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AAPL declines again, S&P and Nasdaq see an impact
When it comes to stocks, Apple is an influencer and any changes in its stock price will affect US stock indexes. That's what happened on Monday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged and the NASDAQ and S&P fell because of Apple, says a report in Forbes. The NASDAQ and S&P both include Apple, and the company's five day decline is dragging the two indexes down. Apple's stock is now sitting at US$580.13, a 4.2 percent decline from its previous high of $610.28.
THQ receives stock delisting notice
THQ's woes continue as the troubled publisher receives a delisting warning from the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company's stock has been trading below the minimum of $1 for the past 30 days.The publisher has 180 calendar days (until July 23, 2012) to make its stock regain compliance for 10 consecutive business days. If the company can't comply, well, let's just say these things don't end happy. There are examples of game companies coming back from the brink. Heck, Majesco has done it twice.THQ is hurting bad, as it works through a realignment and sets off waves of layoffs to stabilize the company. The publisher is expected to explain its current financial issues during an investor call this Thursday, February 2. THQ's stock price is trading at $0.70 as of 8AM ET today.
ARM boosts profits by 45 percent, strengthens grip on the universe
The British chip designer continued last year's growth streak with a 45 percent surge in quarterly normalized pre-tax profits compared to Q4 2010. Revenues also rose by 21 percent to £137.8 million ($217 million) -- not bad for a company that started out with twelve engineers in a barn. There's nothing complicated about CEO Warren East's explanation of the results -- he simply says that his company sold more designs to "more new customers" and also raked in more royalties from existing deals. Unless the global economies suffers badly in 2012, ARM says it expects to meet market expectations, targeting an annual profit of $860 million this year.
RIM stock falls eight percent following CEO transition
We rarely meddle with stock news around these parts, but this was a pretty significant piece of meat to chew on. After Research in Motion introduced Thorsten Heins as the new CEO last night and again in a conference call this morning, the company's stock price tumbled a whopping 8.47 percent. When it comes to what kind of difference the transition will make for the struggling company, we haven't had a high amount of confidence; while we hope for the best and want to see RIM turn things around, the falling stock appears to indicate that we're not alone in expressing concerns about this morning's events. Here's some food for thought: when rumors that Samsung was interested in purchasing RIM flooded the internet, the latter company's stocks spiked by nearly ten percent.
BioWare docs explain how to stay true to your roots while expanding massively
With eight (eight!) studios around the globe as of the end of 2011, BioWare label heads Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk have kind of a lot going on at any given time. When I spoke with them earlier this week at Times Square's NASDAQ building, though, they were remarkably calm after ringing the financial institution's opening bell (surrounded by and emblazoned in Star Wars accoutrement), and launching the six-years-in-development Star Wars: The Old Republic. Beyond the aforementioned accomplishments, the doctors' division of EA has been rapidly expanding -- over just the last six months, BioWare has added a Sacramento office, a San Francisco office, and an Ireland office, to say nothing of "BioWare Victory," the studio heading up Command & Conquer: Generals 2. That's a whole lot of people (501 - 1000, approximately, according to LinkedIn)! How do two guys that started out with eight people in a studio apartment manage that kind of expansion without diluting the original values they began with? BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka offered an explanation by way of example: "You're seeing how we're doing that in The Old Republic. We're merging story in in a really seamless way. It doesn't feel tacked on or added, it's actually there from the ground floor. It's actually adding to the experience and increasing that emotional engagement, which, you go back to our vision, that's what it's all about. Building that emotional engagement." The concept of "emotional engagement" was one that both Muzyka and his long-time business partner Dr. Greg Zeschuk touched on repeatedly during the interview. Muzyka called it a "pillar" of the label's vision, but also emphasized that story -- BioWare's traditional method for engaging players on an emotional level -- isn't the only way to evoke an emotional response from players.
Zynga stock falters, holds on first day of trading
Zynga stock finally roared out of the gate and on to the trading floor yesterday at $10 a share, but investors weren't hugely impressed with the social gaming company. The stock started up a dollar at $11, and then dropped back down two, and then thirty, and then fifty cents during the day, leveling off at $9.50, which Forbes says was thanks mostly to "a stabilizing bid by Zynga's underwriters," which means Zynga's investors stepped in and bought up enough stock to keep the price up. So what happened? Shortly put, Zynga's stock wasn't really worth what it was priced out at. An initial public offering is designed to be priced a little low, in order to drum up demand for a company's stock from the public (not to mention raise some money). But Zynga went high and, as a result, didn't quite get the graph it wanted today. They didn't sell the FarmVille, so to speak -- ZNGA will likely be trading fine on Monday (and $9.50 is fine for the highly competitive gaming industry; THQ is sitting down at 75 cents right now). But Zynga's hype phase appears to be over. Now the company needs to prove it can sell more than just cow clickers.
