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| November 2014 |
| Archives |
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| Friday, November 28, 2014, 11:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Intel Hits New Multi-Year High |
Shares of Intel (INTC, $37.57) today reached a new multi-year high at $37.58.
The stock has not been at these levels since February 2001.
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| Friday, November 28, 2014, 10:10 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Akamai Hits New Multi-Year High |
Shares of Akamai Technologies (AKAM, $65.15) this morning hit a new multi-year high at $65.17.
The stock has not seen these levels since August 2000.
JP Morgan says a strong start to the holiday shopping season is a positive for Akamai, as the company provides website acceleration capabilities to a high percentage of the 100 largest retailers.
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| Friday, November 28, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Cloud Watch: Veeva Systems Back in Favor |
On Wednesday, shares of Veeva Systems (VEEV, $32.38)--a provider of cloud-based CRM and content management solutions for the life sciences industry--surged more than 12% on 7x average daily volume after the company reported strong fiscal Q3 (Oct.) results and issued above-consensus FQ4 guidance.
In the June issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #148), with Veeva trading at $21.15 (off 57% from the post-IPO high of $49 from October 2013), we wrote that the stock had come down enough to re-attract buyers, as the valuation was once again more in line with the company’s TAM and expected revenue growth rate. The shares since then have rebounded 53%.
Revenue in the October quarter rose 52% to $83.8 million, handily beating the consensus of $78.9 million and the high end of the guidance range of $78 million to $79 million. Subscription services revenue gained 58%.
Operating margin expanded to 28.7% from 27.5% in FQ2 and 21.6% in the year-ago quarter. EPS of nine cents topped the consensus by a penny.
The company is making progress in broadening its product focus (non-CRM revenue is now above 15% of total revenue), with a successful sales push for Vault (used for managing promotional materials and clinical drug trials) resulting in more than 100+ customers using the solution (~1/2 are CRM customers as well).
Guidance for FQ4: EPS of eight to nine cents (the consensus was seven cents) on revenue of $84.5 million to $85.5 million, above the consensus of $81.6 million.
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| Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 11:15 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Facebook |
Shares of Facebook (FB, $77.16) today are gaining 2% and have retaken the 50-day moving average at $76.16. The RSI is rising from 58.4 and the 200-day moving average continues to trend upward.
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| Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 4:53 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Palo Alto Networks +6.1%, Hits New All-Time High |
Following last night’s strong FQ1 earnings report, Palo Alto Networks (PANW, $120.19) shares today jumped 6.1% on heavy volume and hit a new all-time high at $120.25.
Palo Alto Networks was added to our Tech-Stock Prospector Small-Cap Portfolio in June 2013 when the stock was trading at $39.42.
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| Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 2:02 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| FBR Capital Downgrades Pandora |
FBR Capital downgrades Pandora Media (P, $18.75) to ‘Underperform’ and slashes its price target to $11 from $28, saying upcoming royalty rate hikes for the 2016-2020 period could significantly increase costs.
Pandora shares today are off 5%.
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| Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 11:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: LinkedIn |
After pulling back from the November 4 high of $238.77, LinkedIn (LNKD, $223.40) shares have stabilized just above support at the 50-day moving average of $211.97. The 200-day moving average is trading sideways at $190.
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| Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 10:21 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| UBS Remains Positive on Workday |
UBS says the FY’16 first look from Workday (WDAY, $87.43) is likely conservative. The firm believes the company’s fundamentals are on track and maintains its price target of $111.
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| Tuesday, November 25, 2014, 9:11 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Stifel Ups Apple Target to $130 |
Stifel ups its Apple (AAPL, $118.62) price target to $130 from $115 after modeling in ~19.6 million units of the Apple Watch for next year using a blended ASP of around $490, which results in an incremental revenue contribution of $9.6 billion.
Also, the firm sees an upward bias to iPhone estimates for the next two quarters given the strong demand.
Stifel raises its FY’15 EPS estimate to $7.85 from $7.69.
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| Monday, November 24, 2014, 5:38 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Workday FQ3 Revenue +68% |
Workday (WDAY, $85.50 after hours, -7.5%) reports a fiscal Q3 (Oct.) loss of three cents a share, seven cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $215.1 million (+68% y/y), well above the consensus estimate of $205.2 million and the high end of the guidance range of $200 million to $205 million.
For fiscal Q4, the company sees revenue of $219 million to $222 million, vs. the consensus of $219.8 million.
While no official FY’16 (Jan.) guidance was given on the conference call, some generally conservative comments about the growth outlook for next year are causing the stock to sell off after hours. The FY’16 consensus revenue estimate indicates growth of 47.2%.
