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Twitter stock value nearly doubles post-IPO, puts a lot of worth into little tweets
Twitter must have taken a few lessons from Facebook on how to launch its IPO this morning. TWTR's value on the New York Stock Exchange has nearly doubled as of this writing, jumping from the initial $26 price to $46 -- two bucks shy of its social networking rival. The day is still young, so early investors won't want to plan their retirement funds just yet. However, the rush is good news for a company that's constantly searching for new sources of revenue, especially when there may be patent royalty payments in its future. [Image credit: David Weller, Twitter]
Activision Blizzard files an emergency appeal for buyback rights
It seems that Activision Blizzard just can't wait to get free of Vivendi. Not that the company is eager, but it literally cannot wait. The publisher had planned to essentially buy itself from its parent company, but following objections raised by a stockholder, the deal was put on hold by court order. Now the company has filed an emergency appeal, claiming that if the deal doesn't go through now, the company will have lost its window for self-ownership. According to the appeal, it will not be possible to obtain a shareholder vote before October 15th, which is when the deal automatically terminates. This vote by non-Vivendi shareholders is a necessity for the deal to go through, and Activision Blizzard representatives state that this injunction leaves the company in limbo and jeopardizes an $8 billion exchange. The court has scheduled a hearing for October 10th -- a hearing that looks to either make or break the deal as a whole.
NASDAQ extends Majesco's delisting grace period, new deadline Feb. 2014
NASDAQ has given Cooking Mama publisher Majesco another 180 days to raise its (beef) stock value above $1.00, after the company failed to meet yesterday's existing deadline for the same goal. Majesco now has until February 24 of next year to become compliant with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550, subsection A, article two, which requires trading companies to have a "minimum bid price of at least $1 per share." Previously, Majesco had 180 days (starting last March) to increase its stock value, lest it be delisted from NASDAQ and forced to toil endlessly in the Salt Mines of Thælm on Baltharia 7's Dark Moon. Okay maybe not that second thing, but getting delisted from NASDAQ is pretty horrible on its own. As of press time, Majesco's stock is trading at $0.64 a share.
Nasdaq stops all trading due to systems issue, plans to reopen in a limited capacity soon (update: back online)
Well, this is rather peculiar. The Nasdaq stock market -- the entire Nasdaq, which lists major tech firms such as Apple and Facebook -- has temporarily suspended all trading due to a technical issue. The exchange sent an alert to traders at 12:14PM ET today announcing that it was halting all trading "until further notice," according to a New York Times report. Reuters is reporting that Nasdaq will reopen trading soon, but with a 5-minute quote period. The market will not be canceling open orders, however, so firms that don't want their orders processed once everything's up and running should cancel their orders manually now. It's not entirely clear what caused the issue, or how and when it will be resolved, but you better believe it's causing some commotion on Wall Street, and could impact traders for days and months to come. Update (2:28PM ET): CNBC and the Wall Street Journal are reporting that Nasdaq will resume limited trading beginning at 2:45PM ET. Update (2:32PM ET): CNBC is now reporting that trading will resume with just two securities at 2:45PM ET. Full trading will begin at 3:10PM ET. Update (3:28PM ET): It appears that trading has resumed as of 3:25PM ET. Update (5:47PM ET): One final tweet here from CNBC. Nasdaq is claiming that today's issues were resolved within 30 minutes. The remaining 2.5 hours were used to coordinate the re-opening. Update (6:29PM ET): Nasdaq has issued an official statement following today's market close. In part, it reads: "NASDAQ OMX will work with other exchanges that are members of the SIP to investigate the issues of today, and we will support any necessary steps to enhance the platform."
Icahn's AAPL buyback advice could benefit Apple quickly, significantly
An analysis by Deutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore shows a potential US$50 billion stock buyback would boost Apple's earnings per share by as much as $4.25 in 2014, AppleInsider reports. This comes in the wake of a meeting last week between Tim Cook and investor Carl Icahn where the possibility of expanding the company's share buyback program was discussed. Icahn made headlines last week when he reportedly invested over $1.5 billion in the Cupertino-based tech giant. This strong vote of confidence had a rather dramatic effect on AAPL, boosting it by over 20 points in less than a day. Of course, the most important factor in further pushing Apple's stock upwards is the continued announcement of innovative products, and with an iPhone event reportedly scheduled for September 10, we won't have to wait long on that front.
