From Briefing.com: The markets finished Thursday trading action all in the green. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended the session as the leader, as Thursday traded closed with the index up 39.72 points to 4796.25 for a gain of +0.84%. The S&P 500 also ended trading with notable gains, ending up 10.25 points to 1952.29 for a gain of +0.53%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also finished trading with modest gains, albeit lagging the other indices to close up 77.83 points to 16331.40 for gains of +0.47%.
In today's action, Technology (XLK 40.27, +0.40) was the notable leader, trailing only Healthcare (XLV 70.18, +0.67) at the closing bell. Notable technology bellwether names which outperformed the broader market today included LNKD +3.46%, TWTR +1.95%, INTU +1.92%, INFY +1.91%, NOK +1.87%, QCOM +1.86%, FB +1.70%. Notably, shares of tech-giant Apple (AAPL 112.57, +2.42) experienced honeymoon action today, trading higher post-event.
Among other technology names which posted gains on today's session, Cybersecurity (HACK 26.82, +0.30) name Palo Alto Networks (PANW 177.40, +12.23) traded higher today in reaction to quarterly earnings. The company reported a beat on the top and bottom line of fourth quarter expectations last night after the bell. Shares traded today in a range between 179.68 and 170.00, at one point higher on the day by about 8.78%.
Software (IGV 95.79, +0.83) names HubSpot (HUBS 46.87, +0.74), Zendesk (ZEN 21.36, +0.76), SolarWinds (SWI 40.82, +1.11), Imperva (IMPV 62.67, +0.86), and Proofpoint (PFPT 58.08, +1.50) saw increased trading action as Morgan Stanley took action on the sector today. The firm upgraded HUBS, ZEN and SWI to Overweight and initiated PFPT with an Overweight, and IMPV with an Equal Weight. The targets on the initiations were above current trading values, suggesting the firm sees at least a small price appreciation in the near term.
In other news, hardware name Seagate Tech (STX 49.22, -0.88) announced the commitment of a restructuring plan intended to realign its cost structure with the current macroeconomic business environment. As such, the company outlined a plan that would effectively reduce about 2% of its global workforce. Shares of STX traded the majority of Thursday noticeably lower, as research firms UBS and The Benchmark Company took cautious views on the name post-announcement.
In other trading action, the S&P 500 Information Technology sector (671.00, +6.89 +1.04%) also posted modest gains today. The sector traded almost the entire day Thursday in the green with names KLAC +4.32%, SWKS +1.91%, SYMC +1.88%, LRCX +1.86%, AKAM +1.64%, NVDA +1.57% leading the way up, and QRVO -4.54%, PYPL -2.65%, STX -1.76%, WDC -1.40%, YHOO -1.17%, HRS -0.61%, ADI -0.46% edging the sector lower.
Notable news items among sector components:
IBM (IBM 146.20, +1.15) announced the acquisition of software provider StrongLoop. Financial terms of said deal were not disclosed.
Qorvo (QRVO 53.98, -2.57) has completed its $400 million share repurchase program authorized by its Board of Directors.
Applied Materials (AMAT 15.56, +0.10) announced the entry into a five-year $1.5 billion credit agreement with JP Morgan Chase Bank. Proceeds from said borrowing are available to be used for general corporate purposes. The Credit Agreement is scheduled to expire on September 3, 2020, at which time all outstanding amounts thereunder, if any, will become due and payable.
Zayo Group (ZAYO 28.40, +0.04) announced that it is teaming up with Salesforce (CRM 69.74, +0.71) to enable customers to connect directly to their Salesforce environments via Zayo's high-bandwidth, fiber-based connections.
Elsewhere in the technology space:
Freescale Semi (FSL 36.50, -0.70) announced the acquisition of Ottawa, Canada-based CogniVue Corp. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
RADCOM (RDCM 10.84, -0.06) announced the appointment of Heli Bennun as its Board Chairman, replacing Zohar Zisapel.
SolarCity (SCTY 48.12, +1.01) and Kaua'I Island Utility Cooperative announced the signing of a power purchase agreement for electricity from the first utility-scale solar array and battery storage system.