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| Monday, November 24, 2014, 2:24 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Arista Networks |
Arista Networks (ANET, $73.46) shares today are showing relative weakness, with the RSI falling from 40.8. There is short-term support at $72.23 and $71.68. The October low stands at $70.30.
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| Monday, November 24, 2014, 12:02 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| F5 Networks Hits New 52-Week High |
Shares of F5 Networks (FFIV, $129.65) today hit a new 52-week high at $129.81.
A positive catalyst: Over the past three months, the fiscal 2015 (Sept.) consensus EPS estimate has advanced to $6.36 from $6.24. The Street-high estimate is $6.91.
F5 trades at a forward P/E of 20.3, vs. the expected growth rate of 17.1%.
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| Monday, November 24, 2014, 10:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Salesforce |
Salesforce (CRM, $57.45) shares this morning are showing relative weakness, falling over 1%.
The stock reversed off of the November 11 high of $64.74.
There’s support at the 200-day moving average at $56.93.
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| Monday, November 24, 2014, 9:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Raymond James Upgrades Aruba Networks |
Raymond James upgrades Aruba Networks (ARUN, $18.82) to ‘Outperform’ with a price target of $25 following Friday’s sharp sell-off caused by concerns about conservative FQ2 guidance.
In fiscal Q1 (Oct.), Aruba delivered revenue growth of 29%.
The firm believes Aruba is well positioned for continued solid growth in the WiFi infrastructure segment.
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| Friday, November 21, 2014, 4:28 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Paylocity Jumps 6% on Heavy Volume |
Shares of Paylocity (PCTY, $30.03), a provider of cloud-based payroll/HCM solutions aimed at the SMB market (organizations with 20 to 1,000 employees), today rose 6.2% in heavy trading (just over 2x average daily volume) and no news.
The stock is nearly back to its IPO opening-price spike of $31 from March; the actual IPO price was $17.
In fiscal Q1 (Sept.), revenue advanced 39% to $31.1 million.
For fiscal 2015 (June), the consensus revenue estimate of $143.8 million (guidance is $141 million to $145 million) indicates growth of 32.3%. Revenue in FY’14 rose 40.8% to $108.69.
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| Friday, November 21, 2014, 11:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Jefferies Negative on Salesforce |
Jefferies starts coverage of Salesforce (CRM, $58.05) at ‘Underperform’ with a price target of $48, citing decelerating growth in annualized subscription billings, high sales & marketing expenses and strong competitive pressure in the new analytics segment.
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| Friday, November 21, 2014, 10:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Canaccord Lifts Splunk Target to $80 |
Canaccord lifts its Splunk (SPLK, $70.23) price target to $80 from $68, calling the company one of the most promising in the broader software space, with strong demand and solid execution resulting in continual increases in revenue guidance.
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| Friday, November 21, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Stifel Ups Splunk Target to $75 |
Stifel raises its Splunk (SPLK, $70.55 pre market, +8.6%) price target to $75 after last night’s strong fiscal Q3 (Oct.) report. Revenue rose 48% even as ratable accounted for 40% of license revenue (34% ex a 7-figure order for Splunk Cloud).
The firm is encouraged that Splunk’s overall revenue visibility is improving. For fiscal 2015 (Jan.), the company now expects ratable revenue (as a percentage of total license revenue) to come in closer to the high end of the previous guidance range of 25% to 35%.
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| Thursday, November 20, 2014, 5:30 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Splunk Delivers Another Beat-and-Raise |
Splunk (SPLK, $64.94)--a provider of Big Data monitoring and analytics solutions (covering security, IT operations & application delivery)--reports fiscal Q3 (Oct.) EPS of two cents, one cent above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $116 million (+48% y/y), above the consensus of $107.3 million and the high end of the guidance range of $105 million to $107 million.
License revenue gained 41% to $71.8 million.
*For FQ4, Splunk sees revenue of $135 million to $137 million, vs. the consensus of $133.3 million.
*FY’15 (Jan.) new revenue guidance: $438 million to $440 million, above the previous range of $423 million to $428 million.
*FIRST LOOK at FY’16: revenue of $575 million, vs. the consensus of $570.3 million.
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| Thursday, November 20, 2014, 11:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Needham Remains Optimistic on Salesforce |
Needham & Co. reiterates its Salesforce (CRM, $59.02) price target of $70, saying it sees initial fiscal 2016 revenue guidance as being conservative, “suggesting ample headroom for significant upside revisions,” especially given the potentially strong fiscal Q4. The firm believes Salesforce is likely to benefit from Dreamforce conference momentum into the end of the year.
