Tag Archives: technology

Shopify, In Sweet Spot For E-Commerce Momentum, Gets Upgrade

Shopify ( SHOP ) was upgraded by Pacific Crest Securities on the confidence that strong momentum will continue at the e-commerce company. Pacific Crest analyst Brendan Barnicle upgraded Shopify to an overweight rating and set a price target of 35. Shopify stock was up 3.5%, near 26.75, during afternoon trading in the stock market today . The stock hit a low of 18.58 on Jan. 15 and is up 44% since then. “When we initiated coverage of Shopify we had three concerns: valuation, margins and competition,” Barnicle wrote in his research note. “During the past year, all three of those concerns have declined sufficiently to compel recommending Shopify at current levels.” Shopify provides a cloud-based e-commerce platform that businesses use to build websites and sell goods online and across multiple sales channels, including mobile and social media. The Canadian company raised $131 million on its May 20 initial pubic offering, pricing 7.7 million shares at 17. It reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 17 and provided guidance above expectations. Shopify reported Q4 revenue of $70.2 million, up 99% year over year, and a smaller loss than expected. Revenue has grown at double- and triple-digit rates for the past three years, year over year. The consensus estimate for Q1 in a Thomson Reuters poll of analysts is revenue growth of 79% to $67 million, and a loss of 9 cents per share, minus items. “While competition remains, it seems to have stagnated,” Barnicle wrote. “Shopify is continuing to robustly add new customers to its platform.” He said larger e-commerce software providers servicing the high-end of the market, such as NetSuite ( N ) and Demandware ( DWRE ), are unlikely to move down-market and compete with Shopify in the small-to-midsize business market. He said e-commerce platforms from NetSuite and Demandware are often too expensive and require too many resources to be effective for smaller merchants. “However, Shopify Plus competes for enterprise customers and the company is interested in moving up-market,” Barnicle wrote. Shopify says it was among the first e-commerce providers to add the ability to sell over the leading social media platforms, including Facebook ( FB ) and Twitter ( TWTR ). More than 25% of Shopify merchants have enabled social media selling. In November, Shopify announced a partnership with Facebook that lets shoppers buy Shopify merchants’ products through their Facebook pages. In September, Amazon ( AMZN ) selected Shopify to be its preferred platform for helping small and midsize retailers build and manage online stores. The plan lets Shopify businesses use Amazon’s payment system and other services, part of a plan that Amazon announced a year ago to ultimately shut down its Amazon Webstore business, which provides a similar service. Shopify stock has moved up nine of the last 10 days, and is above its key 50-day line. It gets a not-high IBD Composite Rating of 57 out of a possible 99, factoring in the string of losses in its quarterly reports, and other metrics.

FireEye Curbs 2016 Loss Expectations, But Stock Still Tumbles

FireEye ( FEYE ) curbed its loss expectations for 2016 by a nickel at the midpoint of its guidance range as the cybersecurity firm slashed its capital expenditures view by $15 million, but its shares still fell. FireEye stock was down 2.5%, near 18, in afternoon trading on the stock market today , after shares had risen for nine straight trading days. Shares edged up last week during the cybersecurity RSA Conference in San Francisco. At the conference, FireEye announced a partnership with agent-less vendor ForeScout Technologies and unveiled an endpoint exploit-protection product. And its $275 million  iSight Partners acquisition is already bearing fruit, FireEye executives told IBD. Tuesday, FireEye cut its 2016 capital expenditures view to $35 million vs. its earlier guidance for $50 million. FireEye sees $1.20 to $1.27 losses per share ex items, trimming earlier views for $1.25 to $1.32. FireEye reiterated sales guidance for $815 million to $845 million, which would be up 33% vs. 2015. FireEye retained its billings ex items guidance for $975 million to $1.055 billion. The consensus of 34 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected $829.9 million in sales and a per-share loss ex items of $1.30. Positive cash flow is still expected to come in at $70 million to $80 million, FireEye said. The updated guide comes as FireEye kicks off its 2016 analyst briefing. IBD’s 25-company Computer Software-Security industry group, which ranks a lowly No. 177 out of 197 groups, was down 1% Tuesday afternoon. FireEye stock has a low IBD Composite Rating of 17 out of a possible 99. Verisign ( VRSN ), Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) and Check Point Software Technology ( CHKP ) stocks lead the group with CRs of 84, 79 and 73, respectively.

ServiceNow May Settle Some Patent Litigation With BMC Software

ServiceNow ( NOW ) stock rose Tuesday, with word out that it might be able to settle some of its patent litigation with privately held BMC Software, avoiding a trial scheduled to start Friday. A cloud-based business software rival of SAP ( SAP ) and Salesforce.com ( CRM ), ServiceNow shares were up more than 4% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 60.70. William Blair analyst Justin Furby suggested the possible settlement may “be a mild positive, as the prospect of a jury trial and the potential appeals process … would have likely created overhang on the stock. “More importantly, until this point, we believe the litigation has not affected ServiceNow’s sales cycles,” Furby wrote in a research note Tuesday. But the increased public attention of a trial “could have delayed sales for SerivceNow, particularly if the court would have ruled in BMC’s favor. “Lastly, BMC had sought injunctive relief, and had the lawsuit and subsequent appeals process gone against ServiceNow, it could have faced the prospect of discontinuing or rewriting certain of its applications,” Furby said. BMC sued ServiceNow in September 2014, claiming seven patent violations. Courts dismissed two claims, and BMC withdrew a third. But last month, BMC filed a second lawsuit against ServiceNow, claiming infringement of five patents, two of which were included in the original litigation, Furby said, adding that he didn’t know if the proposed settlement included this second case. He said he spoke with someone at ServiceNow who told him that “all matters in controversy between the parties have been settled, in principle.” ServiceNow did not immediately respond to IBD’s request for comment. The four remaining claims of the original lawsuit involve “managing a computer network via hierarchy,” collecting performance management data, determining the root cause of a problem, and “spotlight visualization” for IT service models, Furby noted. Hewlett Packard Also Suing ServiceNow As for separate litigation filed against ServiceNow in February 2014 by the former Hewlett-Packard Co. — now represented in the action by  Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) — claiming eight patent infringements, the court threw out four claims, stayed litigation on two, and scheduled an April 29 hearing and a May 22, 2017, trial date for the remaining two claims, Furby said. “The BMC settlement has yet to be finalized, and we are unclear what the amount will be and whether ServiceNow will be paying ongoing licensing fees to BMC as part of a potential settlement,” Furby wrote. ServiceNow has not been accruing reserves for damages but has been “expensing significant ongoing attorney fees … incorporated into guidance,” he said. Furby put the company’s net cash pile at about $700 million and estimated $325 million in free cash flow in 2016 prior to any settlement. ServiceNow stock is trading 34% off a record high 91.28 set Dec. 4. Its stock plunged 15.7% on Jan. 28 after reporting billings below expectations, although fourth-quarter non-GAAP EPS was up 533% to 19 cents, doubling analysts’ consensus, and revenue was up 44% to $285.6 million, also topping Wall Street. The IBD Computer Software-Enterprise industry group, led by SAP and Salesforce.com, has fallen 18% from its November highs. With $91.9 billion in market cap, SAP leads the group, followed by Salesforce’s $46.8 billion market value. ServiceNow’s market cap stands at $9.6 billion. Shares of SAP and  Salesforce were up a fraction Tuesday afternoon, but Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock was down 2.5%.