Tag Archives: nvda

Game On! Virtual Reality Race Starts As Facebook Oculus Rift Ships

Virtual reality will get its close-up on Monday when Facebook ( FB ) starts shipping its hot Oculus Rift headsets. Facebook sees Oculus Rift as a big game changer that starts with games and later moves to virtual front-row seats at sports games, as users slap on the Rift goggles for deep-seated immersion. Preorders for the $599 Oculus Rift headsets began in January. Facebook has not said how many Rift orders it received but did say they span 20 countries. When it ships,  30 games will be available, with more than 100 games expected by the end of this year. Game prices range from $9.99 to $59.99. High-performance PCs will be needed to power the Rift system. Oculus-ready PCs and Rift bundles are available from Dell, Dell’s Alienware unit, and Asus, which start at around $1,499. They’re available through Amazon ( AMZN ), Best Buy ( BBY ) and the  Microsoft ( MSFT ) Store. Research firm CCS Insight estimates  that virtual reality devices, including the related augmented reality field, will exceed $4 billion in sales in three years. It projects 2.5 million virtual reality and augmented reality devices will sell this year, growing to 12 million devices next year, and more than 24 million in 2018. Later this year, Facebook will also ship its Oculus Touch controllers that allow people to interact more naturally in VR through hand movements and gestures. Facebook says it’s working with thousands of developers on entirely new VR experiences. Facebook acquired Oculus for $1.9 billion two years ago. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the Oculus acquisition with a Facebook post , saying the technology goes far beyond being a system for gaming. “After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court-side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face, just by putting on goggles in your home,” he wrote in the post. In a conference call when Facebook announced fourth-quarter earnings on Jan. 27, he said: “This Oculus launch is shaping up to be a big moment for the gaming community. Over the long-term, VR has the potential to change the way that we live, work and communicate as well.” As to the revenue contribution Oculus will make to Facebook’s bottom line, the company is downplaying that for now. “With Rift, it’s early in the evolution of VR,” Facebook CFO David Wehner said on the conference call. “It’s early to be talking about large volumes. So, at this point, I don’t think we’re giving a lot of color around supply chain and that sort of thing. It’s not going to be material to our financials this year.” The arrival of Rift could have a big benefit for chipmaker and computer game-card maker Nvidia ( NVDA ), as the demand for virtual reality accelerates. Nvidia provides the graphic processors needed in computers for Oculus Rift performance and that of other VR systems. The virtual reality field is expected to be intensely competitive, with a host of companies jumping into the game. Samsung has already shipped its Gear VR. Sony ( SNE ) is releasing a PlayStation VR system later this year, which will have a $400 price tag. Sony VR will have the benefit of leveraging its installed base of 30 million PlayStation 4 users. Also coming is the Vive VR system from Taiwan-based HTC, in joint development with U.S. game developer Valve. The HTC VR headset will begin shipping on April 5. Likewise, Microsoft is working on its “HoloLens” technology.

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%.

These 3 Apple, Tesla Chip Supplier Stocks Just Entered Buy Range

Three top chipmakers, which are suppliers to Apple ( AAPL ) and Tesla Motors ( TSLA ), have broken out of bases, and they’re trading in buy range: Microsemi ( MSCC ), Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ). Apple chip supplier Microsemi announced Thursday that one of its customers has successfully implemented its SmartFusion2 system-on-chip to provide advanced security features. Smartphone security was recently brought to the forefront with a clash between Apple and the FBI over unlocking a terrorist’s phone. Microsemi is rising 1.5% to 37.06 in heavy volume on the stock market today  in early afternoon action, breaking out of a cup-with-handle base with a 36.64 buy point. Shares are still well within the 5% buying range. Fellow Apple supplier Broadcom broke out of a more than nine-month-long consolidation base in Thursday’s session and was continuing to another new high Friday, gaining 0.7% to 152.61 in above-average volume. Shares are in buy range to 158.13, which is 5% past the 150.60 buy point. Broadcom said Wednesday it will demonstrate some of its industry-leading chips at next week’s Optical Fiber Communication conference. And Tesla supplier Nvidia tried to break out of a cup-with-handle base with a 33.16 buy point in Wednesday’s session. It is now firmly in buying range and hitting a new 52-week high in heavy turnover, climbing 3.9% to 34.09. Argus initiated coverage on Nvidia with a buy rating and is bullish on Nvidia’s leadership in visual computing. Not only is Nvidia a Tesla supplier, but it’s also heavily involved in the emerging virtual reality market. Apple shares were unchanged in early afternoon trading, while Tesla climbed 2.5%.