Fidelity Market Monitor app brings stock alerts, news and fanciful financials to Google Glass
You know, it makes sense: an app for the one percent, tailor-made for a $1,500 headset. Fidelity's Market Monitor app for Google Glass might just be the most impressive program to debut for the device, particularly considering the class of individual who would take advantage. In the trading world, missing an alert or notification by even three seconds could be the difference between million and millions, with this app enabling Fidelity customers to request real-time stock quotes and receive alerts dealing with companies in their portfolio. In a concept video describing what's possible (embedded just after the break), we even see a wearer snap a photo of a Google logo, and the app translates the photo into a stock quote for GOOG. We're guessing that it's only a matter of time before every other financial institution follows suit, which will likely lead to each and every CNBC anchor wearing a set whilst on air. Also, we're hearing from a "reliable source" that both Michael Douglas and Shia LaBeouf will be joined by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Wall Street: Glass on Glass on Glass.
WoW looks to the future as Blizzard stocks surge
Blizzard might be weathering the sting of a 600,000 subscriber loss in World of Warcraft this quarter, but the studio's separation from Vivendi could be the salve to soothe the hurt. Following the news that Activision Blizzard is buying back shares to take away Vivendi's controlling stake, stocks have surged 18% in pre-market trading this morning. Baird Analyst Colin Sebastian says this is nothing but good news: "This looks like a win, win, win for Vivendi and Activision shareholders. It's a better outcome than a special dividend to Vivendi, and I expect Activision will function even better as an independent company without the overhang of a struggling parent." Blizzard is also taking steps to counter its subscriber drop. VentureBeat reports that the studio has increased its WoW development team, "lowered the barrier" for returning players to catch up to friends, and created an in-game proving ground so players can learn to heal or tank. We also have word that a new buff-centric class is being considered, although no specifics have been revealed.
Tesla to join the Nasdaq 100 as Oracle departs for the NYSE
As of Monday, July 15th, Tesla Motors will be included in the Nasdaq 100, a list of the largest non-financial stocks on Nasdaq's index. A spot in that elite group opened up when Oracle announced that it would be moving to the New York Stock Exchange, making it inelegible for inclusion on Nasdaq. The news seemed to please shareholders, and at the time of this writing, Tesla's stock had surged ahead nearly 2 percent. The company's entry into the Nasdaq 100 is a sure sign that its forward trajectory is nigh unstoppable -- at least for now. With an overall stock gain of nearly 260 percent in 2013, Tesla Motors just keeps on truckin'.
iPhone 101: Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS
Apple's Stocks app on iOS isn't terribly exciting, but in typical Apple fashion, it does have a bit more functionality lurking beneath the surface. Pictured below is what you typically see when you fire up the Stocks app. The information is pretty basic. We see that Apple's current share price is US$456, and to the right of that in green, we see how much Apple's share price has gone up for the day, in this case $3.98. If you tap the green rectangle, however, the display changes to reveal Apple's current market cap. If you tap the green rectangle once more, the information changes yet again, this time displaying Apple's daily gain or loss as a percentage. So with a few taps, one can quickly toggle through Apple's market cap and information as to how the stock is performing percentage-wise or terms of dollars and cents. But wait, there's more! If we take another look at the default Stocks view, you'll note that there are three circles at the bottom of the screen. From here, one can simply swipe to the left (from anywhere on the bottom half of the screen) to reveal more information about the selected stock, in this case Apple. On screen two, we're presented with a chart mapping Apple's stock performance over the last six months. One can also tap on the other durations to see Apple's stock performance over other periods of time. What's more, if you rotate the phone into landscape mode, you'll not only be presented with a wider chart of a stock's performance, but you'll also be able to drag your finger across the chart and see at what price a stock closed on a particular day. If we return the phone into portrait mode and swipe to the left one more time, we're now presented with Apple-related news stories. What may not be so apparent, however, is that one can swipe upwards on the presented news stories to reveal even more Apple-related stories from around the web. Lastly, if you want to add stocks to keep an eye on, simply tap the info button at the bottom-right corner of the screen. You'll then be whisked away to the screen below where you can tap on the "+" sign and add whatever stocks you like. So there you have it. Apple's Stocks app may be seldom used by those who don't follow the market, but it does house a tad more functionality than one might expect from an ostensibly boring and vanilla application.
EA executives Andrew Wilson, Stephen Bene unload stocks
Two of Electronic Arts' top-level executives have collectively unloaded a total of 57,085 stocks, following a general increase in EA's stock value after this week's Star Wars exclusivity announcement. According to SEC forms filed yesterday, EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson has sold his entire stake in the company: 32,085 shares at $21.42 a pop, for a grand total of $687,260.70. EA senior vice president and General Counsel Stephen Bene followed suit, today exercising an option to buy 25,000 shares from EA at $16.06 per share for $401,500 in total, well below the current market value. Bene then sold those shares for $22.40 each, making $560,000. After subtracting the amount originally spent when the option to buy the shares was exercised, Bene made a net profit of $158,500. Unlike Wilson, Bene is still in possession of 6,700 shares of EA, according to SEC documents.
