From Briefing.com: 4:35 pm : High-volume buying gave the stock market its best single-session percentage gain in more than one month. The S&P 500 is now just 1% below its 52-week high, which was set earlier this week. Strength was steady and broad based for the entire session.
The positive tone came after Greece, Portugal, and Spain saw their bond yields contract. Such a development is suggestive of calmed concern about the fiscal health of those countries, at least for the time being. The news also drove down the dollar, which closed with a 0.4% loss against competing currencies.
Gold, a traditional safe haven, also fell out of favor. The yellow metal closed pit trade priced at $1158.80 per ounce, down 0.3%.
Oil prices gained 2.3% to close trade at $85.18 per barrel. Natural gas was pressured by bearish inventory data; prices settled 8.5% lower at $3.98 per MMBtu.
The divergence in energy prices did nothing for the energy sector, which finished the session with a gain of just 0.1%. The sector's relative weakness was largely the result of a drop by shares of BP Plc (BP 52.56, -4.78) to a multimonth low amid word that costs to clean up its recent oil spill will be more than initially expected.
Concern about BP translated into a gain for Chevron (CVX 82.29, +1.67). The Dow component helped its case with a near 6% increase in its quarterly dividend. Fellow Dow component and integrated energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM 68.66, -0.53) slipped, though; it came short of the consensus earnings estimate.
Consumer staples giant and Dow component Procter & Gamble (PG 62.20, -0.97) was pressured even though it posted an upside earnings surprise. The company's guidance was a bit tepid, however, and many market participants have come to expect bottom line beats and upside forecasts.
With a 2.5% spike, financials were the best overall performers this session. Gains within the sector were broad, but REITs were especially strong.
There was also a bit of merger and acquisition news to keep the mood of market participants propped up as Palm (PALM 5.84, +1.21) announced it will be acquired for $1.2 billion by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 52.88, -0.40). The announcement brings to an end speculation about a takeover of the handset maker.
Trading volume was strong for the fourth straight session as 1.4 billion shares exchanged hands on the NYSE. The pickup in volume is often suggestive of increased conviction among market participants.
The economic calendar was sparse ahead of the first quarter GDP reading. The only items were initial jobless claims and continuing claims. Initial claims for the week ended April 24 totaled 448,000, which is slightly above the consensus estimate of 445,000 initial claims, while continuing claims came in at 4.65 million, which was higher than the 4.62 million continuing claims that had been widely forecast.
Advancing Sectors: Financials (+2.5%), Industrials (+2.1%), Consumer Discretionary (+2.1%), Health Care (+1.3%), Tech (+1.0%), Telecom (+0.8%), Materials (+0.8%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Energy (+0.1%)
Declining Sectors: (None)
Unchanged: Utilities DJ30 +122.05 NASDAQ +40.19 NQ100 +1.8% R2K +2.1% SP400 +1.5% SP500 +15.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2010/2.99 bln/696 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2305/1.41 bln/744
6:06PM Silicon Motion beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus (SIMO) 5.48 +0.34 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.05); revenues rose 20.9% year/year to $26 mln vs the $24.9 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 sequential revs growth of 10-20%, which calculates to ~$28.6-31.2 mln vs. $26.72 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
5:35PM Amkor announces pricing of $345 mln of its 7.375% senior notes due 2018 (AMKR) 7.98 +0.00 : co announced that it has priced its offering of $345 mln aggregate principal amount of its 7.375% senior notes due 2018. The purpose of the offering is to raise proceeds that, together with existing cash, will be sufficient to redeem in full the $53.5 mln outstanding principal amount of the co's 7.125% senior notes due 2011 and the $358.3 mln principal amount of the co's 7.75% senior notes due 2013, and to pay related fees and expenses.
5:17PM Ixia reports EPS in-line, beats on revs (XXIA) 10.81 +0.47 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.05 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 67.1% year/year to $62 mln vs the $61 mln consensus.
4:53PM TranSwitch beats by $0.10 (TXCC) 2.80 +0.16 : Reports Q1 (Mar) Non-GAAP ($0.01), $0.10 better than the First Call consensus of ($0.11); revenues fell 11.3% year/year to $12.8 mln vs the $12.8 mln consensus.