Zynga's IPO road show begins, expects to raise $1 billion
Zynga is doing extremely well, especially for a company that started by piggybacking on a social-networking site, Facebook, and making games about farming. Zynga is in the process of launching its IPO, and while it won't be worth as much as initially expected this summer -- dropping from an expected high of $20 billion to a current possible low of about $10 billion -- Zynga is positioned to be worth more than EA, currently valued at $7.7 billion, and to compete with Activision Blizzard, which is valued at $14 billion. Zynga plans to raise roughly $1 billion for its IPO and has begun a nine-day pitch process to convince investors that the company is truly worth it, with plans to sell shares for $8.50 to $10 each under the Nasdaq label, "ZNGA." Zynga's offerings would mark the largest for a U.S. Internet company since Google in 2004, but with Facebook expected to eclipse it in 2012. If you're an interested investor, surveyor or slideshow-lover, you can view Zynga's complete IPO presentation right here.
Engadget takes over Times Square, courtesy of TS2 (video)
Remember when we took over Times Square last month? Contrary to comments-based speculation, we didn't drop several years' salary to see our names and faces (and pets) up in lights. We were actually shooting a segment for the Engadget Show about a new service from Times Square2 (TS2). The NASDAQ / Thomson Reuters alliance is working to increase engagement on the giant electronic billboards it controls in one of the most heavily trafficked spots in the US. The organization has designed a free API for developers, making it possible to create applications for its giant ad spaces on the side of the Thomson Reuters and NASDAQ buildings, and it showed us some of the fruits of its labor in the video clip that you'll find after the break.%Gallery-130286%
Near Times Square? Come see Engadget on a really big screen
If you're on the island of Manhattan and are anywhere near Times Square, check out this lovely display of lights. For the next half-hour or so you'll be able to check out Engadget on one heck of a big screen, right above the NASDAQ sign. You won't even need those reading glasses! Wondering what this is all about? Check out the next Engadget Show, where all will be explained. %Gallery-130286%
AAPL shares survive rebalancing on Nasdaq today
Last month the stock index Nasdaq announced that it would be rebalancing the weighting of AAPL shares to better reflect the actual number of shares floating on the market. At the time, AAPL accounted for 20.5 percent of the Nasdaq. After the rebalancing today, AAPL now accounts only for 12.5 percent of the Nasdaq. When Nasdaq made the announcement, it issued a warning that the rebalancing might affect AAPL shares in the short term due to fund managers readjusting their holdings. However, it seems that any negative effect on AAPL's share price was negligible. Apple closed down only 1.1 percent today to end at $346.45. Many see AAPL advancing to upwards of $540 a share by January, and some even think Apple will be the world's first trillion dollar company. Disclaimer: The author holds a position in AAPL. TUAW does not provide investment advice; consult an expert before buying or selling equities.
Nasdaq to diminish Apple's portion of the Nasdaq-100
The Wall Street Journal reports that Nasdaq will drop Apple's profile in its Nasdaq-100 stock index, lowering Apple's share from 20.5 percent to around 12.3 percent, more in line with the number of actual Apple shares out there. Apple is one of 81 companies who are seeing their shares lowered by the rebalance, while 19 other companies, including Google and Microsoft, will have their shares increased. The index was last adjusted in this way back in 1998, but back then, Apple obviously wasn't nearly as big a company financially as it is now, so Nasdaq is simply adjusting things to bring shares more in line with the actual market. The changes should take effect on May 2, and Nasdaq does say that it expects some trades to happen as a result of the changes, which may lead to some "instability" in the markets for a short period. But in general, the changes are just to make sure that a huge amount of growth (or failure) on Apple's part doesn't upset the index too much. As always, we are not financial professionals, and any news about AAPL stock should not be taken as financial advice. [via AppleInsider]
Counting Angry Birds before they hatch: dev talks US IPO, analysts need track record
Angry Birds developer Rovio has been on a roll: raking in millions of unit sales, breaking through to the mainstream and recently receiving another $42 million from investors. Now the company is talking about going public on the Nasdaq with an IPO in the next five years. "At an estimated value of nearly $300 million, it would still be considered a relatively small company," EEDAR's Jesse Divnich explained when we asked about the company's chances. "Gameloft, for example has a current market cap of $344 million (the cost for someone to own every share of the company), this is compared to Activsion which has a market valuation of over $12 billion, and Google at $185 billion. In fact, most large mutual funds typically don't invest in anything with a market cap under $1 billion. If they do, they typically classify them as 'high-risk' or 'aggressive plays.'" Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter had similar reservations about the company telling Joystiq, "Any company can go public, but the rule of thumb is that the company has at least $50 million of annual revenue before they try to sell stock. That revenue has to be recurring, and I think that is an obstacle for Rovio, which so far is a one-hit wonder. If they can replicate what they've done with Angry Birds, there might be some interest." Pachter also mentioned that the administrative costs of being public is about $5 million annually, which is why small companies don't usually take the stock route.