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| Thursday, November 20, 2014, 10:21 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Evercore ISI Ups Apple Target |
Evercore ISI ups its Apple (AAPL, $115.96) price target to $135 from $125 based on strong demand for the iPhone 6. Apple shares this morning have traded to a high of $116.04.
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| Thursday, November 20, 2014, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Canaccord Raises Salesforce Target to $70 |
Canaccord raises its Salesforce (CRM, $58.41) price target to $70 from $65 based on positive commentary about customer adoption of the new Wave analytics product along with the continued large deal wins.
Salesforce in the latest quarter signed more 7- and 8-figure deals than in any FQ3 previously and doubled the number of 8-figure deals compared to the year-ago quarter.
Last night, Salesforce issued initial fiscal 2016 (Jan.) revenue guidance of $6.45 billion to $6.5 billion, representing growth of 20% to 21%.
The debate is whether or not this guidance, coming in below the consensus estimate of $6.66 billion, was conservative. The stock this morning is down more than 4% on concerns about slowing growth.
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| Thursday, November 20, 2014, 9:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Morgan Stanley Boosts Apple PT to $126 |
Morgan Stanley boosts its Apple (AAPL, $114.67) price target to $126 from $115, raising its earnings estimates based on higher Watch and ASP forecasts.
The firm believes Wall Street is not seeing the potential in the wearables market. Morgan Stanley is calling for calendar 2015 Apple Watch sales of 30 million units, while many are forecasting 12 million units or less.
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| Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 2:07 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Fidelity & Citadel Go Bigger into Qlik |
Fidelity in Q3 more than doubled its position in Qlik Technologies (QLIK, $28.86), a provider of next-gen analytics solutions, adding 1.2 million shares. The mutual fund manager now owns 2.36 million shares.
Another big buyer, Citadel Advisors, picked up 1.76 million shares, increasing its position by 212% to 2.59 million shares. Citadel is now among the 10 largest holders of Qlik.
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| Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 11:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Needham Positive on Nimble Storage |
Needham reiterates its Nimble Storage (NMBL, $27.27) price target of $36 after the company launched support for Fibre Channel (FC).
While this milestone was widely expected, FC support expands Nimble’s TAM to the remainder of the midrange/entry-level enterprise segment that had not been addressed, improving the company’s competitive positioning, says the firm.
For more on Nimble, see TechStock Radar--November 7, 2014.
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| Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Wellington Bullish on Aruba Networks |
In Q3, Wellington Management was a big buyer of Aruba Networks (ARUN, $21.53), a provider of WiFi infrastructure solutions, boosting its position by 79% to 7.13 million shares.
The money manager’s purchase of 3.16 million shares made it the #1 buyer of Aruba for the quarter.
Wellington is now the #3 holder of Aruba behind Fidelity and T. Rowe Price.
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| Wednesday, November 19, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Jefferies Ups Apple Target to $120 |
Jefferies raises its Apple (AAPL, $115.47) price target to $120 from $112 based on solid supply chain data and an increased fiscal 2015 (Sept.) EPS estimate to $8.52 from $8.01 (the consensus is $7.71).
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| Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 1:11 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: FireEye |
While shares of FireEye (FEYE, $31.95) continue to consolidate (as part of a potential bottom formation), they have fallen back into the broad downtrend channel going back to the July 1 pivot high of $41.82.
For now, the stock is holding above its 50-day moving average at $31.30. The 200-day moving average continues to trend downward.
There's critical short-term support at the $28.39 low from earlier this month.
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| Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 10:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| OpCo Ups Apple Target to $130 |
Oppenheimer raises its Apple (AAPL, $114.62) price target to $130 from $115 based on the company’s expanded ecosystem (including the upcoming Apple Watch), improved (consistent) user experience across the OS & iOS platforms and weakened competition in the smartphone space.
For fiscal 2015 (Sept.), OpCo now assumes higher iPhone shipments and an increased handset ASP, taking its EPS estimate up to $7.80 from $7.36.
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| Tuesday, November 18, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Hilliard Lyons Sets Facebook Target of $92 |
Hilliard Lyons starts coverage of Facebook (FB, $74.24) at ‘Long-Term Buy’ with a price target of $92, saying it believes the company has an industry leading advertising position thanks to the network effect of the site’s 1.35 billion users and users at the other company-owned brands (Instagram has 200 million users, Messenger is up to 500 million users and WhatsApp is at 600 million users).