Russia's richest man takes a $100 million interest in Apple
Over the past few weeks, shares of Apple have been trading at 52-week lows. Earlier this month, shares of Apple dipped below US$400 a share for the first time since 2011. Shockingly, Apple had a P/E ratio lower than Dell's for a few days last week. Over the past week, however, shares of Apple have rebounded nicely and are now trading in the $436 range. As for what's fueling the latest Apple rally, it's likely that the company's recently announced capital return program is being viewed rather favorably by investors. One man who's particularly bullish on Apple future prospects is Alisher Usmanov, Russia's wealthiest man. Usmanov has an estimated net worth of $19 billion and recently invested $100 million in Apple, believing strongly that the stock will rebound. "I believe in the future of this company even after Steve Jobs," Usmanov explained in an interview with Bloomberg. When the company lost $100 billion of its market value, it was a good time to buy its shares, as the capitalization should rebound." Usmanov highlighted that Apple's intention to purchase back $60 billion of its own shares and increase its quarterly dividend make Apple a "very promising investment." Previously, Usmanov enjoyed a 10-fold return on his 2009 investment in Facebook. Lastly, and for any soccer fans out there, Usmanov happens to hold a large stake in London's Arsenal Football Club.
Apple already taking steps to prepare for its upcoming debt sale
Apple last week announced that it would embark on a massive stock repurchasing plan whereby it will purchase US$60 billion worth of its own shares by the end of 2015. In a press release on the matter, Apple called it the "largest single share repurchase authorization in history." What's more, the company also announced a 15 percent increase to its quarterly dividend, upping the payout from $2.65 to $3.05 per share. Taken together, Apple's capital return program is designed to return a total of $100 billion to shareholders. That's a lot of dough, but with upwards of $145 billion in the bank, there's no denying that Apple has the cash to make that happen. There's just one slight problem -- the bulk of Apple's cash is overseas and would be subject to a corporate income tax rate of 35 percent should Apple try and bring it back to the US. That being the case, Apple has opted to keep its cash overseas and fund the bulk of its capital return program via the issuance of debt. Now, just one week after making its initial announcement, Reuters is reporting that Apple has already begun taking steps to secure funding for its capital return program, including contacting both Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank and filing the requisite SEC paperwork. The only major tech company without a penny of debt on its books, Apple stunned the markets last week by announcing it could sell debt for the first time to help fund a $100 billion capital return program for shareholders. Any bond offer from the makers of the iconic iPhone and iPad would be highly sought after by investors, and it is believed the company could raise funds at a cheaper rate than even Triple A-rated Microsoft. That Apple would turn to the debt market to help fund its $100 billion expenditure isn't all that surprising. Apple has long lobbied for a tax holiday wherein it would be able to repatriate its cash hoard to the United States at a much lower tax rate. Besides, if Apple can issue debt on favorable terms, why not take advantage of it? Fortune adds: Apple's decision to tap the debt market comes at a time when borrowing is cheap. The Federal Reserve is holding interest rates near record lows and the average yield on investment grade US corporate debt is around 2.6 percent, according to RBS credit strategist Edward Marrinan, who said companies with a AA-rating like Apple's can borrow at a rate of less than 2 percent. As for Apple's increased dividend, the company will next issue a dividend payout on May 16.
Warren Buffett speaks out on Apple's cash pile
Warren Buffet was on CNBC yesterday, and the famous investor had some opinions about Apple, its stock price and the enormous pile of cash it's sitting on lately. His basic thoughts, not surprisingly, were just for Apple to keep making money. "The best thing you can do with a business is run it well," said Buffett, "and the shares will respond." Apple recently had a big investor try and sue them to get dividends from the company's cash back to the shareholders, but that lawsuit failed, and Buffett says he wouldn't have worried about it. "I would ignore him," Buffett said of the investor David Einhorn. "I would run the business in such a manner as to create the most value over the next five to 10 years." Which makes sense -- while stockholders might not be happy about not getting paid cash right now, no one will argue with an extremely valuable business that grows even more valuable in the future. Buffett also shared a story of Steve Jobs calling him when Apple made a little extra cash, and Buffett advised him to get some of the stock back. "When Steve called me, I said, 'Is your stock cheap?' He said, 'Yes.' I said, 'Do you have more cash than you need?' He said, 'A little.' [laughs] I said, 'Then buy back your stock.' He didn't," Buffett remembers. And Buffett finished his story with a wise bit of advice for Tim Cook, Apple and really any investor out there: "If you could buy dollar bills for 80 cents, it's a very good thing to do." Obviously, Apple is working hard on R&D spending, and the company could go through its vast cash reserves very quickly if that's indeed what it wanted to do. But instead, the strategy should probably be to keep making the company even more valuable, because both Apple and its shareholders will benefit if that happens.
