Category Archives: oud

HP Makes Long-Awaited Entry Into 3D Printer Market

The long-awaited entry of HP Inc. ( HPQ ) into the 3D printer market began Tuesday, with partners that include Nike ( NKE ), Autodesk ( ADSK ), ProtoLabs ( PRLB ) and BMW. The new printer line, called HP Jet Fusion 3D Printing Solution, “revolutionizes design, prototyping and manufacturing, and for the first time, delivers superior quality physical parts up to 10 times faster and at half the cost of current 3D print systems,” HP said in its press release . HP will compete with 3D Systems ( DDD ) and Stratasys ( SSYS ), the two largest providers of 3D printers, among others. HP is offering two 3D printers. They are the HP Jet Fusion 3D 3200 printer, designed for prototyping, and the Jet Fusion 3D 4200 printer, designed for prototyping and short-run manufacturing needs. Pricing on the 4200 model starts at $155,000 and will be delivered in late 2016. Pricing on the 3200 model starts at $130,000, with deliveries in 2017, HP said. Besides Autodesk, software partners include   Materialise ( MTLS ) and Siemens. Besides Nike, BMW and Proto Labs, co-development partners and strategic partners also include  Jabil  Circuit ( JBL ), Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) and Shapeways. HP stock fell in the stock market today , to 11.53. HP stock has been below its 50-day line most of this month. 3D Systems stock, though, rose nearly 1% Tuesday, and Stratasys stock rose nearly 2%.

ServiceNow Growth Roadmap On Collision Course With Salesforce.com?

ServiceNow ( NOW ), at its analyst day Monday, touted its plan to reach $4 billion in revenue by 2020 by expanding into management software for human resources, customer service and security. The company posted sales of $1 billion last year. The push into customer service software likely means more competition with Salesforce.com ( CRM ), analysts say. Cloud software leader Salesforce.com is scheduled to  report earnings after the market close Wednesday. At its analysts day, ServiceNow forecast expanding profit margins. “New this year, management now assumes FCF (free cash flow) margins of 30%-32% by 2020, which is a nice positive in our opinion. Overall we believe ServiceNow has the opportunity to become a multi-product platform, with 30%-plus revenue growth and expanding margins through 2020,” Matthew Hedberg, an RBC Capital analyst, said in a research report Tuesday. The cloud-based software provider’s core business has been information technology service management (ITSM). ServiceNow’s 2015 revenue jumped 47% to reach the $1 billion mark. Its Q1 2016 revenue rose 44% to $306 million. “Management reiterated its goal to reach $4 billion in revenue in 2020, with free cash flow of at least $1.2 billion as FCF margin expands 1% to 3% annually,” Rob Owens, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said in a report. “While not giving specific free cash flow guidance for 2017, the company did release a guideline for understanding how the growth and profitability trade-off could play out. ITSM was 70% of bookings in 2015, and management believes it should decrease further toward 50% as we head toward 2020 and new solutions ramp.” ServiceNow stock is down 20% in 2016 despite rising more than 4% on Monday, but shares soared 14% on April 21 after its Q1 earnings and revenue beat expectations . Shares are forming a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 76.94. Shares fell 1.2% Tuesday, to 69.50. ServiceNow has an IBD Composite Rating of 85 out of a possible 99, putting it among the top 15% of all stocks in key metrics such as sales and earnings growth. “Management reiterated 2020 revenue goal of $4 billion, with ITOM (IT operations management) software driving 15% of revenue and solid contributions from security, customer service, HR, facilities and other non-IT apps,” wrote Citigroup analyst Walter Pritchard in a research report. ServiceNow will continue investing in building up its salesforce, he said. Pritchard estimates ServiceNow will generates near $1 billion in FCF in 2016.

Apple To Double iPhone Memory With Next Handset: Report

Apple ( AAPL ) has been criticized for the stingy data storage configurations in its iPhones. But according to a report Tuesday, Apple is preparing to double the current memory configurations with the upcoming iPhone 7. Apple has had the same memory configurations for the last two iterations of the iPhone — the iPhone 6 and 6S. It offers versions with 16 gigabytes, 64 GB and 128 GB. The entry-level model iPhone has had the same 16 GB of data storage since the iPhone 5 came out in September 2012. Asian component suppliers indicate that the iPhone 7 is likely to come in 32, 128 and 256 GB models, Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha said in a research report. The shift to high memory configurations could spark upgrades among iPhone users who want more local storage on their handsets, he said. The iPhone 7 is expected to debut in September. It is rumored to be thinner and faster than the current models. Garcha rates Apple stock as outperform with a price target of 150. Apple shares fell 0.4% to 93.49 on the stock market today . Apple stock touched a nearly two-year low of 89.47 on Thursday, as iPhone sales slow.