Hilliard Lyons expects continued monetization improvement as a result of enhanced video ads through the company’s LiveRail acquisition and via Atlas, the cross-device and offline sales tracking advertising platform and measurement service. The firm also looks for Facebook’s Audience Network to substantially increase the number of ads served, leveraging demographic data of users, allowing third-party apps to host the company’s inventory of ads.
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| Monday, November 17, 2014, 3:57 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Technology as a Competitive Weapon in Oilfield Services |
With Halliburton (HAL, $49.21) today announcing the $35-billion acquisition of Baker Hughes (BHI, $65.17), competition in the oilfield services market will only get more intense.
For 2014, Halliburton’s revenue is expected to top $33 billion, while Baker Hughes is expected to come in with revenue of $24.4 billion.
Read our article in the latest issue to find out how oilfield services giant Schlumberger (SLB, $95.73), with estimated 2014 revenue of $48.95 billion, uses technology to stay ahead of the competition.
Download to November 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
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| Monday, November 17, 2014, 1:01 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Lone Pine Capital Bullish on Facebook |
In Q3, Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital opened a position in Facebook (FB, $74.09) of 8.63 million shares.
The money manager, with $26.1 billion in long equity assets and a tech weighting of 27.1%, now counts Facebook among its 20 largest holdings.
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| Monday, November 17, 2014, 11:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| RBC Capital Boosts Apple Target to $120 |
RBC Capital raises its Apple (AAPL, $114.11) price target to $120 from $115 based on a preliminary Apple Watch sales forecast of at least 20 million units in the first 12 months.
The firm expects a mid-March launch for the Apple Watch, estimates the ASP at $520 and looks for gross and operating margins to be above the corporate averages.
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| Monday, November 17, 2014, 10:06 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| OpCo Trims TripAdvisor Target |
OpCo reduces its TripAdvisor (TRIP, $69.48) price target to $90 from $99 because it now believes the company’s Instant Booking feature for mobile (launched in June) is going to take longer than expected to gain momentum with customers. The firm remains positive on TripAdvisor’s longer-term outlook.
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| Monday, November 17, 2014, 9:05 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Citi Downgrades TubeMogul |
Citi downgrades TubeMogul (TUBE, $16.50), provider of a digital video ad platform, to ‘Neutral’ following the sharp rise in the shares from the October low of $10.53.
Last Thursday, the company reported Q3 revenue growth of 112%, easily beating the consensus estimate. For 2014, TubeMogul sees revenue of $109 million to $111 million, above the consensus of $107.4 million.
On Friday, TubeMogul shares jumped sharply at the open, hitting a new post-IPO high at $20.39, and then reversed to close down 5.8%.
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| Friday, November 14, 2014, 3:18 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| FireEye Liked by Jennison & Neuberger Berman |
In Q3, Jennison Associates increased its FireEye (FEYE, $33.73) position by 52%, purchasing 3.08 million shares. The money manager now owns 8.96 million shares.
Neuberger Berman last quarter added 345,762 shares, boosting its holdings by 200% to 517,902.
For more on FireEye and its competitive position within the next-gen security market, check out the November 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector.
Order the latest issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
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| Friday, November 14, 2014, 10:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Twitter |
Twitter (TWTR, $40.97) shares this morning have bounced off the opening low of $39.77. Yesterday, the stock found buyers just below $40.
While both the 50-day and 200-day moving averages are trending downward, Twitter shares so far are managing to hold above this week’s low of $38.81.
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| Friday, November 14, 2014, 9:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Jennison Goes Bigger into Facebook |
In Q3, Jennison Associates ($110 billion in long equity assets/21.8% tech weighting) boosted its Facebook (FB, $74.25) position by just over 11%, adding 3.33 million shares.
The firm now owns 32.74 million shares and counts Facebook as its #3 holding (after Apple and Mastercard).
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| Thursday, November 13, 2014, 5:19 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| JP Morgan Encouraged by Twitter Analyst Day |
JP Morgan reiterates its Twitter (TWTR, $40.04) price target of $64, saying management at yesterday’s analyst day addressed the near-term challenges the company faces related to the product and growth in active users. The firm is encouraged by Twitter’s 12-month roadmap of new product launches.
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| Thursday, November 13, 2014, 11:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Canaccord Remains Upbeat on Twitter |
Canaccord came away from yesterday’s Twitter (TWTR, $42.03) analyst day with increased confidence in management, saying the company presented a cohesive strategy for long-term growth.
The firm believes Twitter’s broadly defined user base has the potential to be better monetized in the future. Canaccord maintains its price target of $56.