4:42PM Sierra Wireless beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus (SWIR) 9.44 +0.36 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.13 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 35.8% year/year to $151.3 mln vs the $149.6 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.05-0.12, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.15 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $155-160 mln vs. $152.31 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Growth was driven by an increase in Machine-to-Machine ("M2M") revenue to $88.7 million, up 187% compared to $30.9 million in first quarter of 2009 and up 15% compared to $77.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. M2M growth was partially offset by a decline in Mobile Computing revenue to $62.6 million, down 22% compared to $80.5 million in the first quarter of 2009 and down 6% compared to $66.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin in the first quarter of 2010 was 30.7%, compared to 28.4% in the first quarter of 2009.
4:38PM Rudolph Tech beats by $0.04, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs in-line (RTEC) 10.93 +0.35 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.07; revenues rose 267.1% year/year to $40.6 mln vs the $39.7 mln consensus. Co said, "Rudolph Technologies exited 2009 on a very strong note, with record fourth quarter bookings of $75.3 million laying the foundation for a robust 2010. With our strategic balance of front-end and back-end business, we believe we are optimally positioned to capitalize on overall business conditions as they continue to gain strength in the logic, foundry and memory markets we serve. Rudolph is poised to benefit from multiple trends including 3-D packaging, all-surface inspection, advanced process control, and the copper migration into memory. We have the requisite catalysts to organically grow each of our business units and we fully expect to leverage the operating improvements made during the downturn as we move toward mid-cycle operating margins later in 2010. We fully expect to outgrow the industry in 2010." Co sees Q2 revs +10-12% which equates to roughly $41.7-45.5 mln vs consensus of $43.1 mln.
4:37PM Actel beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; sees Q2 revs up 8-12% on a sequential basis (ACTL) 16.33 +0.26 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.14 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters single analyst est of $0.13; revenues rose 5.2% year/year to $52.3 mln vs the $52.7 mln single analyst est. Co sees Q2 revs up 8-12% on a sequential basis, which calculates to roughly $56.5-$58.6 mln vs. $53.10 mln Thomson Reuters single analyst est. Gross margin is expected to be about 60%.
4:33PM Skyworks beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (SWKS) 16.24 +0.52 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 37.6% year/year to $238.1 mln vs the $232.2 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.25 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 sequential revs growth of 10-15%, which calculates to ~$261.9-273.8 mln vs. $243.86 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:32PM MEMC Elec misses by $0.06, beats on revs (WFR) 15.94 +0.67 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.02 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.04; revenues rose 104.5% year/year to $437.7 mln vs the $390.1 mln consensus. Gross profit in the quarter was $59.3 million, or 13.5% of net sales. MEMC Elec believes that its full year guidance for revenue, EPS, and positive free cash flow are appropriate, however, its current outlook does suggest that full year revenuemay exceed the high end of the previously guided range .
4:29PM Varian Semi beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides JunQ above consensus (VSEA) 35.22 +1.53 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.51 per share, $0.09 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.42; revenues rose 219.9% year/year to $204.0 mln vs the $192.4 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q3 (Jun), sees EPS of $0.55-0.60 vs. $0.48 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q3 revs of $220-230 mln vs. $202.6 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:24PM Coherent beats by $0.18, beats on revs; guides FY10 revs above consensus (COHR) 35.15 -1.17 : Reports Q2 (Mar) earnings of $0.45 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.18 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 41.6% year/year to $149.2 mln vs the $138.7 mln consensus. Bookings received during the three months ended April 3, 2010 of $164.5 million increased 75.3% from $93.8 million in the same prior year period and increased by 3.9% compared to bookings of $158.4 million in the immediately preceding quarter. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.1, resulting in backlog of $217.2 million at April 3, 2010 compared to a backlog of $202.8 million at January 2, 2010 and a backlog of $145.9 million at April 4, 2009.Co issues upside guidance for FY10, sees FY10 revs of $590-600 mln vs. $544.06 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:24PM Applied Micro beats by $0.04, beats on revs, co saw its highest booking levels in almost three years (AMCC) 10.58 +0.04 : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.09 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.05; revenues rose 40.5% year/year and 7% sequentially to $57.6 mln vs the $56.4 mln consensus. "This quarter saw our highest booking levels in almost three years while we continued to make significant inroads in our targeted markets. Our PQX product released in March is already receiving great traction in the market and is following in the path of our successful Pemaquid and Yahara product releases. This is the fourth straight quarter we have met or exceeded the street expectations."
