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8×8 Guidance Tops Views; Stock Up On ‘Next Phase Of Growth’

8×8 ( EGHT ) stock jumped Friday after the provider of business communications services on Thursday reported higher-than-expected fiscal Q4 revenue and forecast current-year sales above consensus estimates. 8×8 stock leapt 7.3% to 12.60 in the stock market today , touching a nearly four-month high. With Friday’s gain, the San Jose, Calif.-based company’s stock is in the black for 2016 to date. Shares broke out of a cup-with-handle at a 12.05 buy point on Wednesday. The provider of VoIP services (voice over Internet protocol) has an IBD Composite Rating of 93 out of a possible 99, putting it among the top 7% of all companies on key metrics such as stock performance. 8×8 reported adjusted earnings of 3 cents per share in fiscal Q4 ended March 31, down from 5 cents per share in the year-earlier period but in-line with Wall Street views. Revenue rose 32% to $57.3 million, where analysts had modeled revenue of $54.4 million. In the current fiscal year, 8×8 said it expects revenue of $251 million at the midpoint of its guidance range, vs. consensus estimates of $245 million. For fiscal 2016, the company said sales rose 29% to $209.3 million. “8×8 has now entered the next phase of growth, graduating from being a pure over-the-top small-business VoIP provider in the United States to a global enterprise communications service provider with a broad end-to-end suite of cloud service offerings,” Dmitry Netis, an analyst at William Blair, said in a research report.

Yahoo Could Fetch Less Than Expected; Stock Falls

Yahoo ( YHOO ) stock fell Friday on speculation the Web portal’s buyout offers might be less than half of what most observers had been expecting, amid a second round of bidding. Yahoo stock fell 1.4% to 36.50 in the stock market today .  That gives it a market valuation of roughly $35 billion, but almost all of its value is comprised of big stakes in China e-commerce giant Alibaba ( BABA ) and in Tokyo-listed Yahoo Japan. Verizon Communications ( VZ ), which bought AOL last year, has been viewed as the front-runner to buy Yahoo, although private equity firms have also been kicking the tires. There’s been speculation that Microsoft ( MSFT ), which has a search partnership with Yahoo, could team with a private-equity firm, or that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKB ) might back a bid by Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert. Some early estimates put possible bids in the $5 billion to $8 billion range for the core Yahoo business, which excludes Alibaba and Yahoo Japan. As many as 10 bidders have taken part in presentations led by Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, according to reports. The Wall Street Journal, however, reported late Thursday that some PE firms might offer as little as $2 billion to $3 billion, or not bid at all. And Verizon, too, might offer a lower bid, says the report, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. Yahoo has set a deadline in the first week of June for the next round of bids. Verizon, which bought AOL in 2015 for $4.4 billion, aims to morph into a digital media company that garners more advertising revenue, as wireless data competition mounts.

Qunar’s Airline Battle Won’t Slug No. 1 Chinese Agency Ctrip: ITG

Qunar ‘s ( QUNR ) ongoing dispute with China’s airlines won’t hurt China’s No. 1 online travel agent Ctrip.com ( CTRP ), which is expected to report March-quarter travel sales that doubled vs. last year, ITG analyst Henry Guo said. Ctrip and Qunar stocks split on the stock market today , with shares of Ctrip 1.7%, as Qunar fell 1.5%. IBD’s 11-company Leisure-Travel Booking industry group was up a fraction. For Q1, Guo expects Ctrip to report 4.19 billion to 4.29 billion yuan ($640 million to $650 million), topping the consensus view for 4.16 billion yuan. Ctrip hasn’t yet set a date for its Q1 earnings release. That outperformance would follow a months-long battle with flagship carrier Air China — along with some other local airlines including Hainan Airlines and its Hong Kong Airlines unit, as well as China Eastern’s Shanghai Airlines — over fees charged by booking agents such as Qunar. Ctrip acquired a stake in Qunar after the two formed a partnership last year. In the wake of airlines’ refusal to list on Qunar.com, the site now directs users to Ctrip.com or to airlines’ official websites, Guo wrote in a research note. “We believe this should help drive Ctrip’s organic transportation revenue growth and partially offset Qunar’s air-ticketing weakness,” he wrote. Hotel occupancy in China fell to 53.1% in Q1 from 53.6% in the prior quarter, Guo said, but revenue per available room surged 2.2% year over year, “suggesting improved monetization for the whole hotel industry.” At the same time, he says  InterContinental Hotels Group ( IHG ) and Hilton Worldwide ( HLT ) reported 8.3% and 8% year-over-year growth for their Chinese operations, respectively, and Marriott International ( MAR ) saw revenue per available room in Asia rise 6.8% vs. last year. Guo expects Ctrip to report a 76% to 86% jump in accommodations sales vs. the year-earlier quarter, topping the company’s guidance for 70%-80% growth. He sees Ctrip’s travel segment more than doubling revenue. Packaged tours — one of Ctrip’s growth engines — has benefited from outbound travel to high-demand destinations like Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia, Guo wrote. Relaxed visa requirements have helped fuel outbound travel. He expects 52% year-over-year growth in this segment.