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InPlay from Briefing.com:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inplay-briefing-com-055139997.html

4:12 pm Ultra Clean Holdings beats by $0.09, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (UCTT) :

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.36 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 68.8% year/year to $174.5 mln vs the $173.07 mln Capital IQ Consensus.

Co issues upside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.40-0.45, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.27 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $190-197 mln vs. $168.00 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate."By expanding our capabilities beyond gas panels and keeping pace with exceptional market demand, we are creating an even stronger link with our customers and have been able to capitalize on new opportunities. We are well positioned to reach our longer-term revenue and profitability goals."

4:11 pm HP beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line (HPQ) :

Reports Q1 (Jan) earnings of $0.38 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.37; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $12.68 bln vs the $11.83 bln Capital IQ Consensus.

Personal Systems net revenue was up 10% year over year (up 11% in constant currency) with a 3.8% operating margin.
Commercial net revenue increased 7% and Consumer net revenue increased 15%. Total units were up 8% with Notebooks units up 12% and Desktops units flat.
Printing net revenue was down 3% year over year (down 2% in constant currency) with a 16.0% operating margin.
Total hardware units were up 6% with Commercial hardware units up 2% and Consumer hardware units up 7%.
Supplies net revenue was down 3% (down 2% in constant currency).

Personal Systems net revenue was up 10% year over year (up 11% in constant currency) with a 3.8% operating margin. Commercial net revenue increased 7% and Consumer net revenue increased 15%. Total units were up 8% with Notebooks units up 12% and Desktops units flat. Printing net revenue was down 3% year over year (down 2% in constant currency) with a 16.0% operating margin. Total hardware units were up 6% with Commercial hardware units up 2% and Consumer hardware units up 7%. Supplies net revenue was down 3% (down 2% in constant currency).Co issues in-line guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.37-0.40, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.38 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. "We are confident in our ability to manage our business and deliver our FY17 financial commitments."

4:08 pm Tessera Tech misses by $0.11, misses on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY17 revs above consensus; Changes Name to Xperi, ticker symbol to "XPER" (TSRA) :

Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.11 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.56; revenues rose 13.4% year/year to $70.1 mln vs the $73.4 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of ($0.15)-($0.09) vs. $0.40 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of $60-$63 mln vs. $74.03 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

Co issues upside guidance for FY17, sees FY17 revs of $370-$445 mln vs. $359.40 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.Commentary: "2016 was a transformational year with the combination of Tessera and DTS, which today we are excited to have rebranded as Xperi, reflecting our new vision of bringing together digital and physical experiences in smart, connected and personalized ways. While the transaction and related accounting had a significant impact on the fourth quarter results, the effect is transitory and does not reflect the underlying cash flow strength of the business.

We are pleased to report the integration of DTS is on track and we are confident in our ability to realize the full benefits of the transaction."New Company Name & Stock Symbol: The company announced it has changed its name to Xperi Corporation. The company's common stock will officially begin trading under the new Nasdaq stock ticker symbol, XPER, effective at the market open on February 23, 2017.4:08 pm Omega Protein's Board initiates a strategic alternati

4:15 pm Closing Market Summary: Averages Close Wednesday Mixed (:WRAPX) :

Investors tapped the brakes on Wednesday, displaying slight caution amid a wave of potentially influential economic reports. The Nasdaq (-0.1%) closed in line with the S&P 500 (-0.1%) while the Dow outperformed (+0.2%), recording its ninth consecutive gain.

The major averages started today's session with modest losses, but they ticked up following Existing Home Sales for January. The report came in better than expected, showing an annualized rate of 5.69 million units while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 5.57 million.

Equity indices then slid slowly into the next event on Wednesday's calendar, a speech from Fed Governor Jerome Powell. However, the speech turned out to be a non-event as Mr. Powell provided little to no new information, stating that a gradual tightening of policy is appropriate as long as the economy continues to behave roughly as expected.