Identiv (INVE 4.47, +0.11) announced certain changes to its executive management team and Board of Directors including the appointment of Steven Humphreys as CEO.
Wi-LAN (WILN 1.96, -0.01) announced that the company's subsidiary, Orthopedic Innovations Inc. has entered into a patent license agreement with Smith & Nephew Inc. (SNN 36.30, +0.27), a global medical technology business.
AT&T (T 32.75, -0.03) and Tata Motors' (TTM 25.99, +0.67) Jaguar Land Rover North America enter a multi-year agreement for infotainment wireless connectivity. AT&T connectivity will power Jaguar Land Rover's "infotainment" features like a Wi-Fi hot spot, connected navigation and a suite of apps.
Atlantic Tele-Network (ATNI 73.57, -0.22) announced the company increased its dividend to $0.32 from $0.29 per share.
Analyst actions:
NEWR, HUBS, ZEN and SWI were upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley,
EXTR was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Wunderlich,
AXE was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Longbow,
AVGO was upgraded to Mkt Outperform from Mkt Perform at JMP Securities;
CVT, VRNS, JIVE were downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley,
STX was downgraded to Sell from Hold at The Benchmark Company,
EBAY was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Cantor Fitzgerald,
MTD was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill
(Disclosure: Briefing.com has a business relationship with Yahoo!)
4:04 pm Finisar misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides Q2 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus ( FNSR) :
Reports Q1 (Jul) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.26; revenues fell 1.9% year/year to $314 mln vs the $318.66 mln consensus. "Revenues for our first fiscal quarter were $314.0 million compared to $320.0 million in the prior quarter; however, the prior quarter had the benefit of an additional week. Taking that into consideration, the first fiscal quarter had a higher average weekly revenue relative to the prior quarter... Strength in revenue was primarily driven by 40 gigabit transceivers for datacom applications".
Co issues downside guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.20-0.26 vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $304-324 mln vs. $327.87 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co separately announced the departure of CEO Eitan Gertel; Executive Chairman Jerry Rawls to assume the title of Chief Executive Officer.
12:03 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New lows (140) outpacing new highs (24) (:SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ADUS, ALK, CLBH, CSFL, EDAP, ENVI, HCAC, HIHO, ITI, JE, LOXO, NVET, OTEL, PSBH, RYAAY, SFG, SPWH, SWHC, TE, TOWN, TRR, ULBI, VLRS, ZSPH
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AAMC, ACC, AEZS, AG, AIN, AMT, APAM, APWC, ATEC, ATU, AUY, AVAV, AVP, AXLL, BBD, BDN, BNTCW, BRS, BSBR, BUFF, BXC, CAI, CBD, CBL, CCG, CDI, CHMI, CIG, CLW, CNV, CPA, CPL, CRMT, CRS, CYAD, DAIO, DDR, DFRG, DNR, DRWI, DRYS, EBR, EGP, ENRJ, EPIQ, FBSS, FBZ, FDML, FORR, FPP, FRPT, FSTR, FTAI, FVE, GBSN, GIGA, GILT, GRSHU, GTY, HCAC, HGR, HHS, HMY, HP, HR, HTA, IRT, ITG, ITUB, KAMN, KERX, KKD, KLIC, KS, LEE, MHR, MPEL, MR, MT, MVC, MWE, NGL, NRG, NSLP, NWPX, NYLD, NYLD.A, OIBR, OIBR.C, OOMA, PBR.A, PCH, PCL, PDFS, PERF, PHIIK, PHK, PPP, PRGN, PSTR, PWE, QIHU, RCAP, RPT, SGI, SNH, SNHY, SRC, SRE, STAY, STKL, SXCP, SXE, SYNL, TGI, THRX, THST, TKC, TROX, TSU, TTPH, TWI, UGP, ULTR, VHI, VIV, VMEM, VNCE, VRNT, VRTS, WIA, WIW, WMAR, WPC, WPG, WPP, WYNN, XPO, YGE, ZN
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: EWZ, JO |
