could slug Apple ( AAPL ) supplier Broadcom ( AVGO ), which is ramping its 28-nm Tomahawk technology, an RBC analyst said Monday. Broadcom’s Tomahawk will go for $600-$700 per chip, replacing the outmoded Trident chip that costs less than $500, on average. Unlike Trident, however, Tomahawk won’t win across-the-board vs. Cisco, RBC’s Amit Daryanani wrote. Cisco recently unveiled its CloudScale application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), in direct competition with data center chipmakers Broadcom, Cavium ( CAVM ), Intel ( INTC ), Marvell Technology Group ( MRVL ) and Mellanox Technologies ( MLNX ). In the past, Broadcom’s Trident won “across the board” at Cisco. This time, Cisco is likely to use its own CloudScale ASIC in its Nexus 9000, 9200 and 9300 platforms, leaving the 9500 to hold the Tomahawk silicon, Daryanani said. Other users include Hewlett-Packard Enterprise ( HPE ), Arista Networks ( ANET ) and Juniper Networks ( JNPR ), which had a two-year head start to begin ramping Tomahawk-based solution, Daryanani wrote. He sees a five- to six-year lifespan for the product. Still, “we believe Cisco encroachment into the merchant silicon market needs to be monitored by Broadcom investors,” he wrote. “For now, we continue to believe Broadcom’s solutions are the market-leaders for cloud/data center spenders.” Daryanani maintained his 180 price target and top performer rating on Broadcom stock. Shares rose a fraction Monday, to 152.89, on a day when Apple released new products that didn’t represent huge advances and were expected. Cisco stock fell a fraction on Wall Street Monday, while Apple was flat.

3 Software Stocks Better Than Microsoft Right Now

Over the years, the software industry has changed the way organizations conduct their businesses and people connect with each other on the back of technological progress and innovations. When we think of the software industry, the first name that

Are Apple, Facebook, Google Shopping For Payments Acquisitions?

Silicon Valley tech giants Apple ( AAPL ), Facebook ( FB ) and Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google are likely to begin acquiring payments firms, with PayPal ( PYPL ) among the possible targets, investment bank Wedbush said after polling what it termed a panel of experts. The shopping spree will be sparked by slowing industry growth and “capital markets back at higher valuations,” Wedbush analyst Gil Luria wrote in a research note Monday. The panel told Wedbush that Google would be the best fit to acquire PayPal. Luria, however, disagreed with the panel, writing that he believes MasterCard ( MA ) would gain more value from a PayPal acquisition. PayPal stock was up 4%, near 41, in late-afternoon trading on the stock market today . The IBD Leaderboard stock cleared a 40.03 buy point early Monday. The stock has an IBD Composite Rating of 94, where 99 is the highest. Wedbush panelists included a former senior vice president at PayPal, as well as executives with credit card companies including MasterCard. On Sunday, PayPal announced that it would be opening up its money-transfer service Xoom to Cuba. The announcement coincided with President Obama’s historic trip to the island nation. Square Not Likely To Be Acquired The report dismissed Square ( SQ ) as a potential acquisition target until it can attract more than just “small-ticket merchants,” Luria cited the panelists as saying. Luria speculated that Visa ( V ) would unload its approximately 1% stake in Square vs. acquiring more. Earlier this month, Square posted its first quarterly earnings reports since its November IPO. Results met Wall Street expectations, but slowing merchant growth led to a disappointing outlook . Square stock rose to a 2016 high on Monday, up 10% near 13, in late-afternoon trading. The gains came with no apparent news. In an email, Luria told IBD, “Square is very heavily shorted with a very small float — that has translated into significant volatility in the share price, including today.” The float will rise in less than two months: The IPO lockup period for insiders and major venture capital investors expires May 17. The panelists said that if Square’s lending business continues to grow at 200% to 300%, it will likely “end badly.” Square Capital provides cash advances to some of Square’s small-merchant customers. But Square Capital is essentially a subprime lender, Luria has told IBD.