Category Archives: stocks

Netflix Shows Signs Of Life While Facebook, Amazon Breach Key Levels

Loading the player… The “FANG” stocks are showing some compelling chart action today, with Netflix ( NFLX ) seeing some signs of life and Facebook ( FB ) dropping back below buy range. Meanwhile, Amazon ( AMZN ) is breaching a short-term support level and Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) is hitting resistance at a long-term measure. Netflix Netflix rose 2.6% in average volume to hit its highest level in a month. The stock is now nearing its 50-day line, an area it breached after issuing disappointing quarterly results. If Netflix can retake that level it would be bullish. Shares are 28% below their all-time high reached in December. Facebook Facebook once again fell back below buy range from a cup-with-handle base it initially cleared on the heels of its view-topping quarterly earnings report about a month ago, losing 1.2%. Despite the negative action, volume was lighter than average and the stock is only 4% below its all-time high. It’s also still holding above its 50-day line and sell territory. Amazon Amazon fell below its 10-day line, sliding 0.9%, after finding support there in the past four sessions. But the stock is just 3% below its high and is extended 16% past a cup-with-handle base buy point it cleared ahead of the company’s estimate-beating earnings report. Alphabet Alphabet continued to hit resistance at its 200-day line for a third session, dropping 0.6%. Shares tried to break out of a cup-with-handle base ahead of its latest quarterly report, but breached their key moving averages in the wake of the results. Alphabet is now trading 11% below its high reached in February.

Universal Display Spikes On iPhone OLED Prospects

Universal Display ( OLED ) stock surged as much as 10.7% on Monday on a bullish report about the prospects for its OLED display technology and materials in smartphones, including next year’s rumored iPhone 8 from Apple ( AAPL ). Universal Display shares were up 9.5%, near 62, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . The stock hit a recent high of 63 on April 19, which is just below its all-time high of 63.58 from April 2011. Goldman Sachs analyst Brian Lee on Monday raised his rating on Universal Display to buy from neutral and upped his 12-month price target to 76 from 55. OLED is a “secular winner” as devices shift from LCD to OLED displays, which boast richer colors and low power usage, Lee said. “In the near term, we expect (Universal Display) to be a key beneficiary of Apple’s first-time adoption of OLED displays for iPhone starting in 2017,” he said. “Beyond Apple, we see OLED benefiting from a secular shift across the handset market with roughly 10% penetration today but a potential ‘LED 2.0’ hockey-stick adoption across multiple product cycles and categories in coming years.” In a “blue sky” scenario, OLED could reach 100% penetration of smartphones, 50% of tablets and 20% of TVs after 2020, he said. RELATED: Universal Display Facing ‘Frothy’ OLED Expectations

Quietly, Telecom System Builders Emerge As Leaders

While makers and sellers of smartphones and tablet PCs are glamour brands, some of the companies that make the equipment to make those devices work are quietly turning into attractive investment choices. The telecom infrastructure industry group remains in the bottom half of IBD’s rankings, yet it’s made a rapid advance over the past few weeks as its leaders shape attractive charts. The group ranked No. 107 in IBD Weekly, up from 147 four weeks ago. Three top-rated stocks in the group are of particular interest because they have topped or are approaching buy points. The most critical to watch now is Broadsoft ( BSFT ), which rose above the 42.16 buy point of a base-on-base pattern Monday in active trading. For the stock, it’s been an impressive rebound after the May 2 earnings announcement rattled shares. Although it beat profit expectations, Broadsoft projected its current-quarter operating EPS below views . Shares fell as much as 11% on the news, but they quickly recovered and continued working on the base until Monday’s breakout. The company helps big telecoms deliver unified communications, integrating voice, video and text messaging and other forms into a single stream. Dycom ( DY ), which is on the IBD 50 , is trying to break out past a 73.28 buy point. With the earnings report due Tuesday after the close, it could be the next telecom infrastructure stock to make a move. Analysts expect Dycom to earn 74 cents a share and to report sales of $597.8 million. Dycom has a nearly perfect EPS Rating of 98. In a report Monday from D.A. Davidson, the research firm said, “ AT&T ( T ), Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and other presumed Dycom customers have announced plans for ongoing major fiber expansion, suggesting near-term growth in wireline construction activity will continue to be robust.” Those same trends figure to aid other telecom infrastructure companies. Indeed, capital spending by the major telecoms drives much of the infrastructure industry’s fortunes. CommScope Holding ( COMM ) is forming a cup-with-handle base with a buy point at 31.80. The Hickory, N.C.-based company helps telecoms design, build and maintain wired and wireless networks. Ubiquiti Networks ( UBNT ) broke out of a base May 6 after it reported earnings. Ubiquiti, which builds wireless networks around the world, beat estimates. Earnings and sales growth have accelerated the past few quarters, following a slump in the first half of 2015 that saw EPS and sales decline. The stock is in buy range from the 37.20 buy point.