Finally, the last major event on the calendar, the FOMC Minutes, was met with a muted response from investors. The minutes showed that many FOMC members see a rate hike "fairly soon if incoming information on the labor market and inflation was in line with or stronger than their current expectations."

And while recent hotter than expected ISM Index, Nonfarm Payrolls, PPI, CPI, Retail Sales, Housing Starts, and Existing Home Sales readings met the rate hike prerequisite, the statement's vague "fairly soon" clause gives little indication as to the timeline of said rate hike.

In summary, after all the noise, the fed funds futures market now points to May as the most likely time for the next rate hike to be announced with an implied probability of 52.1%, up from 45.9% yesterday. The implied probability of a March rate hike increased to 22.1% from yesterday's 17.7%.

On the earnings front, Toll Brothers (TOL 33.93, +1.94) spiked 6.1% after the luxury homebuilder reported better than expected top and bottom lines and issued upbeat delivery guidance. More notably, Toll Brothers' bullish disposition lifted the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB 30.04, +0.12) to its highest level in over a decade. The consumer discretionary sector (unch) capitalized on hombuilders' solid showing, outperforming the benchmark index.

Financials (+0.1%) and telecom services (+0.1%) closed in line with the consumer discretionary sector while technology (+0.2%), materials (+0.3%), and utilities (+0.4%) performed a bit better.

Energy (-1.6%) led the five remaining sectors lower, succumbing to a 1.4% loss in crude oil. The energy component trades in the red for the week after squandering all of Tuesday's gain in Wednesday's session. WTI crude closed its trading day at $53.59/bbl.

Treasuries closed Wednesday's session slightly higher. The benchmark 10-yr yield finished one basis point lower at 2.42%.

Today's economic data included January Existing Home Sales and the MBA Mortgage Index:

Existing home sales for January increased 3.3% from December to an annualized rate of 5.69 million units while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of 5.57 million.

The key takeaway from the report is that high prices and limited inventory continue to compress the affordability factor for prospective buyers, and have prevented existing home sales from being even stronger.

The key takeaway from the report is that high prices and limited inventory continue to compress the affordability factor for prospective buyers, and have prevented existing home sales from being even stronger.The weekly MBA Mortgage Index decreased 2.0% to follow last week's 3.7% decline.Tomorrow's economic data will include Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 242,000) and December FHFA Housing Price Index (Briefing.com consensus 0.4%). The two reports will cross the wires at 8:30 am ET and 9:00 am ET, respectively.

Nasdaq Composite +8.9% YTDS&P 500 +5.5% YTDDow Jones Industrial Average +5.1% YTD Russell 2000 +3.4% YTD

9:21 am Advanced Micro announced the global launch of its Ryzen 7 desktop processors; pre-orders begin today (AMD) : Product demonstrations featured Ryzen 7 1800X outperforming a similarly configured 8-core, 16-thread Intel Core i7-6900K in Cinebench R15 multi-threaded and Handbrake-based video transcoding, as well as showing comparable 4K gaming performance.

9:02 am Samsung and Verizon (VZ) have completed deployment of 5G systems in five U.S. cities in preparation to begin customer trials of 5G technology in April 2017 (SSNLF) :

The 5G trials involve innovative network systems, including the use of 28GHz millimeter wave spectrum and advanced beam-forming antenna technology. Samsung's 5G Access Units, installed throughout a city's business and residential neighborhoods, will link radio signals to a virtualized core network that is set up within Verizon's data centers.

Samsung's next-generation core solution is software-driven and designed on a scalable platform to accommodate operator needs. In pre-commercial testing, which began in December 2016, the 5G system demonstrated multi-gigabit throughputs at radio distances of up to 1,500 feet (nearly 500 meters) across each of the different environments selected for the customer trials. The Samsung 5G system is designed to be upgradable to support 3GPP standards for New Radio and Next-Generation Core, once available.

9:01 am Tessera Tech will change its name to 'Xperi Corporation' and its Nasdaq ticker symbol to 'XPER', effective tomorrow (TSRA) :