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| Thursday, November 13, 2014, 10:18 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Bernstein Ups Apple Target to $120 |
Bernstein raises its Apple (AAPL, $112.65) price target to $120 from $110 based on the argument that gross margin, a key driver of the share price, will get a boost in fiscal 2015 from Apple Watch, Apple Pay and a shift toward more higher-margin App Store revenue.
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| Thursday, November 13, 2014, 9:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Maxim Positive on VMware |
Maxim Group starts coverage of VMware (VMW, $86.50) at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $100, saying the company is gaining share in the large and expanding software-defined datacenter market (SDDC), which is estimated to be 6x the size of the server virtualization market (including 3x the ASP).
The firm expects 2015 to be a transition year for VMware and looks for growth from SDDC-related business to accelerate in 2H of 2016.
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| Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 6:22 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| CyberArk +15% AH on Strong Q3 Report |
Shares of CyberArk (CYBR, $38.79 after hours, +15.1%) are surging 15% after hours following the release of strong Q3 results.
The company--a provider of security solutions focused on protecting important assets inside the network perimeter--reported Q3 EPS of 20 cents, 19 cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $28 million (+65.5% y/y), vs. the consensus of $20.9 million. License revenue advanced 67% to $16.6 million.
For Q4, CyberArk expects EPS of four cents to six cents (above the consensus of two cents) on revenue of $26 million to $27 million, vs. the consensus of $25.1 million.
This was CyberArk’s first quarterly report as a public company. CyberArk went public in September at $16 a share and opened for trading at $25.
We covered CyberArk in our security-stock roundup in the October 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #152).
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| Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 11:40 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Brean Capital Ups Groupon Target |
Brean Capital raises its Groupon (GRPN, $8.18) price target to $10 from $8, saying the company has multiple potential growth drivers, including margin improvement in its Goods unit.
The firm expects 2H’14 growth acceleration for Groupon’s local gross billings in North America. Longer term, Groupon’s competitive strengths include opportunities in payments, a ramping mobile platform and international expansion, according to Brean Capital.
Since the October low of $5.72, Groupon shares have rallied 43%.
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| Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 10:14 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| BMO Capital Lifts Alibaba Target |
BMO Capital raises its Alibaba (BABA, $114.65) price target to $125 from $115, saying it expects the company’s GMV growth to accelerate.
The firm looks for Alibaba to further penetrate the Chinese e-commerce market as well as expand into new geographies and verticals.
BMO late last month started coverage of Alibaba at ‘Buy’ when the shares were trading around $95.75.
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| Wednesday, November 12, 2014, 9:06 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Mizuho Positive on Demandware |
Mizuho starts coverage of Demandware (DWRE, $61.17)--a provider of cloud-based e-commerce solutions used by retailers--at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $70, saying the company is well positioned to benefit from the growing adoption of cloud technologies in the retail vertical.
The firm believes Demandware’s solutions are attractive because proprietary e-commerce solutions are expensive to develop and retailers operate under tight IT budgets.
Demandware has a significant opportunity to increase penetration among major e-commerce players, helping drive estimated growth of 45% to 50% through 2018, according to the firm.
The 2014 consensus revenue estimate of $155.1 million indicates growth of 49.6%, while the 2015 consensus calls for growth of 38.2%.
Goldman in August made a good call, upgrading Demandware to ‘Buy’ when the shares were trading below $55 (see TechStock Radar--August 13, 2014).
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| Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 3:02 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| BofA/Merrill Boosts Alibaba Target |
BofA/Merrill boosts its Alibaba (BABA, $114.95) price target to $132 from $122 based on strong sales momentum at the company.
During this year’s 11.11 Shopping Festival, Alibaba settled $9.3 billion of gross merchandise volume (GMV) through Alipay, up 60% from the year-ago total. Mobile GMV settled through Alipay accounted for nearly 43% of total GMV.
Alibaba shares yesterday hit a new post-IPO high at $119.45. The company went public in September at $68 a share and opened for trading at $92.70.
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| Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 11:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| UBS Lifts Apple Target |
UBS raises its Apple (AAPL, $108.83) price target to $125 from $115 based on strong global demand for the iPhone 6 and increasing interest in Apple Pay.
A recent smartphone survey conducted by UBS indicated that 40% of respondents are likely to buy an iPhone 6 in the next year, with nearly a third of those interested buyers currently owning a Samsung phone.
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| Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 10:08 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Jefferies Upgrades Tremor Video |
Jefferies upgrades Tremor Video (TRMR, $2.68), a provider of video ad solutions covering delivery & analytics, to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $6 based on valuation and a favorable risk/reward profile.
