Tag Archives: mbly

Investing Action Plan For Thursday: Alibaba, Mobileye, 3D Systems On Tap

Here’s your Investing Action Plan for Thursday: What you need to know as an investor for the coming day. Alibaba Group ( BABA ), 3D Systems ( DDD ),  Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) supplier Mobileye ( MBLY ), Sprouts Farmers Market ( SFM ) and shale producer EOG Resources ( EOG ) are all due to report earnings Thursday. Alibaba Top Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba is on tap to announce results for its fourth quarter, ended March 31, prior to the market opening on Thursday. Investors will look for a rise in the value of goods sold on its various platforms. The company, sometimes called the Amazon.com ( AMZN ) of China, reported better-than-expected earnings last quarter, but shares fell after it said that growth in gross merchandise volume, a measure of total value of goods sold, shrank from the prior quarter. First-quarter gross merchandise volume will be key in the upcoming report. Consensus is for a 21% increase in earnings to 56 cents a share on a 33% hike in revenue to $3.58 billion. Alibaba fell 0.9% in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Mobileye The advanced driver assistance systems maker, which sells to luxury electric carmaker Tesla Motors and others, also reports early Thursday. Tesla, General Motors ( GM ), Ford Motor ( F ) and other automakers, along with tech giants like Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google and reportedly Apple ( AAPL ), are racing to develop autonomous, self-driving car technology. Mobileye’s backup cameras and other high tech gear are seen as key to such systems. On April 19, Mobileye announced a partnership to expand in China with Chinese e-commerce site Ingdan.com, a unit of Hong Kong-based Cogobuy Group. Under terms of the deal, Ingdan.com will sell Mobileye products on its site. Mobileye was down 4.4% Wednesday. Tesla reports first-quarter results after the market close on Wednesday. Analyst consensus is for per share loss to deepen to 57 cents from 37 cents in Q1 2015 as it boosts spending to expand Model X production and build the Gigafactory battery plant in Nevada. Tesla slid 4.7% ahead of results and amid reports that key production chiefs are leaving. 3D Systems 3D Systems will report first-quarter earnings before the market opens Thursday . 3D printing could be poised to recover from a two-year decline. Leaders 3D Systems and Stratasys ( SSYS ) — which reports May 9 — grew at a rapid pace for years by selling so-called “additive printers,” which create physical objects by layering on materials such as plastic and metal to build a variety of devices. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are looking for 3D Systems’ earnings per share minus one-time items to be flat at 5 cents a share vs. Q1 2015 and are projecting a slight dip in revenue to $156.3 million. Sentiment is positive though after 3D Systems crushed estimates last quarter, reporting a 19-cent profit, more than six times the expected 3 cents, and its $183.4 million revenue easily topped forecasts. 3D Systems tumbled 5% intraday Wednesday, undercutting its 50-day line, after tumbling 7.4% Tuesday and 6.3% Monday. Stratasys fell 3.9%. Sprouts Farmers Market Natural and organic foods grocery Sprouts Farmers Market ( SFM ) reports first-quarter financial results early Thursday. Consensus is for earnings to rise 16% to 29 cents a share and revenue to climb 18% to $1.01 billion.But Sprouts has beaten earnings estimates in the last two quarters. Sprouts hass gotten a series of analyst upgrades recently, including Oppenheimer raising its price target Monday to 30 from 26 with a hold rating. Sprouts rose 0.5%. In contrast, rival Whole Foods Market ( WFM ) has delivered below market performance this year and is scheduled to report after the close Wednesday. Its earnings and revenue growth both shrank the last two quarters in a row. Its stock is down 15% year to date and was down about 1% Wednesday afternoon. EOG Resources Oil and natural gas producer EOG Resources ( EOG ) will report results late Thursday. Gas prices climbed to a six-month high at a national average of $2.22 per gallon as the industry tries to recover from plunging prices. EOG is expected to record an 84 cents loss vs. a 3 cent profit in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue is projected to fall 28.1% to $1.67 billion. EOG shares were down 1.5% Wednesday. On Wednesday, Carrizo Oil & Gas ( CRZO ) and Noble Energy ( NBL ) raised production targets .

Before Tesla Motors Reports Earnings, You Need To Know This

Now that it’s impressed the world with higher-than-expected demand for its new Model 3, Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) is set to report its quarterly results after the close on Wednesday. Analysts expect the luxury electric car maker’s per-share loss to widen to 57 cents amid production and Gigafactory investments. Revenue is projected to jump 45% to nearly $1.6 billion. The jump marks a third straight quarter of faster top-line growth. Tesla cleared a cup-with-handle base with a 239.98 buy point on April 1. Shares continued to climb the next few days but have pulled back, briefly undercutting the buy point Friday intraday. Positive results could potentially send shares to their highest level this year, while negative results could send the stock back to its 200-day and 50-day lines, which are close to converging. Meanwhile, Tesla partner Mobileye ( MBLY ) reports before the open on Thursday. The maker of advanced driver assistance systems is also working with other automakers on their autonomous and semi-autonomous car efforts. Earnings are projected to pop 75% while revenue increases 61%. Mobileye stock is trading about 40% below its all-time high reached last August, but the stock has rallied sharply from its February low. And Tesla chip supplier Nvidia ( NVDA ) is extended 8% from a cup-with-handle base buy point initially cleared in March. Nvidia shares are dropping 2% in quick trade Friday, ahead of its quarterly report on May 12.

A Google-Fiat Chrysler Self-Driving Alliance Is So Crazy It Could Work

Alphabet ( GOOGL ) is in late-stage talks with Fiat Chrysler ( FCAU ) about a partnership regarding autonomous vehicles, according to multiple reports Thursday. At first glance, it seems like a crazy idea. Why would Alphabet’s Google want to team up with Fiat Chrysler. The automaker has invested very little in autonomous technology, largely sitting out the Detroit-Silicon Valley autonomous arms race involving the likes of Alphabet, Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), General Motors ( GM ), Toyota ( TM ), Ford ( F ) and Apple ( AAPL ). Indeed, Fiat Chrysler is unusually dependent on high-margin, gas guzzling Jeeps and pickups. And its major brands are usually at or near the bottom of quality surveys. But Fiat Chrysler has the virtue of its defects. Alphabet has sought alliances for years with major automakers on self-driving cars, lacking any experience in mass-producing vehicles or handling a far-flung dealer network. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has been looking for industry alliances or mergers to beef up the size of his company. Many experts believe that midsize companies such as Fiat Chrysler will have trouble investing enough — and spreading out those costs on sufficient sales — to keep up with global giants. Simply put, Fiat Chrysler needs Google more than General Motors. GM has made several related acquisitions and has invested in Lyft as part of an alliance with the ride-hailing service that involves autonomous efforts. As as a result, Alphabet’s self-driving arm might be able to drive a better bargain with Fiat Chrysler. Also, AutoExtremist.com , which first reported on the story, said an alliance might include an autonomous version of Chrysler’s Pacifica minivan. Apple, Tesla News Separately, Apple may have dropped some Apple Car hints Thursday in an SEC filing stating that “off-balance sheet obligations” were up 75% year over year to $12 billion, with some of the spike possible due to Apple’s “Project Titan car efforts. Tesla Motors reports first-quarter earnings next week, as does Mobileye ( MBLY ). Mobileye’s camera-based systems are being used by Tesla and several other major carmakers for semi- and fully autonomous car efforts.