MARKET CURRENTS
real-time news and commentary for investors
MARKET CURRENTS
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Today - Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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1:53 PM More on Intel's reorg: Intel's PC, mobile, and server chip units, previously reporting to chief product officer Dadi Perlmutter, will now report to Brian Krzanich. Software/services chief Renee James, recently named President, will also now be in charge of manufacturing and parts of Intel's (INTC +0.2%) security ops. Krzanich in an internal e-mail: "I am committed to being bolder, moving faster ... we will listen, learn and then make adjustments in order to keep pace with a rapidly changing industry." Mike Bell, who has spearheaded Atom mobile CPU development, is now head of Intel's "new devices" unit. Comment!
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1:39 PM More on the Xbox One: The device has a Blu-ray player, and is said to be "practically silent" when running. A new Kinect sensor is being bundled with the console (JDSU a likely supplier): its camera, color depth, and motion-sensing abilities are improved, and voice is said to be more "conversational." Xbox SmartGlass mobile apps are integrated with the One, interactive TV content is paired with shows, and a "snap mode" shows multiple apps a once. Electronic Arts (EA) is promising to launch titles from 4 sports franchises - FIFA, Madden, NBA Live, and UFC - in the next 12 months, aided by a new gaming engine. (live blog) Comment!
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1:15 PM Microsoft (MSFT) unveils the Xbox One, a 3rd-gen console it pitches as "the ultimate all-in-one entertainment system. The device has a rectangular, set-top box-like shape, a slightly bigger controller. a revamped Xbox Live UI, improved app/game loading and switching times, and fresh voice/gesture controls. AMD is widely believed to provide an integrated CPU/GPU for the system. (live blog) (previous) 10 Comments
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12:59 PM Five of 2013's biggest tech high-flyers - SolarCity (SCTY -10.1%), Himax (HIMX -6%), UniPixel (UNXL -9.1%), SunPower (SPWR -5.2%), and Ubiquiti (UBNT -4.4%), are seeing heavy losses today. Netflix (NFLX -0.9%), another big 2013 winner, is down moderately. Is this a sign tech momentum investors are looking to take some cash off the table? YTD gains: SCTY +287%. HIMX +200%. UNXL +72%. SPWR +282%. UBNT +56%. NFLX +156%. Comment!
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12:46 PM Web.com (WWWW -5.9%) is selling off. A possible culprit: director Anton Levy recently disclosed the sale of 2M shares. Levy is a managing director at P-E firm General Atlantic, which sold Network Solutions to Web.com in 2011. Comment!
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12:45 PM IEC Electronics (IEC -21.7%) plunges after receiving a delisting notice from the NYSE. The company reported "estimated" financial results for Q2 Monday, but said it did not meet the SEC's extended deadline for filing is 10-Q. Earlier this month, the company said it would restate its FY12 financial statements. Today's losses bring the two slide to -32%. Comment!
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12:43 PM Another driver for the run in U.S. solar stocks today is a big move in Chinese solar stocks overnight, particularly Hareon Solar Technology, which jumped to its 10% daily limit on speculation that the U.S. and China are seeking to resolve a dispute over trade in solar-energy equipment that could lead to soaring tariffs: JA Solar (JASO +5%), China Sunergy (CSUN +5.2%), Ascent Solar (ASTI +32%), Spire (SPIR +9.6%), Trina Solar (TSL +10.3%), Hanwha Solarone (HSOL +11.5%), Suntech Power (STP +20.5%), ReneSola (SOL +8.1%), LDK Solar (LDK +10.3%). Comment!
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12:28 PM Pandora (P +0.1%) launches Premieres, a station that gives listeners access to album releases a week before they go on sale. Records from John Fogerty and Laura Marling are the first ones supported. The announcement comes shortly after Pandora hired Billboard publisher Tommy Page to expand its branded content/live event offerings. Rocco Pendola argues Pandora's user base and data give it an opportunity to strike deals with indie artists struggling to get by under the current system. Comment!
