Category Archives: stocks

Hedge Funds Dump Apple, Buy Facebook In Q1

Hedge funds fled equities in the first quarter, with Apple ( AAPL ) and PepsiCo ( PEP ) the most-sold stocks, S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a report Wednesday . The top 10 hedge funds managed about $141 billion in equity holdings in Q1, down more than $18 billion from Q4 2015. The funds decreased the total number of stock positions held from 427 to 408, the fewest stock positions held since S&P Global Market Intelligence began tracking such data in 2014. It was the second consecutive quarter of equity sell-off by the large funds. Consumer discretionary and information technology stocks led the sell-off, with Apple ranked seeing the most selling for an individual stock last quarter. The major hedge funds sold $5.4 billion worth of Apple stock in Q1. Other top sells included PepsiCo ($1.8 billion), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) ($1.4 billion), Priceline ( PCLN ) ($1 billion) and Walgreen Boots Alliance ( WBA ) ($1 billion). The highest volume of buying among the top hedge funds occurred in Facebook ( FB ) stock, with a total of $2.3 billion in buys in the first quarter, S&P said. Other top buys included Broadcom ( AVGO ) ($1.5 billion), Alphabet ( GOOGL ) ($945 million), Eli Lilly ( LLY ) ($892 million) and Willis Towers Watson ( WLTW ) ($884 million). RELATED: As Growth Investors Flee Apple, Warren Buffett Sees Value Startup Bubble Bursting, Valuations Due For Reset, Analyst Says .

Cisco Jumps On Earnings, Outlook; Analysts Hail ‘Strong Execution’

Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) received several price-target hikes after its fiscal Q3 earnings late Wednesday beat on both the top and bottom lines, as did its earnings and revenue guidance. For its fiscal third quarter , Cisco said revenue rose 3% from the year-earlier period, to $12 billion, just beating the consensus estimate of $11.97 billion, as polled by Thomson Reuters. Cisco said earnings per share minus items rose 5.6% to 57 cents, edging the consensus of 55 cents. Cisco stock rose 4% in morning trade on the stock market today , near 28. FBN Securities analyst Shebly Seyrafi maintained an outperform rating on Cisco and raised his price target to 32 form 30. “We believe that management tone was more upbeat this time than three months ago,” he wrote in a research note. Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White raised his price target to 36 from 34 and maintained his buy rating on Cisco stock. “Cisco’s strong execution in fiscal Q3 overpowered a challenging demand environment with upside in the quarter and a stronger than expected Q4 outlook,” White wrote in a research note. “Overall, we are very pleased with Cisco’s Q4 outlook, given the economic backdrop and soft IT spending environment.” RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves, who maintained an outperform rating, raised his price target to 33 from 31. “While we remain cautious on the legacy portfolio given the overall IT spending environment, we think Cisco is continuing to move in the right direction highlighted by solid margin performance and improving business mix,” he wrote. Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brent Bracelin maintained an overweight rating and a price target of 30. “We continue to be impressed by strong execution under the new leadership team,” Bracelin wrote. “Cisco continues to execute a multiyear shift to a software-centric, subscription-driven business model.” Analysts had lowered expectations ahead of Cisco earnings due to the growing number of companies outsourcing computing workloads to cloud computing service providers such as Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and its Amazon Web Services business. The move to cloud computing has lowered demand for Cisco’s networking gear. The lowered expectations also reflected trends toward lower spending on information technology overall. Well aware of the trends, Cisco is diversifying beyond its core switch and router business into newer, higher-growth segments such as software, data centers, security, wireless and the Internet of Things market.

Apple Rival Xiaomi Coming To U.S. With Android Set-Top TV Box

Xiaomi, Apple ’s ( AAPL ) Chinese smartphone rival, this year plans to launch a 4K TV streaming device in the U.S. featuring Google’s Android software. Xiaomi made the announcement at Alphabet ‘s ( GOOGL ) Google I/O developer’s conference on Wednesday. The item will compete with Roku, Amazon.com ’s ( AMZN ) Fire TV devices, Apple’s set-top box and Google’s own Chromecast streaming sticks, as well as Web-connected TV sets featuring Google’s Android software. Xiaomi’s Android-based TV system will be its first hardware product sold in the U.S. Xiaomi’s online store so far has sold only accessories in the U.S. However, Xiaomi has sold set-top TV boxes in Asia that stream HD-quality video. Hugo Barra, vice president for global at Xiaomi, joined the company in 2013 after leaving Google, where he had worked on mobile products and the Android mobile operating system. “This is a significant milestone for Xiaomi,” Barra said in a statement released at Google I/O . Xiaomi’s 4K streaming device will provide apps such as Netflix ( NFLX ) and YouTube, as well as Dish Network ’s ( DISH ) Sling Web TV service. In China, Xiaomi will be one of the first smartphone makers to feature virtual-reality technology that Google has put into Android N, the new version of its mobile operating system. Samsung and HTC also plan to sell Android-based mobile phones with the VR mode. Xiaomi was the top smartphone seller in China in Q4, followed closely by China’s Huawei, with Apple down at No. 3.