From Briefing.com: 4:23 pm Xilinx beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q4 revs in-line (XLNX) :
Reports Q3 (Dec) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.49; revenues rose 3.5% year/year to $586 mln vs the $579.63 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $590-620 mln vs. $607.75 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Co said, "Sales from our 16nm Ultrascale+, 20nm Ultrascale, and 28nm Zynq products contributed to significant market expansion. The growth from these products was driven by a broad base of markets such as data center, automotive, test & measurement, wired and wireless communications and space."
4:12 pm Western Digital beats by $0.18, beats on revs -- co will guide on cc at 17:00 ET (WDC) :
Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $2.30 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.18 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.12; revenues rose 47.4% year/year to $4.89 bln vs the $4.76 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
The company generated $1.1 billion in cash from operations during the second fiscal quarter of 2017, ending with approximately $5.2 billion of total cash and cash equivalents, and available-for-sale securities.
4:11 pm Qualcomm beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line (QCOM) :
Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.19 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.18; revenues rose 3.9% year/year to $6 bln vs the $6.12 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.15-1.25 vs. $1.19 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $5.5-6.3 bln vs. $5.93 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Sees 165M - 185M MSM Chip shipments (decrease 2% - 13%); Total reported device sales of approx. $74.0B - $82.0B (increase 6%-17%)
"The recent legal and governmental actions against Qualcomm are at their core driven by commercial disputes. As we have done in the past, we will vigorously defend our business model and the value of a portfolio of technologies that has been so instrumental to the success of the mobile communications industry."
4:10 pm Lam Research beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (LRCX) :
Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $2.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.19; revenues rose 32.0% year/year to $1.88 bln vs the $1.84 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Shipments of $1.92 billion
Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $2.45-2.65, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.41 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $2.075-2.2 billion vs. $1.97 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
For the December 2016 quarter, non-GAAP gross margin was $874 million or 46.4% of revenue, non-GAAP operating expenses were $384 million, non-GAAP operating margin was 26.0% of revenue, and non-GAAP net income was $405 million, or $2.24 per diluted share.
4:08 pm F5 Networks beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line (FFIV) :
Reports Q1 (Dec) earnings of $1.98 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.94; revenues rose 5.4% year/year to $516 mln vs the $516.99 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $1.95-1.98, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.97 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $518-528 mln vs. $523.97 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
"In addition to strong initial demand for the iSeries, software sales, including software modules that run on our purpose-built hardware and Virtual Editions designed to run on any standard hypervisor, continued to grow as a percentage of product revenue. We expect this trend to continue in the current quarter, driven by the release of our 40-Gigabit VEs, with throughput four times faster than previous versions, and by increasing uptake of iSeries appliances, designed to support more modules than their predecessors."
4:20 pm : Investors methodically pushed the major averages to record highs on Wednesday, with the Dow climbing past the 20k milestone along the way. All indices finished the day solidly higher, collectively signaling that the post-election rally isn't dead just yet. The S&P 500 closed up 0.8%.
The benchmark index jumped out of the gate this morning, as a handful of blue-chip companies reported positive earnings results between yesterday's close and today's open. Seagate Technology (STX 42.67, +5.23) spiked 14.0% after topping earnings and revenue estimates in addition to issuing upbeat guidance. Norfolk Southern (NSC 120.53, +3.91) also finished higher, increasing 3.4% to an all-time high after beating earnings per share estimates.
As far as Dow components, Boeing (BA 167.36, +6.81) also had an upbeat showing while United Technologies (UTX 110.96, -0.65) finished lower as the company's in-line earnings report was met with a sell-the-news response following a large fourth quarter gain.
However, the stock market didn't stop there, moving slowly but deliberately into the afternoon amid positive signals from the political front. President Trump signed two executive orders on Wednesday, one to build a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border and another to strip federal grant money from states and cities that shelter illegal immigrants. And while these reports weren't unexpected, as border control was a staple of Mr. Trump's presidential campaign, they do serve as a reminder of said campaign and the pro-growth hopes attached to it.
Strong sector leadership was also an important factor in today's session as the financials (+1.7%) moved into the top spot on today's leaderboard early, building on a positive showing on Tuesday. With two solid wins under its belt, the financial sector is back near its high from early December, overcoming the sell-the-news response that was invited by earnings from the sector's top components.
The financial sector was followed by industrials (+1.0%) and technology (+1.1%) with the latter benefiting from a 1.5% increase in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. Chipmakers received a nice bump from Texas Instruments (TXN 78.58, +1.50) as the stock jumped 2.0% in reaction to above-consensus earnings.
Energy (+0.6%) underperformed its cyclical peers, as crude oil finished 0.7% lower at $52.76/bbl. The energy component had a somewhat volatile session, reacting to a downtick in the U.S. Dollar Index (99.94, -0.34) and an Energy Information Administration report that showed a build of 2.8 million barrels of crude and a big build in gasoline inventories.