Zynga estimated to be worth more than EA
We can't help but be kept awake at night, a constant state of worry hanging over our heads, wondering whether Zynga is financially surpassing the EAs and Activisions of the world. According to a Business Week report, it seems that Zynga recently did just that -- finally -- with SharesPost Inc. reporting Zynga's stock value at $5.51 billion, a full $290 million above EA's NASDAQ valuation of $5.22 billion. ThinkEquity LLC analyst Atul Bagga told BW that Zynga's valuation "is not that crazy, given what's going on in the market," noting that growth prospects over the next three years help add value to the still nascent social game company. Bagga estimates Zynga's virtual goods profits will rise from approximately $1.6 billion this year to $3.6 billion by 2013, making Zynga a riskier, but potentially more lucrative investment. That is, of course, if people keep buying ... whatever it is they buy in Facebook games.
NASDAQ and CEA announce Smartphone Index
The NASDAQ isn't exactly our usual beat here at Engadget, but it's not every day that a consumer electronics market segment gets elevated to the status of having its own index, which is what the stock exchange has now done with a little help from the Consumer Electronics Association. They've teamed up for the NASDAQ OMX CEA Smartphone Index, which consists of 84 companies that are involved in one way or another with the "building, design and distribution of handsets, hardware, software, and mobile networks associated with the development, sale and usage of smartphones." We're having a bit of trouble tracking down the complete list of companies included in the index, but it does apparently have the usual suspects like Apple, Google and RIM, and it has started out with a valuation 250.00.
Majesco threatened with Nasdaq delisting, again
Majesco, publisher of Cooking Mama and ... other stuff, has received a delisting notice from the Nasdaq stock market. The company now has 180 calendar days to bring its stock above $1 per share, the minimum required to remain on the exchange. The trick, though, is it can't just pop its fiscally hurting head above a buck for a day and everything will go back to being right with the world again. The company needs to hold the price for "a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days prior to August 30, 2010." This is not the first time Majesco was threatened with being kicked from the exchange. The company came back from the brink of that potential delisting disaster early last year. If you're curious to see what happens after a company is delisted, here are two case studies: Midway and Atari.
GameFly going public, files $50 million IPO
GameFly, game rental service and media entity, has filed a $50 million initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission and has applied to appear as "GFLY" on the NASDAQ ticker. The IPO registration form lays out many details that were previously unknown about the privately held company. Tidbits include that GameFly has approximately 334,000 subscribers as of September 2009 and generated $84.7 milllion in revenue in its fiscal year ending March 2009. Additionally, the form suggests that GameFly's collection of media sites, which includes the ShackNews properties, apparently draws 4.4 million monthly unique visitors. GameFly is currently practicing a "quiet period" and representatives could not comment on this report. [Via BusinessInsider; thanks, Wolvie75]
Apple's 'iSlate' and other rumors that have given its stock a holiday boost
The Apple tablet rumors are at a fever pitch, yet again. Depending on what you've read, it's all but confirmed that the company's got a January 26th event scheduled at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco, CA. All this, of course, with nary a word or comment from Cupertino HQ, and without the context that this trend has come and gone ad nauseam, both with the tablet and before with the years of lead-up to the iPhone. Here's the latest bit: MacRumors has dug up information about a Delaware-based company, Slate Computing, LLC, that was founded in November 2006 and owns the trademark "iSlate," the signatory of said trademark being Apple's Senior Trademark Specialist Regina Porter. Given that Apple owns "iSlate" trademark in Europe and that it's allegedly pulled similar stunts with a "fake" company and the iPhone trademark, sure, we could buy into this being just a dummy corporation... but does it really confirm an impending tablet that'll be called the "iSlate?" Not at all. We wouldn't be surprised if Apple has done this for numerous other trademarks, either to give itself more options or to prevent others from trying to manufacture products under those names. (Slate Computing, LLC also happens to own the "Magic Slate" trademark, just so you know.) Also bought up in 2006? The domain iSlate.com, which again according to MacRumors (with help form Mark Gurman of AppleRejectedMe.com) was apparently and briefly shown to be owned by Apple at some point during 2007. Food for thought, but trust us, you don't want to confuse hearsay for concrete fact. Which brings us to December 24th, where we see a statistically significant uptick in Apple's stock value. Seeing as the fiscals were released back in late October along with the last refresh of hardware (Mac Pro specs notwithstanding), it seems everyone decided to spend their holiday bonuses on some Apple shares. Now, we're not claiming to be professionals here by any stretch of the imagination, but it seems a lot of the activity here can be attributed to the recent flux of rumors. Jason Schwarz of The Street has an interesting take on it, which if you've got 15 minutes to kill should be worth your time to browse through.
