From Briefing.com: 4:10 pm : The major averages ended on a mixed note as the S&P 500 rose 0.2% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed five points.
With no economic news of note and two major foreign markets closed (Japan and the United Kingdom), investors reacted to quarterly earnings.
The now-familiar pattern of anemic top-line growth remained in effect as quarterly results from Sysco (SYY 34.33, -0.33) and Tyson Foods (TSN 24.10, -0.83) missed their marks. The results weighed on the third-best performing sector of the year as the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF (XLP 40.93, -0.30) ended lower by 0.7%.
Likewise, other defensive sectors also finished in the red with the utilities space as the weakest performer. The SPDR Utilities Select Sector ETF (XLU 40.32, -0.57) settled lower by 1.4%.
On the flip side, six cyclical sectors registered gains as financials, industrials, and technology led the broader market higher.
The financial sector displayed notable strength throughout the day as the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (XLF 19.05, +0.20) rose 1.1%. MBIA (MBI 14.29, +4.46) surged 45.4% after the insurer reached a $1.7 billion settlement with Bank of America (BAC 12.88, +0.64). In addition, Bank of America disclosed a 5.0% stake in MBIA.
Elsewhere, the industrial sector received support from transportation-related stocks as 18 of 20 components of the Dow Jones Transportation Average settled with gains. For its part, the bellwether complex added 1.3% to end at a fresh all-time high.
Technology stocks paced the bulk of last week's gains, and the outperformance continued today. Apple (AAPL 460.71, +10.73) climbed 2.4% after Barclays hiked its price target for the stock to $525 from $465. Chipmakers also displayed strength as the PHLX Semiconductor Index added 0.6%.
Although most tech components ended in positive territory, the underperformance of IBM (IBM 202.78, -1.73) weighed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
In the Treasury market, the 10-yr note saw some intraday selling as its yield rose two basis points to 1.765%.
Today's volume was well-below average as only 620 million shares changed hands on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Tomorrow's economic data will be limited to the 15:00 ET release of March consumer credit. Among earnings of note, Fossil (FOSL 98.96, +0.70) and OfficeMax (OMX 11.74, +0.15) will report their results ahead of the opening bell.
The U.S. Treasury will auction $32 billion in 3-yr notes.DJ30 -5.07 NASDAQ +14.34 SP500 +3.08 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1471/1.47 bln/988 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1812/619.5 mln/1175
3:30 pm :
- June crude oil began pit trade in negative territory, trading as low as $94.85 per barrel. However, the energy component gained strength on reports of Israeli air strikes on Syria over the weekend and climbed into the black. It eventually settled 0.5% higher at $96.12 per barrel, just below its session high of $96.24 per barrel.
- June natural gas broke into positive territory in morning pit trade and advanced to a session high of $4.06 per MMBtu. The move was short lived, however, as prices retreated back into the red and touched a session low of $3.98 per MMBtu. Despite inching upwards in afternoon action, natural gas settled with a 0.7% loss at $4.01 per MMBtu.
- June gold retreated to the unchanged line in early afternoon floor trade after trading as high as $1473.90 per ounce in morning action. However, buyers stepped in ahead of the close and managed to push prices slightly higher. Despite a stronger dollar index, gold booked a 0.3% gain as it settled at $1468.20 per ounce.
- July silver pulled back from its session high of $24.18 per ounce set moments after floor trade opened and fell into negative territory. Unable to erase much of the loss, it settled 0.3% lower at $23.95 per ounce. o July corn traded lower ahead of the Weekly Crop Progress Report that will be released later today at 4:00pm ET. Prices slid to a session low of $6.33 per bushel before settling with a 3.8% loss at $6.36 per bushel.
10:08AM Analog Devices signs worldwide distribution agreement with Mouser Electronics ( ADI) 45.56 +0.56 : Co announced that it has entered into a worldwide distribution agreement with Mouser Electronics, Inc. Mouser supplies design engineers and buyers with the newest products and leading-edge technologies combined with unsurpassed customer service and worldwide support.
9:42AM Intel subsidiary McAfee to acquire Stonesoft Oyj for equity value of ~$389 mln in cash ( INTC) 24.07 +0.11 : McAfee announced the execution of a definitive agreement to initiate a conditional tender offer for the acquisition of Stonesoft Oyj, a leading innovator in next-generation network firewall products, for an aggregate equity value of approximately $389 million in cash. Stonesoft delivers software-based, dynamic, customer-driven, cyber security solutions to secure information flow and simplify security management. McAfee is a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel Corporation (INTC).
9:04AM Analog Devices announced the appointment of Vincent Roche as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and his election to the Board of Directors, effective immediately ( ADI) 45.00 : Mr. Roche joined co in 1988. Over his nearly 25-year career at co, he has served in key leadership positions including worldwide sales, strategic marketing, and product management. Mr. Roche was appointed President of co in 2012 and has served as interim CEO since March 29, 2013 following the unexpected death of CEO Jerald Fishman.
Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) has received over $4 mlnin follow-on orders for multiple FOX-1 Parallel Test Systems and WaferPak contactors from a manufacturer of semiconductor memory devices. The orders include 30% down payments to lock in deliveries and a volume pricing agreement.
8:33AM Adobe Systems reaffirms Q2 and FY2013 EPS and rev guidance ( ADBE) 47.01 : Co reaffirms guidance for Q2 (May), sees EPS of $0.29-0.35 vs. $0.34 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 (May) revs of $975 mln - 1.025 bln vs. $1.01 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Additional guidance assumptions:
- Targeting Creative ARR of ~$340 mln exiting Q2, based on adding slightly more Creative Cloud paid subscriptions than what was achieved in Q1, with a sequential quarterly increase in the net new number of subscriptions through the year to achieve our 1.25 mln subscription target by the end of the fiscal year
- Targeting Document Services ARR of ~$80 mln exiting Q2, up from $64 mln exiting Q1
- Adding Creative ARR plus Document Services ARR yields a total Digital Media ARR exiting Q2 of ~$420 mln
FY13 Guidance
Co reaffirms guidance for FY13 (Nov), sees EPS of ~$1.45 vs. $1.45 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY13 (Nov) revs of $4.1 bln vs. $4.12 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
Additional assumptions: - Expect to exit FY13 with ~1.25 mln Creative Cloud subscribers
- Targeting Adobe Marketing Cloud annual revenue growth of over 20%, based on driving over 25% bookings growth
Cypress Semiconductor (CY) announced that members of its senior management and executive staff will discuss Cypress's business and strategic outlook at multiple investor events in May.
7:51AM NXP announced that its subsidiaries NXP B.V. and NXP Funding LLC intend to offer $500 mln aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2018 ("Unsecured Notes") ( NXPI) 28.02 : The Unsecured Notes will be structurally subordinated to the liabilities, including trade payables, of NXP's subsidiaries that have not guaranteed the Unsecured Notes. In addition, the Unsecured Notes will be effectively subordinated to all secured debt of the issuers and the guarantors, to the extent of the value of the assets securing such debt. NXP intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to repay amounts outstanding under its U.S. dollar denominated floating rate senior secured notes due 2016, and thereby decrease the amount of variable rate debt in its capital structure.
DSP Group (DSPG) announced that Intelbras selected its VoIP chipset solution to drive the co's IP phone and DECT IP phone product lines.
Texas Instruments (TXN) and Continental announced their collaboration on the first 65 nm ARM Cortex safety microcontrollers with Flash technology in volume production.
12:48AM Advanced Micro commences exchange offer for its 7.50% Senior Notes due 2022 for Registered Notes ( AMD) 3.60 :
4:13PM First Solar misses by $0.06, beats on revs; reaffirms FY13 EPS guidance, revs guidance ( FSLR) 47.69 +1.69 : Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.69 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.75; revenues rose 51.9% year/year to $755 mln vs the $725.99 mln consensus.
Co reaffirms guidance for FY13, sees EPS of $4.00-4.50, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY13 revs of $3.8-4.0 bln vs. $3.84 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
The first quarter of 2013 was impacted by pre-tax restructuring charges of $2 mln (reducing EPS by $0.03), compared to $25 mln (reducing EPS by $0.30) in the fourth quarter of 2012. In both cases the pre-tax charges related to previously announced restructuring actions. The decrease in net sales from the fourth quarter of 2012 was primarily due to less revenue recognition from our systems business projects primarily related to the Topaz project, while the increase over the first quarter of 2012 was primarily due to higher sales volumes for third-party module sales and an increase in revenue from systems projects.
The Company also maintained its full year 2013 financial guidance as issued during the 2013 Analyst Day event held April 9, 2013. "We remain on track for the year and reaffirm our full-year 2013 financial guidance and are focused on achieving our goal of new bookings to shipments ratio of one-to-one."
Conference call to begin at 15:30
4:09PM Peregrine Semi: Judge consolidates cases in patent infringement actions against RF Micro Devices (RFMD) ( PSMI) 9.74 -0.11 : Co announced that Judge Irma Gonzalez has consolidated the two lawsuits pending in U.S. District Court that allege the infringement of Peregrine patented intellectual property relating to RFICs and switching technology by RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD). The lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California claim that certain RFMD products infringe Peregrine patents relating to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology for RFICs. Peregrine seeks, in addition to damages, to permanently enjoin RFMD from further infringement. Peregrine expects that consolidation of the cases will allow its infringement claims to move more efficiently towards trial and appropriate legal remedy.
Diodes (DIOD) and Fairchild Semi (FCS) were both upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird. The firm notes Diodes' lead times as well as supply chain inventories have recently marked a positive inflexion point, with notably 1Q distributor inventory days down YoY for the second consecutive quarter, and Diodes' MOSFET lead times significantly rebounding since late March. They model a sharp EPS recovery for both companies post a 1Q trough. Company-specific catalysts include accretion from BCD and multiple design wins (Fairchild), with the potential for some second-half channel inventory replenishment. |