4:20PM KLA-Tencor beats by $0.06, beats on revs (KLAC) 34.69 +1.09 : Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.41 per share, $0.06 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.35; revenues rose 54.2% year/year to $478 mln vs the $472.4 mln consensus. "KLA-Tencor posted strong third quarter results from the combination of an improving industry environment, solid operational execution, and customer adoption of advanced technologies at the leading edge."
4:20PM QLogic beats by $0.02, beats on revs (QLGC) 21.58 +0.56 : Reports Q4 (Mar) earnings of $0.28 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 11.6% year/year to $145.7 mln vs the $143.3 mln consensus. "Despite a very challenging macroeconomic environment, we delivered solid financial performance during the fourth quarter and full fiscal year... This performance was attributable to continued share gains within our traditional markets, the introduction and ramp of innovative new products that provide us incremental business opportunities in the converged networking and 10Gb Ethernet markets, and extremely careful operating expense management."
4:14PM Monolithic Power beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus (MPWR) 24.91 +0.56 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.26 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.23; revenues rose 71.7% year/year to $50.3 mln vs the $47.5 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q2, sees Q2 revs of $53.0-57 mln vs. $50.50 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.
4:13PM Ingram Micro beats by $0.02, beats on revs (IM) 18.56 +0.38 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.41 per share, excluding $0.01 gain, $0.02 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.39; revenues rose 20.0% year/year to $8.1 bln vs the $7.88 bln consensus. Co said, "For the second quarter, we expect strong year-over-year growth to continue," said Spierkel. "The second quarter is seasonally softer than the first due to spring holidays, with history pointing to a mild, single-digit sequential decline. We expect continued solid operating leverage on our year-over-year growth as our recent improvements and careful expense management continue to deliver results."
4:05PM Maxim Integrated reports EPS in-line, revs in-line; guides Q4 revs above consensus (MXIM) 20.75 +0.42 : Reports Q3 (Mar) earnings of $0.27 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.27; revenues rose 7.5% year/year to $509 mln vs the $512.3 mln consensus. Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $550-570 mln vs. $530.82 mln Thomson Reuters consensus. Maxim's third quarter bookings increased by 43% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2010. The increase is partly due to customers placing orders with longer lead times. Excluding the effect of lead time extension, sequential bookings would have increased by 21% in the March quarter. The Company's 90 day backlog increased by 44% to $480 million.
8:34AM Akeena Solar beats by $0.01, misses on revs (AKNS) 1.14 : Reports Q1 (Mar) loss of $0.07 per share, $0.01 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.08); revenues fell 14.5% year/year to $6.5 mln vs the $9.9 mln consensus. "We continued to see strong bookings momentum throughout the quarter and increased our backlog to $11.4 million at quarter-end. As compared to year-end, backlog increased $2.0 million, and was more than double the $4.8 million backlog at the end of the first quarter of 2009... Management continues to project EBITDAS (excluding non-cash stock-based compensation) breakeven in the fourth quarter of 2010 at a revenue level of approximately $18 million with approximately 25% of the revenue from distribution."
7:19AM Amkor Technology announces proposed offering of $300 mln in senior notes (AMKR) 7.89 : Co announced that it intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $300 mlnaggregate principal amount of senior notes. The notes are expected to be due in 2018. The purpose of the offering is to raise proceeds that, together with existing cash, will be sufficient to redeem in full the $53.5 million outstanding principal amount of its 7.125% senior notes due 2011 and the $358.3 mlnprincipal amount of its 7.75% senior notes due 2013, and to pay related fees and expenses.
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