For 2014, Tremor expects revenue of $158 million to $163 million, representing growth of 21.8% at the midpoint. The 2015 consensus revenue estimate of $194.3 million indicates growth of greater than 20%.
Jefferies is modeling conservative gross margin improvement going forward.
Tremor shares this morning are rallying 11.2% on the upgrade.
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| Tuesday, November 11, 2014, 9:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Jefferies Upgrades Zynga |
Jefferies upgrades Zynga (ZNGA, $2.48) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $4.50, saying the risk/reward profile is favorable given the company’s growing mobile business, which is offsetting the slowing legacy Facebook/Web segment.
The firm expects new mobile games next year to have a positive impact on user metrics.
Jefferies believes Zynga shares are capable of reaching $6 if the ad business (particularly videos) continues to ramp and more free users get monetized.
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| Monday, November 10, 2014, 4:03 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| T. Rowe Price Ups GrubHub Stake |
After opening a position in GrubHub (GRUB, $33.52) in Q2 of 2.95 million shares, T. Rowe Price today discloses a stake of 10.5%, representing 8.47 million shares.
GrubHub, an online/mobile platform for restaurant pick-up & delivery orders, went public in April at $26 a share and opened for trading at $40.
In Q3, GrubHub reported EPS of eight cents, four cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $61.9 million (+51% y/y), easily beating the consensus of $57.3 million.
For Q4, the company expects revenue of $68.5 million to $70.5 million, vs. the consensus of $66.7 million.
For more on GrubHub, see the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #149).
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| Monday, November 10, 2014, 3:12 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| T. Rowe Price Builds HomeAway Position |
T. Rowe Price discloses a 10.3% stake in HomeAway (AWAY, $29.54), the online marketplace for vacation rentals.
The mutual-fund manager now owns 9.72 million shares, up from 8.17 million shares held at the end of Q2. In the June quarter, T. Rowe Price was the #1 buyer of HomeAway, adding 7.49 million shares.
HomeAway went public in June 2011 at $27 a share.
For more on HomeAway, see the July 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #149).
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| Monday, November 10, 2014, 2:36 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Scopia Capital Discloses Big Stake in RetailMeNot |
Scopia Capital today discloses an 11.7% stake in RetailMeNot (SALE, $14.98), operator of a digital coupon marketplace, sending the shares rallying 4.3%.
The money manager now own 6.34 million shares, up from 2.37 million shares held at the end of Q2.
Last week, RetailMeNot shares plunged 29.6% in one session after the company issued downside guidance for Q4: revenue of $84.7 million to $86.7 million, vs. the consensus of $90.7 million.
In Q3, RetailMeNot reported EPS of five cents, three cents above the consensus estimate, on revenue of $56.5 million (+19% y/y), vs. the consensus of $55.9 million.
On October 27, 12 West Capital Management disclosed a 5.3% stake (2.87 million shares) in RetailMeNot.
RetailMeNot shares last week hit a new all-time low of $13.65.
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| Monday, November 10, 2014, 12:50 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Rubicon Project |
Shares of ad-tech specialist Rubicon Project (RUBI, $12.50) today are up 3.1% and approaching the September high of $12.63. There’s additional resistance at $13.09 from late July. The RSI is on the rise from 72.9.
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| Monday, November 10, 2014, 11:09 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Security Remains Strong |
A broad range of security names this morning are acting well:
*Barracuda Networks (CUDA, $33.50) +4.6%
*CyberArk Software (CYBR, $34.23) +4.6%
*FireEye (FEYE, $31.77) +3.7%
*Qualys (QLYS, $35.75) +3.6%
*VASCO Data Security (VDSI, $27.52) +3.3%
*Palo Alto Networks (PANW, $108.65) +1.5%
*Proofpoint (PFPT, $44.58) +1.3%
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| Monday, November 10, 2014, 9:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| OpCo Ups Salesforce Target |
OpCo raises its Salesforce (CRM, $63.97) price target to $75, saying the company is in a strong position, thanks to internal R&D and an acquisition-driven product strategy, to further monetize on its large installed base of customers.
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| Friday, November 7, 2014, 12:51 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Needham Lifts Arista Estimates & Target |
Needham raises its Arista Networks (ANET, $77.40) price target to $95 from $90 and increases its 2015/2016 estimates based on strong momentum in the business and improving leverage.
Last night, Arista reported Q3 EPS of 40 cents, 12 cents above the consensus estimate.
For 2015, Needham raises its EPS estimate to $1.51 from $1.10 on revenue of $754 million (up from $706 million previously). For 2016, the firm’s new EPS estimate is $1.82, up from $1.43.
