From Briefing.com: 4:12 pm Monolithic Power files a lawsuit with the US District Court asserting that Intersil ( ISIL) 'has unlawfully misappropriated MPS's confidential information and then used that information to fabricate a web of falsehoods' ( MPWR) : "Intersil improperly conveyed those falsehoods-as well as MPS's misappropriated confidential information-to MPS customers and potential customers in an effort to induce them to use Intersil products instead of MPS products. "
In the complaint, MPS seeks unspecified damages and a court-ordered injunction to prevent Intersil from continuing this conduct.4:08 pm VeriFone beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides Q1 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus; guides FY17 EPS below consensus, revs in-line ( PAY) :
Reports Q4 (Oct) earnings of $0.30 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.29; revenues fell 9.0% year/year to $468 mln vs the $461.69 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
Co issues downside guidance for Q1, sees EPS of $0.20 vs. $0.36 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q1 revs of ~$450 mln vs. $475.46 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co issues guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $1.35-1.39 vs. $1.59 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of $1.90-1.92 bln vs. $1.92 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
"Our fourth quarter results were better than our outlook on both the top and bottom line. Total revenues were consistent with our expectations of EMV-related demand in the U.S., we reported 16% growth in Services revenues from both acquisitions and organic business, and we saw good growth in EMEA and Latin America as a result of several important competitive wins," said Paul Galant, Chief Executive Officer of Verifone.
"There is significant opportunity ahead for our business as we move through the many cash to cashless migrations that are happening across the globe, and I am looking forward to addressing our customers' evolving needs with our newest device platform as we launch pilots, obtain certifications and begin generating more meaningful sales volumes in 2017."
4:09 pm Closing Market Summary: S&P 500 Records First Loss Since December 1 (:WRAPX) :
The S&P 500 (-0.1%) began the week with a modest downtick to register its first decline in seven sessions. The Nasdaq Composite (-0.6%) underperformed while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) eked out a slim gain.
The new trading week was headlined by news from Vienna, where non-OPEC producers agreed to reduce their output by 558,000 barrels per day. In addition, a Saudi official indicated that his country may implement a larger cut than what was agreed to on November 30. Crude oil surged on the news, notching an overnight high near $54.50/bbl. The energy component pulled back throughout the day, ending its pit session with a 2.6% gain at $52.83/bbl.
Crude oil's surge gave a boost to the energy sector (+0.7%), but the group spent the day in a steady slide from its opening high after being up more than 2.0%. However, energy still fared better than the remaining five cyclical sectors, considering all five spent the day in negative territory.
The industrial sector (-0.4%) was pressured by defense contractors after President-elect Donald Trump criticized another defense contract he deemed excessive. Mr. Trump took aim at the F-35 program, sending shares of aircraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LMT 253.22, -6.30) lower by 2.4%. Most defense contractors retreated in sympathy with Lockheed Martin while Boeing (BA 157.16, +0.67) edged up to its record high. The Dow component has climbed 3.3% since being called out by Mr. Trump last Wednesday.
Similar to industrials, consumer discretionary (-0.8%), financials (-0.9%), and technology (-0.4%) spent the day in negative territory. Apparel retailers weighed on the discretionary space while the financial sector pulled back after last week's run. As for technology, the top-weighted group saw losses among large cap names and high-beta chipmakers. The PHLX Semiconductor Index lost 0.8% with Micron (MU 20.01, -0.49) falling 2.4% after the company warned that the memory market may be flooded by China within a few years.
The technology sector contributed to the relative weakness in the Nasdaq, but biotechnology also weighed on the tech-heavy index. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 267.53, -2.14) settled lower by 0.8% with Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN 115.08, -16.99) diving 12.9% after two top executives resigned from the company.
Unlike biotechnology, the broader health care sector (+0.5%) held a modest gain throughout the session. Other countercyclical groups also displayed relative strength with telecom services (+1.1%) and utilities (+1.0%) ending in the lead.
Treasuries retreated overnight, but most of the losses were erased intraday, leaving the 10-yr yield higher by a basis point at 2.48%.
Investor participation was above average as nearly 1.2 billion shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Today's economic data was limited to the Treasury Budget statement for November, which showed a deficit of $137 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected a deficit of $135 billion.
Tomorrow's economic data will be limited to the 8:30 ET release of November Import Prices ex-oil and Export Prices ex-agriculture.
Russell 2000 +21.5% YTD Dow Jones Industrial Average +13.6% YTD S&P 500 +10.4% YTDNasdaq Composite +8.1% YTDBreaking a trend of six straight sessions of gains, the S&P 500 finally posted a December session in the red. The index lost 2.57 points (-0.11%) to 2256.96 today. The Nasdaq Composite was also in the red on Monday, down about 31.96 points (-0.59%) to 5412.54, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched a fresh all-time high intraday, closing up 39.58 points (+0.20%) to 19796.43.