On the countercyclical side, real estate (-0.6%), telecom services (-0.2%), and utilities (unch) all finished in the red, while health care (+0.9%) bucked the trend. The health care space remains slightly lower for the week after today's gain, showing a week-to-date loss of 0.2%.
U.S. Treasuries return to negative territory for the week after Wednesday's risk-on attitude resulted in selling pressure. The 10-yr yield finished five basis points higher at 2.52%.
Today's economic data included FHFA Housing Price Index and MBA Mortgage Index:
The FHFA Housing Price Index for November rose 0.5%, which followed a revised increase of 0.3% in October (from 0.4%).
The weekly MBA Mortgage Index rose 4.0% to follow last week's 0.8% increase
Tomorrow's economic data will include Advance International Trade in Goods (Briefing.com consensus -$65.0 million) and Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 246,000) at 8:30 am ET, while Leading Indicators (Briefing.com consensus 0.5%) and New Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 589,000) will cross the wires at 10:00 am ET.
Russell 2000 +1.9% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.6% YTD
S&P 500 +2.7% YTD
Nasdaq Composite +5.1% YTD
DJ30 +155.80 NASDAQ +55.38 SP500 +18.30 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2185/1.76 bln/839 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1908/1.02 bln/1044
3:30 pm :
Crude oil ended a volatile pit trading session near its initial post-EIA low, erased all of yesterday's gain
Mar 2017 crude oil futures fell $0.39 (-0.7%) to $52.76/barrel
Baker Hughes rig count data will be released Friday at 1 pm ET.
Natural gas rallied for the 3rd consecutive session on updated colder weather forecasts ahead of tomorrow's EIA data release
Mar 2017 natural gas closed $0.05 higher (+1.5%) at $3.35/MMBtu
Natural gas futures have switched their front months to Mar from Feb, as indicated by the active amount of volume in the contracts
Weekly EIA natural gas inventory data is due tomorrow at 10:30 am ET.
Color on the 3-day rally in natural gas:
U.S. natural gas futures have been trading higher the past 3 sessions on forecasts for colder-than-normal weather and higher heating demand expected to last into the second week of Feb.
This increase came despite a warmer-than-normal outlook through Jan 27 and for much of the rest of Feb and Mar.
In precious metals, gold extended yesterday's losses despite continued weakness in the dollar index as stocks saw a notable rally
Feb 2017 gold ended today's session down $12.80 (-1.1%) to $1,198.00/oz
Mar 2017 silver closed today's session $0.20 lower (-1.2%) at $16.98/oz
The dollar index was -0.4% around the 99.97 level, did not appear to support precious metals
Commodities, as measured by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, were -0.4% around the 88.37 level
Well, the wait is over. The wait for the Dow Jones to crack 20K, that is. The index cracked that level moments after the open as futures drifted higher overnight. Ultimately, the Nasdaq Composite was the best performer today, adding about 55.38 points (+0.99%) to 5656.34. The S&P 500 was up 18.30 (+0.80%) when the bell rang to 2298.37. The aforementioned move in the Dow Jones Industrial Average left the index up 155.80 points (+0.78%) to 20068.51 at the end of the day. In the end, today's moves took all three major indices to all-time highs.
Market data today included the FHFA Housing Price Index for November which rose 0.5% following a revised increase of 0.3% in October (from 0.4%). Also, investors received the weekly MBA Mortgage Index which rose 4.0% to follow last week's 0.8% increase.
Equally as strong, the Technology (XLK 50.68, +0.48 +0.96%) sector ended at a near 17-year high dating back to the fall of 2000. Component Seagate Tech (STX 42.67, +5.23 +13.97%) was the name that aided the advance today, after reporting a solid Q2 print last night after the close. Other sectors as measured by the S&P closed XLF +1.67%, XLI +1.05%, XLV +0.94%, XLB +0.67%, XLY +0.60%, XLE +0.52%, IYZ +0.17%, XLU +0.00%, XLP -0.02%, XLRE -0.61%.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology (854.17, +9.06 +1.07%) space, trading took off at the open and never looked back. Component TE Connectivity (TEL 75.17, +3.49 +4.87%) was one of the better performing names today after the company reported better than expected Q1 earnings and revenues this morning. Other names in the space which followed the broader action higher today included QCOM +3.45%, MU +3.11%, QRVO +2.46%, AVGO +2.39%, YHOO +2.37%, KLAC +2.26%, LRCX +1.99%, TXN +1.95%, GLW +1.91%, TDC +1.82%, CRM +1.76%, CTSH +1.66%, FB +1.63%, AAPL +1.57%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Upcoming IPO AppDynamics (APPD) to be acquired by Cisco (CSCO 30.70, +0.10 +0.33%) for about $3.7 billion in cash and assumed equity awards.
