Tag Archives: request

Apple Is No Longer The Biggest Stock: Why You Should Worry This Time

Loading the player… Apple ( AAPL ) has again lost its crown as the most valuable company, as it plunges to its lowest level in nearly two years. Google owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) is dropping in the stock market today as well, but it is now the biggest company. The switch comes shortly after Apple posted its first-ever decline in iPhone sales, and as analysts continued to voice concerns over a longer upgrade cycle. The last time Alphabet was able to overtake Apple was a little over two months ago, though it only lasted a few days. But as Apple’s stock becomes more and more technically damaged, it’ll be interesting to see if it can last this time. Apple shares are crumbling 2.6% in huge volume, dropping below the 90 price level intraday to a fresh 23-month low. The stock is now 32% below its all-time high, reached in April 2015. IBD’s Take: How healthy is Apple’s stock and how does it stand up vs. rivals? Find out at IBD Stock Checkup Alphabet is sliding 0.4% in slightly above-average volume. Shares were able to retake the 200-day line last week and are now looking for support near that level. The stock is 10% below its early-February high and 7% below a cup-with-handle buy point of 777.41 that it failed to break out of after issuing disappointing earnings results. Amazon Worth $3 Trillion? And don’t forget to keep an eye on the other big “A” tech stock: Amazon ( AMZN ). The e-commerce giant has a market cap of about $338 billion, compared with Apple’s $493 billion valuation and Alphabet’s nearly $500 billion market cap, but its stock is performing very well. Amazon hit another new all-time high in intraday trade Thursday, with the stock up fractionally at midday. Amazon is extended about 18% past a cup-with-handle buy point it initially cleared shortly before the company’s latest quarterly report. Venture capital firm Social Capital recently gave Amazon a $3 trillion, 10-year valuation. Analysts say Amazon is set to overtake Macy’s ( M ) as the No. 1 U.S. apparel retailer next year. It may also be poised to grab bigger positions in the consumables and food and beverage markets in the next few years. Meanwhile, Facebook ( FB ) has a $342 billion market cap. The social networking giant is very near its recent all-time high as it continues to trade within buy range from a cup-with-handle base that it broke out of on its earnings results. Facebook shares were essentially flat in early afternoon trade.

Disney’s Exit From Toys-To-Life Video Games Could Boost Activision

Walt Disney ‘s ( DIS ) decision to end its Infinity interactive toy and video game product line could provide a lift to rivals in the toys-to-life business, namely Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, a unit of Time Warner ( TWX ). Disney announced Tuesday that it is getting out of the self-published video game business and canceling its Infinity game series. Disney took a $147 million charge to its fiscal-second-quarter results to close the division. Disney’s Infinity exit leaves Activision’s Skylanders, Warner’s Lego Dimensions and Nintendo ‘s ( NTDOY ) Amiibo in the toys-to-life games segment. The toys-to-life genre involves the use of figurines or action figures that are placed on a small platform to interact with on-screen play for game consoles. “Disney’s announcement that they are exiting the toys-to-life category in a production capacity creates some interesting opportunities,” Cowen analyst Doug Creutz said in a report Thursday. “First, we think it paves the way for a significant bounce back in Skylanders sales this year; second, we suspect the Disney IP (intellectual property) will eventually wind up as part of WB’s Lego Dimensions franchise.” Toys-to-life video game sales, excluding sales of stand-alone toys, peaked in 2013 with the launch of Infinity, Creutz said. The category declined 20% in 2014 and was flat in 2015, he said. Nintendo launched Amiibo toys in 2014, but it doesn’t have a stand-alone game like Infinity, Skylanders and Lego Dimensions. Amiibo toys are integrated into existing Nintendo games. “With Activision now the only player planning to launch a toys-to-life game in 2016 (there will be some Dimensions playsets but no new game), if the category remains flat, Skylanders could grow by as much as 300%,” Creutz said. “This would be a source of surprise upside to Activision’s guidance. “In any case, the elimination of a competitor can only be a positive for both Activision and WB’s profitability from the category.” Cowen rates Activision stock outperform, with a price target of 44. Activision stock was up a fraction, above 37, in afternoon trading on the stock market today . The shares broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a 34.76 buy point on April 13. Cowen rates Disney and Time Warner stocks as market perform. Disney stock was down a fraction Thursday afternoon, while Time Warner was down more than 1%. RELATED: EA Stock Soars Like ‘Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon After Q4 Beat .

Republic Wireless Taps T-Mobile, Samsung Galaxy 7 In Wi-Fi Push

Wi-Fi calling startup Republic Wireless has added T-Mobile US ( TMUS ) as a cellular network partner and Samsung’s Galaxy S7 to its lineup of mobile phones. Republic Wireless earlier leased cellphone network access from Sprint ( S ). Users of Republic Wireless service use mobile phones that switch to cellular networks if public Wi-Fi is not available. T-Mobile stock edged down a fraction in midday trading in the stock market today , near 40.50. Shares of T-Mobile are up about 3% in 2016. T-Mobile has an IBD Composite Rating of 91 out of a possible 99, which puts it among the top 9% of all stocks in some key metrics that include revenue and earnings growth. Republic Wireless has fewer than 1 million customers, said a Bloomberg report . Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google rolled out a hybrid Wi-Fi/cellular service in early 2015, but it has not disclosed how many subscribers it has. Sprint and T-Mobile were both partners of Google in its launch. Cable-TV leader  Comcast ( CMCSA ) says it’s testing a hybrid Wi-Fi service under a network sharing agreement with Verizon Communications ( VZ ). Republic Wireless is a unit of Internet-calling service Bandwidth.com. While Republic Wireless says it will add Samsung’s Galaxy 7 and six other phones to its lineup, the Wi-Fi startup has been unable to forge a deal with Apple ( AAPL ).