Tag Archives: intc

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.

Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet Stand Strong As Technology Kings Of Cash

If cash is king, then Microsoft ( MSFT ) gets the crown among companies in the S&P 500, ending last year with $102.6 billion in cash and short-term equivalent on its balance sheet. But Apple ( AAPL ) leads when including long-term cash equivalents, holding a whopping $215.7 billion at year’s end, according to an analysis from FactSet Research. Long-term equivalents are investments that take more than one year to turn into cash. Following Microsoft in terms of cash and short-term equivalents is Google-parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ) at $73 billion. Next come General Electric ( GE ) at $70.5 billion, Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) at $60.4 billion, and Oracle ( ORCL ) at $52.3 billion. The information technology sector had the largest cash balance among the S&P 500’s 10 sectors, with $580.2 billion at the end of Q4, FactSet said. That’s been the norm over the past 10 years, it said. The tech sector’s holding were up 15% over Q4 2014, making it the only industry sector to increase its cash and short-term investments year over year. Following Microsoft, Alphabet, Cisco and Oracle in the IT sector, in terms of cash and short-term equivalents, is Apple at $38 billion, then Intel ( INTC ) at $25.3 billion. Big companies with lots of cash are in a strong position to make acquisitions. And companies with large balances of long-term investments, such as Apple, also demonstrate a greater degree of financial stability and flexibility. Following Apple and General Electric as having the biggest money horde overall, when including long-term equivalents, are Microsoft at $114.1 billion, Alphabet at $79.6 billion, and Cisco at $65.2 billion.

Intel Might Dethrone Qualcomm In Apple iPhone 7; PC Sales Atrophy

No. 1 chipmaker Intel ( INTC ) remains in the running for an Apple ( AAPL ) iPhone 7 chip even as the smartphone-maker’s iPad Pro continues to gouge PC sales, a Summit Research analyst said Tuesday. Financially, gaining the iPhone 7 modem would be a “non-event,” accounting for $200 million in sales and 2 cents earnings per share ex items per quarter, Summit Research analyst Srini Sundararajan wrote in a research report. But it would allow Intel to undercut No. 3 rival Qualcomm ( QCOM ) which, teardowns show, has supplied the iPhone modem in at least the past four flagship iterations. Qualcomm has been an iPhone supplier since iPhone 4S, whereas Intel has never supplied an iPhone chip. “The implications from a prestige point of view — getting a socket into the iPhone, is likely to be seen as an achievement for Intel and a loss for Qualcomm,” Sundararajan wrote. ‘Dreadful’ January, ‘So-So’ February In midday trading on the stock market today , Intel stock was down a fraction following the death of former longtime CEO Andrew Grove, 79, a Silicon Valley and tech visionary largely credited with building the company into a powerhouse. He left as CEO in 1998 and left the board in 2004 — both moves precipitated by health issues — but remained an advisor. Sundararajan cut his price target on Intel stock to 38 from 40 on “PC doldrums,” but reiterated his buy rating. Sundararajan is the third analyst since February to cut his Q1 estimates for Intel on the weakening PC unit. Taiwanese PC shipments were “dreadful” in January and “so-so” in February, Sundararajan wrote. And “Apple’s release of the smaller iPad Pro and iPad Pro earlier should continue to cut incrementally into PC sales.” But Sundararajan doesn’t expect Intel to pre-announce new guidance . Intel previously guided to $14.1 billion in sales, plus or minus $500 million, suggesting 52 cents EPS ex items. That would be up 10% and 27%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier quarter. “To a certain extent, we feel that Intel’s mentioning weakness in China was an accurate presaging of what was to come, so we do not think that Intel’s guidance is likely to be that far off from actual results,” he wrote. Sundararajan cut his Q1 views to $13.8 billion and 45 cents vs. earlier expectations for $14.3 billion and 53 cents. He notes that Intel anticipates about $400 million in revenue from its completed Altera acquisition and an extra-week bump. The consensus of 46 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters models $13.96 billion in Q1 sales and 49 cents EPS minus items, up a respective 9% and 20%, on a year-over-year basis. For the year, Sundararajan now sees $57.9 billion in sales and $2.35 EPS minus items, down from $59.9 billion and $2.50. On average, analysts expect $58.77 billion and $2.40, up 6% and 3% vs. the year earlier.