The new trading week was headlined by news from Vienna, where non-OPEC producers agreed to reduce their output by 558,000 barrels per day. In addition, a Saudi official indicated that his country may implement a larger cut than what was agreed to on November 30. Crude oil surged on the news, notching an overnight high near $54.50/bbl. The energy component pulled back throughout the day, ending its pit session with a 2.6% gain at $52.83/bbl.
Crude oil's surge gave a boost to the energy sector (+0.7%), but the group spent the day in a steady slide from its opening high after being up more than 2.0%. However, energy still fared better than the remaining five cyclical sectors, considering all five spent the day in negative territory.
Today's economic data was limited to the Treasury Budget statement for November, which showed a deficit of $137 billion.
After a record close on Friday, the Technology (XLK 48.50, -0.15 -0.31%) sector ended off lows but well in the red. Component NVIDIA (NVDA 89.58, -2.23 -2.43%) was weaker today following competitive concerns related to Advanced Micro's (AMD 10.68, +0.34 +3.34%) new Radeon Instinct chipset. Other sectors in the S&P closed Monday XLFS +2.19%, XLU +1.04%, XLRE +1.03%, XLV +0.48%, XLE +0.47%, XLP +0.40%, XLI -0.36%, XLB -0.45%, XLY -0.83%, XLF -0.93%, IYZ -1.57%.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology (811.00, 3.17 -0.39%) sector, action faltered but didn't break lower past the $800-level today. Component Micron (MU 20.01, -0.49 -2.39%) was weaker today after a Nikkei Asian Review article discussed CEO Mark Durcan's comments about the Chinese chip market. Other names in the space which retreated off Friday's highs were ADSK -3.38%, CSRA -3.21%, VRSN -3.17%, QRVO -2.99%, HPE -2.23%, WDC -2.10%, XRX -1.69%, FB -1.64%, JNPR -1.58%, NTAP -1.54%, MCHP -1.43%, GPN -1.32%, APH -1.24%, CRM -1.11%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
Lionbridge Tech (LIOX 5.81, +0.24 +4.31%) agreed to be acquired by H.I.G. Capital for $5.75 per share in cash. The deal includes 45-day go-shop clause.
Fiserv (FISV 104.82, +0.03 +0.03%) to acquire Online Banking Solutions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD 41.08, +1.98 +5.06%) has received interest from buyers, according to Bloomberg.
ServiceNow (NOW 77.89, -1.51 -1.90%) disclosed management changes. COO Daniel McGee steps down.
Micron (MU) CEO warned that China could flood memory chip market with new supply, according to Nikkei Asian Review.
Arista Networks (ANET 93.14, -1.27 -1.35%) announced that Administrative Law Judge McNamara has issued an Initial Determination in International Trade Commission Investigation No. 337-TA-945. Cisco's (CSCO 30.17, +0.11 +0.37%) original complaint alleged that ANET's products infringed six patents. Arista intends to request a review of the full Commission of the ALJ's findings. If granted, the full Commission is expected to issue a final determination on this matter in April 2017. The PTAB will issue its decisions on or before June 11, 2017.
FARO Techs (FARO 39.40, -0.40 -1.01%) acquired MWF-Technology GmbH. Financial details were not disclosed.
West Corp (WSTC 25.12, -0.13 -0.51%) acquired 911 ETC, Inc. for about $10 million. The deal is not expected to have a material impact on West's 2016 results.
Cimpress (CMPR 91.80, +0.22 +0.24%) to acquire National Pen Co for about $218 million in cash.
NTT Communications Corporation, the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group (NTT 41.40, +1.76 +4.44%), was chosen by creative agency Rufus Leonard to support and manage its client projects on Microsoft (MSFT 62.17, +0.20 +0.32%) Azure, enabling it to be more agile and responsive to client demands and speed up its digital transformation.
Nippon Telegraph (NTT) also announced a stock repurchase.
Open Text (OTEX 61.27, +0.13 +0.21%) launched an underwritten public offering of $500 million of common shares.
Microsoft (MSFT) has awarded Accenture (CAN 123.61, +0.30 +0.24%) a seven-year contract extension to continue providing finance and accounting and procurement business process services.
Analyst actions:
T, RNG and EGHT were upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird,
WEB was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan,
AMD was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at BMO Capital,
TI was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Gabelli & Co.;
SYNA was downgraded to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer,
CDNS was downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan,
WBMD was downgraded to Outperform from Strong Buy at Raymond James,
LIOX was downgraded to Hold at Craig Hallum;
AIRG was initiated with an Outperform at Cowen,
SINA and YY were initiated with Outperform ratings at CLSA,
MOMO and WB were initiated with a Buy at CLSA,
FDC was initiated with a Buy at Northcoast |
