Tag Archives: tsla

Is Apple Supplier NXP Semi Looking To Home In On Auto Market?

Apple ( AAPL ) chip supplier NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) could be looking to further focus on the automotive market, as it considers a $2 billion sale of its standard products unit, according to reports. NXP Semi shares jumped as much as 3.8% Friday morning in quick turnover to retake their 200-day moving average. But the stock pared its gains to closed with a 1.8% rise and fell back below the 200-day line. The standard products unit — which consists of transistors, diodes and other standard-chip products — accounted for 20% of NXP Semi’s 2015 sales, but the segment’s revenue fell 3% year-over-year, with an 18% drop in Q4. Chinese firms, including Beijing-based investment firm JAC Capital, are interested in a deal with NXP for the unit, sources told Bloomberg. The move could signal an effort by NXP to further focus on the automotive market, and even products it supplies to smartphone makers, including Apple. NXP became the largest chip supplier to the automotive industry with the completion of its $12 billion merger with smaller peer Freescale Semiconductor in December. At that time, the company said it had plans to lead the auto industry in terms of infotainment, vehicle networking, body, safety and secure access. NXP’s automotive segment revenue jumped 17% last year, boosted by the acquisition, to $1.34 billion. That represents 22% of NXP’s total sales for 2015. NXP, which has an IBD Composite Rating of 81 out of 99, is set to report Q1 earnings on April 25. Analysts expect the bottom line to drop 19% to $1.09 a share, while the top line jumps 51% to $2.21 billion. As NXP stock is trading 27% below its 52-week high, top-rated peer Nvidia ( NVDA ) is sitting just 2% below its recent high. The Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) supplier broke out of a cup-with-handle base several weeks ago and is now extended from buy range. Monolithic Power Systems ( MPWR ) is trading 8% below its high as it works on a base, while Silicon Motion Tech ( SIMO ) is nearing profit-taking zone after a breakout last month. Nvidia closed up 0.65%, Monolithic Power added 0.3%, and Silicon Motion climbed 2.4% Friday. Apple added 0.1%, and Tesla fell 2.8%.

SpaceX Seen As Having Best Shot Landing Booster On Floating Barge

Friday’s planned launch of the Falcon 9 rocket by SpaceX has special meaning for two reasons. It’s the first time SpaceX will return to the International Space Station to deliver cargo since its last cargo mission in June resulted in failure, when the second-stage booster exploded about 21 miles high, due to a part failure. It’s also seen as the best shot that SpaceX has at finally sticking the landing of its massive booster rocket on a floating barge on the Atlantic Ocean, after three previous attempts failed. Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) CEO Elon Musk founded SpaceX. It’s based in Hawthorne, Calif., where Musk also has a Tesla facility. In addition to running Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is chairman of SolarCity ( SCTY ). SpaceX did manage to land the booster rocket on land during a launch in December. But the barge landing is far more difficult, and much more important, if SpaceX is able to reuse its rockets on a regular basis. Reusing rockets will enable SpaceX to lower the cost of its launches. The most recent attempt to land the rocket on a barge in March came close but missed the target. In a tweet at the time, Elon Musk said “next flight has a good chance .” At a news conference Thursday, Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for SpaceX, said “We have more confidence in this landing.” The liftoff is scheduled to take place at 4:43 p.m. ET at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. Live countdown coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. The SpaceX Dragon capsule will carry nearly 7,000 pounds of cargo to the space station.

First-Week Tesla Model 3 Reservations In, Worth $14 Billion In Sales

Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) tallies more than 325,000 Model 3 reservations in the first week that preorders for the electric car have been open worldwide. The company tweeted the update Thursday morning and said in a blog post that it would be “increasing Model 3 production plans.” Tesla stock was down more than 2%, near 260, in early-afternoon trading on the stock market today . The early reservations pace has run far higher than analysts and Tesla expected. Tesla stock now gets a 72 Composite Rating from IBD out of a possible 99, and this week has been trading at its highest price since September. Shares rose 3.9% on Wednesday, to 265.42, marking a fourth day straight of better-than-3% gains. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average are mildly positive on Tesla stock. Of 21 polled, nine call it a buy or strong buy, five a hold and seven an underperform. At $1,000 each, the first week’s Model 3 reservations bring in $325 million for the California startup, which will have to ramp up production dramatically to get all those cars delivered. The reservations reflect eventual potential sales of $14 billion worth of Model 3 cars if all who’ve reserved follow through with a purchase. A huge step towards a more sustainable future: 325,000 and counting https://t.co/XKlywcYhp8 #Model3 pic.twitter.com/a367jCJgaK — Tesla Motors (@TeslaMotors) April 7, 2016 “A week ago, we started taking reservations for Model 3, and the excitement has been incredible. We’ve now received more than 325,000 reservations, which corresponds to about $14 billion in implied future sales, making this the single biggest one-week launch of any product ever,” Tesla said in its blog post, titled “The Week That Electric Vehicles Went Mainstream.” CEO Elon Musk has estimated buyer spending would likely be an average price of $42,000. (Analysts expect that because the deposits are refundable and just $1,000, not everyone who’s reserved will pony up and actually purchase, though others will be joining the line.) Will give an update tonight for the 3 day total, then last one on Wed for the full week. All efforts focused on accelerating the ramp. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2016 The Model 3 is slated to start deliveries in late 2017. Musk has been tracking the Model 3 reservations inflow on Twitter ( TWTR ), from 180,000  in the first 24 hours to 276,000 by the end of Saturday. Tesla debuted the $35,000-base-price car last Thursday night at a launch party at the Tesla design studio in Los Angeles, where IBD tried a ride in the Model 3 . It’s a mass-market vehicle expected to compete with gas-powered cars like BMW’s 3 Series and similarly priced ones from Volkswagen ’s ( VLKAY ) Audi, Daimler ’s ( DDAIF ) Mercedes-Benz and Toyota ’s ( TM ) Lexus, as well as electrics like General Motors ‘ ( GM ) Chevrolet Bolt. While Tesla expects to be able to build up to half a million cars annually by 2020, it hit a speed bump in the first quarter and delivered fewer vehicles than expected — 12,420 — after supplier parts shortages for its latest Model X crossover. Tesla partly blamed its own “hubris” in adding too much technology to the vehicle too early. This Is What It’s Like To Ride In A Tesla Model 3