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| Friday, November 7, 2014, 11:08 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| MKM Partners Trims Arista Networks Target |
MKM Partners reduces its Arista Networks (ANET, $77.59) price target to $105 from $115 even though the company, a provider of high-speed datacenter switches, issued strong Q4 revenue guidance ($160 million to $168 million, vs. the consensus estimate of $160.7 million), saying share lock-up expirations into the end of the year will be an overhang, weighing on the stock in the near term.
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| Friday, November 7, 2014, 10:29 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Piper Jaffray Remains Positive on Nimble |
Piper Jaffray says its checks show Nimble Storage (NMBL, $27.72) has begun beta tests of Fibre Channel (FC) connectivity with a select group of customers ahead of a full rollout.
The firm believes FC can expand Nimble’s TAM nearly 4x and enable the company to reach new customer segments.
Piper reiterates its Nimble price target of $47.
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| Friday, November 7, 2014, 9:09 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Needham Upgrades Zynga |
Needham upgrades Zynga (ZNGA, $2.36) to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $3.25, saying the strength in Q3 average daily bookings per paying user (ABPU), coming despite a setback in the company’s launch of a new poker game, is encouraging enough to signal “the turnaround will gain momentum.”
The firm slightly increases its 2014/2015 estimates and believes 2016 could be “considerably better.”
In Q3, Zynga’s revenue fell 12.8% to $176.6 million, but beat the consensus estimate of $167.7 million. Bookings rose 15% to $175 million. ABPU advanced 34% year over year and 9% sequentially to $0.073.
For Q4, the company sees revenue of $170 million to $200 million, vs. the consensus of $191.3 million.
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| Thursday, November 6, 2014, 11:12 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| 2 Strong Names in Security |
Fortinet (FTNT, $26.60) shares this morning hit a new 52-week high at $26.85.
Shares of Check Point Software (CHKP, $74.37) are approaching their 52-week high of $74.88.
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| Thursday, November 6, 2014, 10:35 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Twitter |
Twitter (TWTR, $41.10) shares over the past few sessions have been attracting buyers in the $39.75 to $40.20 range. The RSI has started to turn upward from 32.2. However, the 200-day moving average is on a downward slope from $45.51.
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| Thursday, November 6, 2014, 9:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| RBC Capital Upgrades Tableau Software |
RBC Capital upgrades Tableau Software (DATA, $83.98 pre market, +10.4%), a provider of data visualization solutions, to ‘Outperform’ and raises its price target to $100 from $78 following a strong Q3 performance, with revenue up 71%.
The firm believes Tableau’s initial 2015 revenue guidance calling for growth of 40% is conservative.
In pre-market trading, Tableau shares are up 9.7%.
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| Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 12:40 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Brean Capital Hikes Alibaba Target |
Brean Capital ups its Alibaba (BABA, $109.23) price target to $115 from $110, calling the company a core holding in the Chinese Internet space.
The firm remains bullish based on Alibaba’s expanding e-commerce presence in China and impressive FQ2 gains in mobile monetization.
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| Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 11:07 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| JP Morgan Remains Bullish on FireEye |
JP Morgan believes today’s 15% sell-off in FireEye (FEYE, $28.87) shares is a buying opportunity and reiterates its price target of $54.
The firm says billings, cash flow and operating leverage for Q3 were all better than expected.
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| Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 10:04 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| BofA/Merrill Ups Alibaba Target |
BofA/Merrill raises its Alibaba (BABA, $109.79) price target to $122 from $112 following the release of strong FQ2 results.
The company continues to benefit from good repeat business, with rising annual spending from loyal users, says the firm. Plus, Alibaba is adding new users at a rapid pace.
For more on Alibaba, see the October 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
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| Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 9:02 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Northland Trims FireEye Target |
Following last night’s disappointing Q3 revenue performance from FireEye (FEYE, $28.60 pre market, -16.5%), Northland Capital lowers its price target to $23 from $25, saying it was another quarter of uneven results despite a robust security market.
Revenue of $114.1 million missed the consensus estimate of $116 million because the company is transitioning to more of a subscription model.
On the positive side, Q3 billings of $165 million rose 45% sequentially and came in above the high end of the guidance range of $150 million to $155 million.
For Q4, FireEye expects billings of $195 million to $210 million, up 22.7% sequentially at the midpoint.
Northland says it has reduced confidence in FireEye’s revenue trajectory, operating leverage and cash flow.
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| Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 3:56 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Cantor Boosts Alibaba Price Target |
Cantor raises its Alibaba (BABA, $105.87) price target to $110 from $90 based on the company’s accelerating revenue growth.