Qualcomm (QCOM 56.90, +1.90 +3.45%) commented on Apple's (AAPL 121.85, +1.88 +1.57%) lawsuits in China; 'these filings by Apple's Chinese subsidiary are just part of Apple's efforts to find ways to pay less for Qualcomm's technology.'
Micron (MU 23.56, +0.71 +3.11%) said to be among parties interested in a stake in Toshiba's (TOSBF 2.28, -0.01 -0.78%) memory chip unit, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
Accenture (CAN 117.59, +1.11 +0.95%) has acquired privately held German consulting and systems integration firm, solid servision.
Workday (WDAY 84.73, +2.10 +2.54%) announced that Royal Vopak, an independent tank storage company, has selected Workday Human Capital Management (HCM).
Activision Blizzard's (ATVI 39.56, +0.46 +1.18%) King to acquire Omniata, according to VentureBeat.
Oracle (ORCL 40.15, +0.05 +0.12%) announced the expansion of its Startup Cloud Accelerator program. The initiative will continue to fuel cloud-enabled innovation around the globe by opening new centers in Bristol, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Paris, So Paulo, Singapore and Tel Aviv.
Sprint (S 9.19, flat) named Nstor Cano as COO.
Amazon (AMZN 836.52, +14.08 +1.71%) plans expansion into ocean freight services, according to WSJ.
According to a Reuters report, Ixia (XXIA 17.75, +1.20 +7.25%) is in discussions to be acquired by
Keysight Technologies (KEYS 37.71, +0.76 +2.06%).
Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH 35.83, +0.04 +0.11%) closed its acquisition of Aquilent. The company now expects to add about $20 million of revenue through remainder of fiscal year 2017 (previously expected to add about $30-35 million).
magicJack VocalTec (CALL 7.40, flat) provided an update on its SMB business unit and its plans to leverage the product development investments made in 2016 by focusing on lowered pricing, streamlining its go-to-market strategy, driving sales primarily through digital media and retail, and product innovation. In addition to lower pricing, magicJack's SMB business will be introducing a new SMB ATA device during Q2 2017.
In reaction to quarterly results:
Texas Instruments (TXN 78.58, +1.50 +1.95%) reported better than expected Q4 EPS and revenues of $0.91 and $3.41 billion, respectively. For Q1, the company sees EPS of $0.78-0.88 on revenues of $3.17-3.43 billion.
TE Connectivity (TEL) reported better than expected Q1 EPS and revenues of $1.15 and $3.06 billion, respectively. For Q2, the company sees EPS and revenues in-line at $1.05-1.09 and $3.025-3.125 billion, respectively. For FY17, TEL expects EPS of $4.30-4.50 on revenues of about $12.2-12.6 billion.
Wipro (WIT 9.62, -0.15 -1.54%) reported better than expected Q3 earnings of INR8.70 on revenues of INR136.88 billion. For Q4, the company sees revenues from the IT Services business to be in the range of $ 1,922 million to $ 1,941 million.
Amphenol (APH 67.03, -1.73 -2.52%) reported better than expected Q4 EPS of $0.75 on revenues of $1.62 billion. For Q1, the company sees EPS of $0.65-0.67 with revenue guidance of $1.50-1.54 billion. For FY17, APH sees EPS of $2.84-2.92 on revenues of $6.34-6.50 billion.
CA Tech (CA 31.31, -1.64 -4.98%) reported better than expected Q3 earnings of $0.63 on revenues of $1.01 billion. For FY18, CA sees EPS and revenues worse than market expectations at $2.42-2.47 and $4.01-4.03 billion, respectively.
Seagate Tech (STX) reported better than expected Q2 EPS and revenues of $1.38 and $2.89 billion, respectively. On the call, guided Q1 revenues of about $2.7 billion on margins of approximately 30%.
Cree (CREE 28.83, +1.42 +5.18%) reported better than expected Q2 EPS and revenues of $0.20 and $347 million, respectively. For Q3, the company sees EPS of $0.01-0.09 and revenues of about $285-315 million.
Companies scheduled to report quarterly results tonight/tomorrow morning: T CMPR CTXS DLB EBAY EFII FFIV LRCX QCOM QSII QTM NOW TER WDC XLNX/ADS AVT CCMP CLFD DST ERIC RCI STM
Analyst actions:
STX was upgraded to Outperform from Sector Perform at FBN Securities, I was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at RBC Capital Mkts,
CTL was upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies,
BT was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Macquarie;
VZ was downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at FBR & Co., to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James, and to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Mkts,
IMASY was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Mtks,
SBAC and JCOM were downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup,
NOK was downgraded to Sell from Hold at Danske Bank,
VOD was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill;
ANET was initiated with a Buy at DA Davidson,
VSAT was initiated with an Underperform at RBC Capital Mkts,
GOGO was initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim,
MIME was initiated with a Buy at Brean Capital
