From Briefing.com: 4:15PM OmniVision beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (OVTI) 5.48 -0.04 : Reports Q2 (Oct) earnings of $0.19 per share, ex-items, $0.01 better than the First Call consensus of $0.18; revenues fell 29.5% year/year to $163.9 mln vs the $166.4 mln consensus. Co issues downside guidance for Q3, sees EPS of ($0.22)-($0.09), ex-SBC, vs. $0.17 consensus; sees Q3 revs of $80-$100 mln vs. $164.35 mln consensus.
4:10PM Motorola: Moody's places Motorola's Baa2 rating under review for downgrade (MOT) 4.27 +0.16 : Moody's placed Motorola's ratings under review for possible downgrade. The rating action was based on the company's prolonged decline in performance and uncertainty over how long it will take and how much it will cost to return the handset business to profitability. While the company has retained a handset CEO with substantial industry credentials and has outlined a fairly broad restructuring plan, handset performance will likely continue to deteriorate at least in the near term, at a time when the remaining businesses will likely see continued pressure due to the worsening global economic environment.
4:09PM Marvell beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line (MRVL) 5.09 -0.12 : Reports Q3 (Oct) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.02 better than the First Call consensus of $0.21; revenues rose 4.3% year/year to $791 mln vs the $793.1 mln consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was 52.3 percent vs guidance of 52.5 plus or minus 50 bps. Co said, "The results for our third quarter were in-line with our revised expectations, however we continue to experience limited visibility into the near-term demand for our products... We are taking the appropriate steps to better align our operating expenses to reflect the challenging business environment we face. Our results in our third quarter demonstrate initial progress toward these goals."
4:25 pm : The stock market regained about 40% of yesterday's massive 8.9% sell-off. Stocks were in positive ground after General Electric (GE 17.61, +2.11) gave a better-than-feared business update and then surged to session highs in the final minutes of trade after General Motors (GM 4.85, +0.26) outlined its plan for government aid.
The S&P 500 rose 4.0% in a volatile session, with all ten sectors posting a gain. Volume was slightly above average and on pace with Monday's level.
General Motors and Ford outlined to Congress how the automakers would use $25 billion in loans from the government. Ford asked for a $9 billion loan, saying it will focus on more fuel efficient vehicles and downsize its dealer-base, among other initiatives, to reach at least breakeven by 2011. GM requested $12 billion in government term loans and a $6 billion line of credit in case the downturn persists. GM plans to start repaying the loans as early as 2011.
November U.S. auto sales results were dismal. On year-over-year basis, sales plunged 41% at GM, 31% at Ford, 47% at Chrysler and 34% at Toyota (TM 62.00, +3.44).
General Electric was the best-performing stock. The conglomerate said it expects fourth quarter earnings on the low end of its previous guidance, but this was better than many analysts had expected. GE also said it will keep its dividend unchanged in 2009. At Monday's closing price, GE's dividend represented a hefty yield of 8%.
The financial sector (+7.9%) outperformed following its 17% plunge in the previous session. Goldman Sachs (GS 65.10, -0.66), however, was a notable underperformer. The Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman is likely to report a net loss of as much as $2 billion in its later quarter, which would be five times worse than the consensus estimate.
In earnings news, Sears Holdings (SHLD 36.03, +4.19) and Beazer Homes (BZH 1.37, -0.13) posted larger-than-expected third quarter losses. Staples (SPLS 16.32, +1.20) reported a slightly higher-than-expected profit.
Separately, The Federal Reserve said due to the strains in the financial markets it will extend three liquidity facilities through April 30, 2009. The facilities aim to increase liquidity for asset backed commercial paper and financial firms.
Despite the gains in stocks, Treasuries advanced as investors speculated that the Federal Reserve will buy longer-term Treasuries. The 10-year note rose 15 ticks to send its yield down to 2.67%.
Oil prices had a volatile session, eventually falling 3.8% to $47.42, which is the lowest level since May 2005.DJ30 +270.00 NASDAQ +51.73 NQ100 +3.6% R2K +5.9% SP400 +4.8% SP500 +32.60 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1972/2.11 bln/776 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2398/1.62 bln/749
Sierra Wireless (SWIR 7.76) and Wavecom S.A. announce that the companies have reached a Memorandum of Understanding whereby Sierra Wireless will acquire Wavecom. Pursuant to and subject to the terms of the MOU, Sierra Wireless will make a cash offer of EUR 8.50 per ordinary share of Wavecom, and EUR 31.93 per OCEANE convertible bond, amounting to an aggregate purchase price of approx EUR 218.0 mln. The Board of Directors of Wavecom has unanimously determined that the proposed acquisition of Wavecom by Sierra Wireless is in the best interest of the co, its employees, and, subject to consideration of a fairness opinion, its shareholders. In addition, the founders of Wavecom have committed to tender all of their shares to Sierra Wireless, representing approx 21% of the outstanding shares, in support of the transaction.
5:05AM Advanced Semiconductor Engineering revises Q408 guidance (ASX) 1.58 : Co announces that Q408 revenue will be below its guidance provided on October 31st, 2008. ASX believes the lower-than-expected revenue is primarily due to weakening macro conditions leading to rapid deterioration in demand across all market segments in all geographies. Co now expects its Q408 revenue to decline by 25% to 28% sequentially and estimates gross margin of 14% to 15% given the lower revenue level. |