Let's talk AAPL and the future
It's been a roller coaster ride over the past two years for Apple (AAPL) stock. In December 2007 it hit a then-peak of $199.83 a share. Just two months later AAPL sunk to $125. Three months after that it had recovered to the $180s, but by November 2008, AAPL had plummeted to $82 a share. Since then, the stock has recovered and hit an all-time closing high of $207 on November 17, 2009. As of today it's sitting pretty in the $190s -- though some think the drop from the $200s to $190s is suspicious. I argue with people all the time why Apple didn't deserve its dips and plummets over the last two years: The company is sitting flush with $23.5 billion $35 billion in the bank, in cash (about the same as the total market value of another major US computer maker, named for its CEO and founder, who 12 years ago famously suggested shutting down Apple and giving the money back to shareholders). It has zero debt. It is one of the most respected companies on the planet and has the world's greatest CEO. But more importantly than the cash and its status, I believe AAPL is a great buy because it has such small market share in all the categories it operates in save one...
AOL Daily Finance app raises the bar for iPhone investment tools
The Finance section of the App Store does feature some heavy-hitters (Bloomberg, ATM Hunter) and some fairly weak beer too. A lot of these apps are unitaskers, particularly when it comes to stock quotes and charting. For a full-featured and free investment information portal, and a strong competitor to the Bloomberg iPhone app, you may want to try the newly-released AOL Daily Finance, powered by the dailyfinance.com site. The first key feature to note is the free real-time equity quote service, provided from the BATS Exchange; major exchange (NYSE & Nasdaq) quotes are delayed, though. You can quote individual symbols or watch your entire portfolio with ease, whether you enter it on the device or link to your existing lineup under your AOL or AIM screenname; up to 25 separate portfolios can be managed. You can also view up-to-the-minute financial and market news from the AP and other sources. The other standout feature of this app is its comprehensive charting support. Clicking the chart button on an equity page brings up a straightforward chart, but rotate your device into landscape mode and you're in a Cover Flow-esque lineup of all the charts in your portfolio. Double-tap a chart to access a full suite of advanced comparison options (vs. markets, vs. peers, seasonality, showing events like earnings & splits, and custom symbol comparisons). Holding down a finger on a single-line chart enables a crosshair cursor that lets you see the specific data for any point on the chart. All the functions are intuitive and easy to use; the charts are cached so you can see most of your data even if your device is disconnected from WiFi or cell service. If you're of a mind to keep an eye on the markets while you're on the move, you may find this app has the tools you're looking for. Check out the gallery below for a few screenshots. %Gallery-50309% Editor's Note: TUAW's parent company Weblogs, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL.
Majesco cooks up compliance with Nasdaq
Majesco has regained compliance with the Nasdaq stock exchange after completing a stint of ten consecutive days with a stock price of over $1. When asked for comment, Cooking Mama exclaimed, "RONDERFUL!"The publisher is known for Cooking Mama and ... um. Anyway, last August, Majesco was informed it had 180 days to get its stock back in compliance with Nasdaq rules or face delisting. Optimistically, buying the stock now at its bargain price would be fantastic if Majesco can find another franchise (A Boy and his Blob?) worth its salt and pepper.[Via GoNintendo, GamerInvestments]
