Tag Archives: aapl

Apple Vs. FBI: Israeli Firm Reportedly Will Unlock iPhone

In a bid to unlock the Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters, the FBI has turned to Israeli digital forensics firm Cellebrite, according to a number of media reports Wednesday. Reuters said that the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in Tel Aviv was the first to report that Cellebrite was working with U.S. law enforcement to unlock the device. Cellebrite provides mobile forensic software. Executives at Cellebrite and Apple have declined to comment on the reports. So have FBI officials. Apple is engaged in a legal battle with the U.S. Justice Department over a judge’s order that it write new software to disable pass-code protection on the iPhone that the shooter used. The ensuing legal fight has become a lightning rod for a broader debate on data privacy vs. security. Led by CEO Tim Cook, Apple had refused to create code to unlock the phone, saying that doing so would create a “back door” to bypass its security protections and thus threaten the personal data of millions of iPhone users. Apple says that the government is overstepping its bounds by ordering Apple to unlock the phone. But the case between Apple and the FBI could come to an abrupt end if Cellebrite can unlock it. Apple and the FBI were set to face off in court on Tuesday, but on Monday a federal judge agreed to the government’s request to postpone the hearing after U.S. prosecutors said that a “third party” had presented a possible method for opening an encrypted iPhone without Apple’s help. Cellebrite signed a sole-service contract with the FBI in 2013 to provide data-extraction service, according to Buzzfeed . Cellebrite says on its website that it can obtain data from Apple phones that use the iPhone’s most recent operating system. A case study on the Cellebrite site shows that the company has worked with U.S. law enforcement to unlock phones, including an LG phone for the Tacoma, Wash., police department. A subsidiary of Japan’s Sun Corp., Cellebrite has its revenue split between two business segments: technology for mobile retailers and a forensics system that law enforcement, military and intelligence use to retrieve data hidden inside mobile devices, Reuters said.

Top-Rated Inphi Follows Apple, Tesla Chip Suppliers With Breakout

Top-rated chipmaker Inphi ( IPHI ) is staging a breakout past a secondary entry point in the stock market today after receiving some positive analyst ratings. The bullish reports come as Inphi announced the immediate production availability of a new chip product for data centers’ high-speed networks. Among the wave of analyst ratings moves, Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to buy from hold and raised its price target to 40, while B. Riley initiated coverage on Inphi with a buy rating and a target of 38.50. Northland Securities raised its price target to 36 and maintained its outperform rating. Inphi shares closed Tuesday at 30.61. The stock gapped up 6.1% to 32.51 in heavy volume Wednesday, breaking out of a cup base with a 32.42 buy point intraday and hitting a new all-time high. Shares are in buy range to 34.04, which is 5% past the pivot. Last week, shares cleared a double-bottom entry at 28.54, and are now extended from that pivot. Apple, Tesla Suppliers In Buy Range Inphi’s breakout comes one week after several Apple ( AAPL ) and Tesla ( TSLA ) chip suppliers broke out. Tesla supplier Nvidia ( NVDA ) is still trading in buy range after breaking out of a cup-with-handle base last week. Nvidia shares hit a new eight-year high in above-average turnover on Wednesday, rising 1.4%. Apple supplier Microsemi ( MSCC ) is also still in buy range after its breakout from a cup-with-handle base last week. Microsemi shares are trading about 5% below their high reached in November, rising 0.2% intraday Wednesday. And fellow Apple supplier Broadcom Limited ( AVGO ) is extended from double-bottom entry cleared earlier this month, but it’s still in buy range from an alternate entry cleared last week. Broadcom shares dipped 0.6% intraday. Meanwhile, Apple shares rose 0.3% Wednesday, and Tesla slid 3.2%.

Inphi Rockets Speedy Digital Drone To Rival Apple, Amazon, Facebook

Inphi ( IPHI ) and Microsoft ‘s ( MSFT ) 100-gigabit “drone” — likely to rival infrastructures by Apple ( AAPL ), Facebook ( FB ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) — earned chipmaker Inphi at least three price-target hikes Wednesday, as shares rocketed to a record high. Midday on the stock market today , Inphi shares were up more than 6%, near 32.50, after earlier flying as much as nearly 8% to an all-time high above 33. Shares outperformed a lazy Wall Street on Wednesday that saw the S&P 500, Nasdaq composite and Dow Jones industrial average all down. Deutsche Bank analyst Ross Seymore upgraded Inphi stock to a buy rating from hold and upped his price target to 40 from 30, acknowledging the pricey entry point. Analysts with Northland and Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price targets on Inphi stock to 36 from 31, and to 40 from 38, respectively. “We have long acknowledged Inphi’s solid execution and technology position but have maintained a hold rating awaiting an opportunistic entry point,” Seymore wrote in a research report. But “the size and diversity of the growth drivers the company is addressing are too compelling to ignore.” On Tuesday, Inphi unveiled its 100G “drone,” capable of connecting multiple data centers within 80 kilometers (about 50 miles). The current industry solution is for a much slower 10G platform, says Jeff Cox, Microsoft senior director of network architecture. Microsoft sought out Inphi in 2013 to solve its data center problem, Cox told IBD. The 100G “long-haul” solution was too costly, power-consumptive and required excess space for metropolitan data transfers. But the 10G “drone” solution wasn’t fast enough. So the duo developed ColorZ, which is an industry first, according to Inphi CEO Ford Tamer. ColorZ is slated to deploy in Q3. Seymore expects Microsoft to account for 5% of Inphi’s Q4 and 2017 sales. The new product will drive growth, Seymore wrote. Linking data centers to amass cloud size — and speed — is becoming increasingly necessary. Cloud users like Apple, Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Amazon and Facebook have all expanded their online operations, Cox said. Chipmakers such as  Intel ( INTC ), Qualcomm ( QCOM ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Integrated Device Technology ( IDTI ) have redoubled their data-center efforts in the past year to increase share. But Tamer says they’re at least 18 months behind Inphi. Seymore increased his 2016 estimates for Inphi to $300 million in sales and $1.37 earnings per share ex items, up 34% and 33%, respectively, vs. 2015 metrics. For 2017, he now expects $370 million and $1.70. The consensus of 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecasts $290.7 million and $1.26 for 2016, and $357.7 million and $1.62 for 2017.