The firm believes Alibaba’s competitive advantages (differentiated pricing model, strong brand and unmatched scale) and ramping revenue profile should support a higher valuation over time.
Alibaba shares today are up 4% following the release of solid FQ2 results.
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| Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 12:34 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Security Watch: Qualys +7% on Strong Q3 Results |
Shares of Qualys (QLYS, $35.06), a provider of cloud-based enterprise security solutions, today are up more than 7% and have hit a new all-time high at $36.09 following last night’s strong Q3 report, with revenue advancing 24% to $34.3 million, topping the consensus estimate of $33.8 million. EPS of 15 cents beat the consensus by six cents.
In the latest quarter, the company’s QualysGuard vulnerability management offering, which helps customers protect their IT assets from attacks, accounted for 81% of revenue, vs. 84% in the year-ago quarter. This solution automates network auditing and vulnerability assessment across an organization--covering everything from network discovery and mapping to asset management and remediation tracking.
The company continues to push into new segments, including Web application scanning and policy compliance, both of which are growing at more than 50% year over year.
Qualys shares are up 192% from the September 2012 IPO price of $12.
We first covered Qualys in the July 2013 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector (TSP #137), when the shares were trading around $16.40, pointing out at the time that the company was gaining market share in vulnerability management from its two main competitors--Intel (McAfee) and IBM.
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| Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 10:26 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Workday |
The Workday (WDAY, $95.96) 50-day moving average of $86.38 is once again above the 200-day moving average of $86.02.
The stock has taken out the September high and is back to early-April levels (resistance at $96.49).
There is stronger resistance at $105.48 and $109.88 from March. The all-time high (from February) stands at $116.47.
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| Tuesday, November 4, 2014, 9:08 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Alibaba Reports FQ2 Results |
Alibaba (BABA, $101.80) reports fiscal Q2 (Sept.) EPS of 45 cents, in line with the consensus estimate, on revenue of $2.74 billion (+54% y/y), vs. the consensus of $2.61 billion. Mobile revenue surged 1020% to $606 million.
Annual active buyers were up 52% to 307 million. Mobile MAUs increased 139% to 217 million.
GMV rose 49% to $90.5 billion. Mobile GMV of $32.4 billion represents 35.8% of total GMV, up from 32.8% in the June quarter and 14.7% in the year-ago quarter.
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| Monday, November 3, 2014, 5:03 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Chart Watch: Aruba Networks |
After dipping to $18.62 on the recent market pullback, shares of Aruba Networks (ARUN, $21.88), a provider of enterprise wireless infrastructure solutions, have pushed back above the 50-day moving average of $21.14. The RSI is rising from 63.4.
The 200-day moving average of $19.62 is slowing trending upward.
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| Monday, November 3, 2014, 12:47 PM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Stifel Upgrades Arista Networks |
Stifel upgrades Arista Networks (ANET, $84.55), a provider of high-speed datacenter switches, to ‘Buy’ with a price target of $95 ahead of the release of Q3 results on Thursday based on positive checks showing continued large-deal wins in financial services, an important vertical for the company.
The firm also notes that Arista is gaining traction in the general enterprise market thanks to a build-out of the channel.
Arista’s valuation “continues to be on the expensive side,” warns Stifel.
For more on Arista’s growth profile, see the October 2014 issue of Tech-Stock Prospector. Order the issue here for download to your Kindle or Kindle for iPad/iPhone reading app.
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| Monday, November 3, 2014, 10:03 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Cadian Capital Goes Bigger into Infoblox |
Cadian Capital Management, a tech-focused firm, discloses a 9.7% stake in Infoblox (BLOX, $16.31), a provider of solutions for IP address management and DNS security.
The firm owns 5.35 million shares, up from 2.44 million shares held at the end of Q2. During the June quarter, Cadian purchased 2.22 million shares of Infoblox.
As of Q2, Wasatch Advisors was the #1 holder of Infoblox, with 3.85 million shares.
In July, Infoblox shares hit a new 52-week low of $11.67, down sharply from the 52-week high of $46.30.
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| Monday, November 3, 2014, 9:01 AM — by Rob DeFrancesco, TechStock Radar |
| Monness Crespi Positive on LinkedIn |
Monness Crespi starts coverage of LinkedIn (LNKD, $228.96) at ‘Buy’ with a price target of $270, saying the company’s platform has three growth levers covering the $85-billion global hiring market.
LinkedIn’s presence is broadening, as 75% of new members are coming from outside the U.S.
The firm sees a lot of growth potential for the company’s new Sales Navigator offering.
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