Tag Archives: technology

Tesla Losing Two Executives Ahead Of Q1 Report; Stock Slides

Just hours before it was due to report first-quarter financials, Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) confirmed Wednesday that two of its key executives were leaving, sending its stock tumbling. Around midday, Bloomberg broke the news that Greg Reichow , Tesla’s vice president of production, and manufacturing chief Josh Ensign will exit the electric automaker, bringing the number of vice presidents who’ve left so far this year to five. Reichow, who joined in 2011, was a particularly significant player at Tesla, having led a team responsible for “building an all-new manufacturing organization from the ground up and for making Model S and Model X a reality,” according to Chief Executive Elon Musk. Reichow’s departure was described as a leave of absence, but its length wasn’t specified. Bloomberg also cited an anonymous source saying that glitches in the launch of the Model X SUV were tied to the executives’ departures, though Tesla denied this. Tesla stock fell 4.2% to 222.56 on the stock market today . The stock has been sliding for the last week, as sentiment ahead of the quarterly report has been mixed to negative. On Friday, Robert W. Baird analyst Ben Kallo cut his first-quarter estimates  based on the troubled launch of the Model X, a few days after UBS analyst Colin Langan wrote that the Model 3 sedan, currently taking pre-orders ahead of its release, could not be profitable with its $35,000 price tag. On the other hand, on Tuesday Stifel analyst James Albertine affirmed his buy rating, and defended the Model X. “Despite Model X launch hiccups, including a 2,700-unit recall related to third-row seats that could fold forward during a crash, we think management approached this as an opportunity to showcase its world-class customer service and may have improved the brand,” Albertine wrote in his research note.

Salesforce Upside? Internet Of Things Might Boost Customer Service

The Internet of Things could put some oomph back into Salesforce.com ’s ( CRM ) revenue growth, though a Morgan Stanley report still sees a compound annual growth rate of 25% through fiscal 2019. Salesforce is the No. 1 maker of CRM, or customer relationship management software. It pioneered software-as-a-service, selling online subscriptions to its products that customers bought as needed. Saleforce’s revenue growth slowed to 24% in fiscal 2016 ended Jan. 31, after rising from 32% to 37% in fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015. Keith Weiss, a Morgan Stanley analyst, forecasts 25% CAGR revenue growth for Salesforce.com over the next three years. “The rapid growth of the Internet of Things and connected devices has the potential to bring transformative change to the customer service industry,” said Weiss in a research report. “We see cloud-based customer service applications as one of the most likely (and first) areas to benefit from the IoT trend.” The Internet of Things refers to wireless technology that connects industrial, medical, automotive and consumer devices to the Internet. “Despite a leading market share in customer service solutions, we believe meaningful opportunities remain for Salesforce.com to expand its wallet share among existing customers and target adjacent opportunities …,” Weiss wrote. The San Francisco-based company has steadily expanded its focus from mostly small businesses to large enterprises. Salesforce.com stock is down nearly 6% in 2016 and was down 1%, near 74, in afternoon trading in the stock market today .  But Salesforce stock is up more than 40% since touching a 20-month low below 53 in early February. Salesforce.com has a high IBD Composite Rating of 92 out of a possible 99, though IBD’s Computer Software-Enterprise group ranks just No. 126 out of 197 groups.

Priceline Q2 View Yanks Partner TripAdvisor Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

Priceline ‘s ( PCLN ) Q2 guidance miss following its CEO’s unexpected resignation weighed on travel stocks Wednesday, tugging shares of partner TripAdvisor ( TRIP ) ahead of the smaller agency’s Q1 earnings report, slated for late Thursday. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , IBD’s 11-company Leisure-Travel Booking industry group was down 8.5% and hit a two-month low, led by a 9% dip in Priceline stock . Shares of TripAdvisor and Expedia ( EXPE ) were down nearly 4% and 2%, respectively. TripAdvisor is the third in the trio to report Q1 earnings. Expedia’s blow-out Q1 report drove the group up 1.6% last Friday. For Q1, the consensus of 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expects TripAdvisor to report $370.5 million in sales and 46 cents earnings per share minus items, up 2% and down 15%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier quarter. On a year-over-year basis, it would be the second time in four quarters Tripadvisor’s EPS has fallen and the biggest EPS decline since December 2013. Sales would decelerate for the sixth consecutive quarter. The consensus models $110.16 million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), down 13% vs. $127 million in the year-earlier period. TripAdvisor didn’t provide guidance during its February Q4 earnings report, noting it would no longer offer an annual sales and EBITDA outlook. Though, CFO Ernst Teunissen cautioned that instant booking would likely continue to dilute near-term results. TripAdvisor and Priceline last year inked a partnership where some of Priceline’s online travel brands participate in TripAdvisor’s instant booking platform.