Tag Archives: aapl

Alphabet Upgraded As Forex Headwinds Calm, Ads Strong

Alphabet ( GOOGL ), the parent of search leader Google, got a ratings upgrade and price target boost on Monday from Pivotal Research, which said it expects foreign-exchange headwinds to calm. Pivotal upgraded Alphabet stock to buy from hold, as well as hiking its price target to 970 from 800. Alphabet stock was up a fraction in afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 765. Alphabet reports Q1 earnings on April 21. Pivotal analyst Brian Wieser wrote in a research report Monday that he estimates Alphabet will log 16% revenue growth year over year in Q1, or 18% revenue growth excluding traffic acquisition costs — the fees Google pays to other companies to carry its ads. Alphabet’s dominant position in digital advertising alongside Facebook ( FB ) “is fundamentally unchanged, and we continue to expect Google to sustain double-digit growth rates in advertising on an ongoing basis,” wrote Wieser. The same factors that led to Alphabet’s growth in Q4 will continue, he said, including revenue from Google video wing YouTube and programmatic display-related ads. Wieser said he is watching display ad revenue because that growing share of Alphabet’s overall revenue mix is generally less profitable than search ads, “largely because of the needs to continually innovate on related products and provide service and marketing support to those products.” Programmatic advertising, for example, “does not eliminate the need for costly humans in the process of trading media, but instead requires different humans to manage these businesses,” he wrote. “This issue is exacerbated with YouTube, where content delivery and capital costs are even higher, and content costs are now a factor that both drives growth, but also constrains profitability.” Alphabet’s non-core, or “Other Bets,” are “likely to continue dragging on Alphabet overall , although at least their scale is relatively minimal overall,” said Wieser. For example, Nest, the smart home device maker Google bought for $3.2 billion in 2014 to compete with Apple ( AAPL ) in that growing market, is falling short of expectations, news site Re/Code reported last month. ITG Investment Research analyst Steve Weinstein, said in an industry note Monday he expects to see Alphabet post revenue of roughly $2 billion for “Google other” and $150 million for “Other Bets” for Q1, with total gross revenue coming in at roughly $20.57 billion, slightly ahead of consensus of $20.3 billion.

Can Facebook Stock Hold 50-Day Support Amid Usage Fears, F8 Show?

Facebook ( FB ) is falling in quick turnover for a second session in a row amid concerns that users are not sharing as many personal posts. The Information reported last week that Facebook saw a 21% drop in original posts from mid-2014 to mid-2015, and that it is working to correct that decline. Meanwhile, privately held social media competitor Snapchat is all about personal shares. Facebook-owned Instagram is also a hub for personal posts. The social media giant has indicated that it’s just the type of sharing that has changed on its main platform, not the level of sharing. Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference begins tomorrow, where chatbots are expected to be a hot topic. That could open a new revenue stream for businesses looking to interact with their customers on a social platform. But tech giants still have a lot to learn when it comes to chatbots. Microsoft ’s ( MSFT ) experiment with teen chatbot Tay quickly went south. Facebook shares dropped 0.5% in heavy volume, breaching the 50-day line in intraday trade. If the stock is able to find support at the 50-day line, then it’s not necessarily in trouble. But if it breaks through that level in heavy volume, that would be bearish. Shares are trading 6% below a cup-with-handle base buy point of 117.09. Microsoft is trading 4% below its late-December high and a consolidation buy point at 56.95, which is 10 cents above the high. The stock was up 1% midday Monday. Facebook last week rolled out its Live platform globally, with expanded features — edging into Twitter ’s ( TWTR ) realm, which includes its Periscope live streaming platform. Twitter is still searching for positive catalysts to revive its shares. Last week, it signed a pact with the NFL to live stream 10 Thursday Night Football games. Twitter is in an extended downtrend, trading 68% below its 52-week high. The stock edged 0.4% higher Monday. Among other widely held tech stocks, Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) is working on a cup-with-handle base with a 777.41 buy point. It’s trading 2% below that level, up 0.4% in intraday trade. And Apple ( AAPL ) was back above the 110 price level, rising 1.2%. Apple is nearing its downward sloping 200-day line, but its recent attempts to retake that level have failed. Apple stock is 18% below its late-April peak. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Apple, Facebook, Netflix Stocks Facing Key Technical Tests

Facebook ( FB ), Apple ( AAPL ) and Netflix ( NFLX ) are among the coolest and widely used tech companies. But their stocks have struggle to break through key levels in recent sessions. Facebook is trying to stay in sight of a buy point, while Apple and Netflix keep bumping into resistance at their 200-day moving averages. Facebook A Buy, or Bye-Bye? Facebook holds its big F8 Developers Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday, with analysts and investors eager to hear what Mark Zuckerberg has on offer. The stock has formed a cup-with-handle base that started when it peaked at 117.59 on Feb. 2. The buy point was 117.09. But Facebook is moving away from a buy area. Shares fell 2.7% on Friday and 4.7% for last week. Facebook fell 0.4% in afternoon trade on the stock market today  after falling intraday as low as 108.77, briefly undercutting its 50-day moving average. Facebook users are posting less  on the site, according to Friday reports that helped pushed the stock lower. Get a better read on Facebook’s stock health and how it stacks up vs. rivals at IBD Stock Checkup Apple Looks To Break Above 200-Day Apple rallied nearly 18% from its recent low of 92.39 on Jan. 28 to 108.66 on Friday but was still down 19% from its record high of 134.54 set in April 2015. Apple stock rose 1.2% in afternoon trade Monday, making another run at its 200-day line. Twice last week Apple closed within 20 cents of its downward sloping 200-day moving average. The stock hasn’t closed above the line since early October. Apple recently released a new 4-inch iPhone SE along with a smaller iPad Pro. Both have gotten solid reviews, but neither is likely to be a huge blockbuster. Apple is expected to post its first year-over-year sales decline in years later this month. Sales may continue to struggle at least until Apple releases its iPhone 7 later this year. Netflix Seeks To Rewrite Script Netflix hasn’t closed above its 200-day average since Jan. 20. Twice last week the stock crossed that technical line intraday but ended below that level. Netflix rose 0.5% in afternoon trade after three straight fractional losses. On Friday, Wall Street analyst Richard Greenfield said Walt Disney ( DIS ) should buy Netflix. A Disney-Netflix deal would give the Mouse a leader in video streaming and provide a possible future leader in Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. That unsolicited advice didn’t move Netflix’s stock though. Netflix is spending heavily on expansion and content. While revenue growth has been strong and consistent, profits have fallen for the last three quarters and aren’t projected to rise until Q4 2017. But analysts are betting on powerful earnings growth from 2018-2021.