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12:09 PM New Intel (INTC +0.6%) CEO Brian Krzanich has already signed off on a major reorg, one that includes the creation of a "new devices" unit, Reuters reports. Krzanich has been promising mobile will become a bigger priority for the chip giant. "We see that we've been a bit slow to move in the space ... We're well positioned already and the base of assets we have will allow us to grow much faster." 2 Comments
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11:52 AM Tim Cook (AAPL) testifies at a Senate hearing on corporate offshore taxes. "We don't depend on tax gimmicks," Cook asserts, while pushing for a big overhaul of U.S. corporate tax code. "Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex." Sen. John McCain isn't satisfied with Apple's defenses, claiming the company "has violated the spirit of the law if not the letter of the law." Sen. Rand Paul has strongly defended Apple. "Congress should be on trial here for creating a byzantine tax code." (previous) 17 Comments
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11:39 AM Piper raises its PT for Zynga (ZNGA +2.4%) to $3.50 from $2.75: the firm says checks indicate core business stability and mobile game traction. Running with Friends remains #5 on the App Store's U.S. free app leaderboard; Draw Something 2 has fallen to #64. Comment!
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11:18 AM Food delivery websites Seamless and Grubhub will merge to create a company that could take the niche industry to the next level. Though online food ordering sites are a hodge-podge of various options, the Seamless-Grubhub combination could lead to an expansive national rollout and a dominant industry position in the space. Should Yelp (YELP +1.4%) or Open Table (OPEN +2.7%) be worried about the threat of expanded services from the new company? Comment!
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11:09 AM H-P's (HPQ) Vertica analytics database unit, acquired in 2011 and generally seen as an M&A bright spot for a company that hasn't had many lately, has been hit with a slew of major defections. Two top engineers and a pre-sales/services VP jumped ship last month, and one ex-employee claims about half of the 127 Vertica employees around at acquisition time have left. Vertica, whose offerings complement Autonomy's enterprise search/analytics software, faces competition from EMC's Pivotal spinoff (via Greenplum), IBM's Netezza unit, Teradata's Aster unit, and others. Comment!
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10:46 AM Oppenheimer raises estimates for Yahoo (YHOO +1.5%) and lifts its PT to $30, and BMO raises its PT to $27. Both cite Alibaba IPO expectations - Oppenheimer previously gave Alibaba a $77B valuation. Also, on the Yahoo/Tumblr front: 1) Marissa Mayer says Tumblr could see premium ads and retargeted ads (i.e. ads based on browsing activity on other sites). 2) A source tells Valleywag Tumblr's 2012 revenue was under $5M, below prior reports of $13M. 3) Instapaper developer/early Tumblr employee Marco Arment provides high praise for Tumblr CEO David Karp. "I’ve only seen one other 'product person' as good as David, and that was Steve Jobs." (previous) Comment!
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10:27 AM Amazon Web Services (AMZN) obtains FedRAMP accreditation, a security certification that should make it easier for state, local, and federal agencies to migrate workloads onto the cloud infrastructure platform. The credential has been granted two months after a report claimed AWS has won a 10-year, $600M deal from the CIA to build a private cloud for it. Comment!
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10:14 AM Supercomputer maker Cray (CRAY +2.3%) rallies after Sterne Agee starts coverage with a Buy and $25 PT. Shares were drubbed earlier month after Cray provided soft Q2 guidance in tandem with a Q1 beat. Comment!
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10:05 AM LinkedIn (LNKD +2.6%) bounces after BGC starts coverage with a Buy and $225 PT. The business social networking leader is still down 7.5% from where it traded before delivering light Q2 guidance to go with a Q1 beat, but still remains up 62% YTD. 1 Comment
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9:38 AM UBS doesn't think Microsoft's (MSFT +0.4%) rally is over; the firm is raising its PT to $40 from $33 ahead of today's 1PM ET Xbox event. Analyst Brent Thill, a long-time bull, cites potentially greater earnings visibility, investor appreciation of Microsoft's cloud momentum, enterprise strength, the return of money flows to tech (ed: it looks like plenty of money has been flowing in), and bottoming PC demand. (past Xbox rumors: I, II, III) (event live blog) 4 Comments
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