Apple cancels shareholder vote after judge sides with Greenlight's Einhorn
Greenlight Capital hedge fund manager David Einhorn has scored a legal victory against Apple in the lawsuit he and shareholders filed against 1 Infinite Loop earlier this month. Reuters is reporting that US District Judge Richard Sullivan has sided with Einhorn and ordered Apple to postpone voting on a contested measure during a shareholder meeting scheduled for February 27. In a statement, Greenlight called the ruling "a significant win for all Apple shareholders and for good corporate governance." Called Proposal 2, the measure would, if approved, require a shareholder vote before the Cupertino company could issue preferred stocks. Einhorn is opposed to the measure and has instead proposed "iPrefs," a form of preferred stock and perpetual divided. In the wake of the decision, Apple has formally removed a vote on Proposal 2 from next week's meeting agenda. The measure had been paired with two other unrelated proposals -- both of which Einhorn agrees with -- in a proxy vote. Einhorn contends that combining the items amounts to "bundling," a practice which violates Securities and Exchange Commission rules. While Einhorn and company are obviously pleased with the court's decision, Reuters reports that other Apple shareholders, including pension fund CalPers, are not so happy. Einhorn's end goal is to see the matter of preferred stock issuance unbundled from Proposal 2, but Apple has so far given no indication that it intends to willingly cave to these demands. [Via AppleInsider]
DCM Dealer software platform mines social media for stock sentiment, Wall Street licks its chops
In this episode of "What could possibly go wrong?!", allow us to introduce you to DCM Dealer. Billed as an "online trading platform," this here project was whipped up by the same London-based investment outfit (DCM Capital) that went belly-up after losing some $40 million in assets in just one month during the summer of 2011. Granted, that was a pretty tough time in the market, and it did manage to squeeze out a 1.9 percent gain in the period it was open, but it's still worth keeping in mind. Now, the firm is hoping to catch a second wind with a tool that mines Twitter, Facebook, and the whole of social media in order to pick up clues about the public's view on a stock. Reportedly, it'll spit out real-time ratings from 0 (negative) to 100 (positive), giving investors yet another "leading indicator" on what to invest in flip for a quick buck. Founder Paul Hawtin confesses: "This is not some kind of holy grail of buy-sell signals that's guaranteed to make you money. This is an additional layer of market information...markets are driven by greed and fear, so if you can understand fear and quantify it in real-time, you could use that to protect yourself." We'll leave it to the 99 percent to comment on the idea below.
Reports of weak iPhone 5 demand briefly send Apple stock below $500
As we reported earlier today, news broke on Sunday that Apple has apparently reduced its orders for key iPhone 5 components by half. The decision was supposedly made based on weak demand for the phone, but as we pointed out, the move could very well be part of Apple's plan to move to a six-month release schedule for new iOS devices. Nevertheless, the report spooked investors, prompting them to sell off Apple stock and cause its price to briefly dip below $500 today, according to AllThingsD. The stock closed today at $501.77; it closed at $520.30 on Friday, January 11. The site makes a good point regarding the scare, which is that analysts seem unfazed by the news despite the obvious skittishness of investors. In fact, it doesn't sound like the news was entirely unexpected among analysts, given Apple's initial hopes of selling a whopping 65 million iPhone 5 units in one quarter. It's possible that Apple will address iPhone 5 demand during its Q1 2013 earnings call, which is scheduled for January 23. We'll be covering the call and will bring you more details as they surface.
Analyst: Apple top stock pick of 2013 despite setbacks
Topeka Capital Markets financial analyst Brian White has weighed in on Apple's 2013 outlook and sees a bright future for the tech giant despite a slight stumble as 2012 entered the record books. According to Apple Insider, White named Apple his firm's top stock pick for the coming year, predicting that its share price will recover from the hit it took in late 2012 because investor confidence remains strong. The company's stock never did hit the lofty US$1,001 per share that White predicted last April, however. Some of White's rationale for the upbeat outlook is admittedly a bit out there. He expects Apple to offer multiple sizes of its next handset to appeal to emerging markets (despite the fact that it will have the iPhone 5 and 4S for those) and, not quite as far-fetched, that the iPhone will be available in colors beyond the current white/silver and black/charcoal versions when it hits shelves.
Analyst expects Apple stock to drop to $270
Apple's stock price has had quite an interesting year. After hitting a record high of over $700 per share in September, the price has been hovering around the $500 mark for several weeks. But as Businessweek reports, that figure just isn't low enough for analyst Edward Zabitsky, who is banking on shares to dive as low as $270. Zabitsky cites several factors in his argument that Apple's stock is headed for a fall, including competition from the likes of Microsoft and Samsung, and what he sees as unrest in Apple's management. He predicts that the stock will reach the $270 mark within 12 months. Apple's stock price hasn't dipped as low as $270 since September 2010, so a dip that low within a year's time would certainly be a dramatic stumble.
Apple named top stock for 2013 by Barron's
Despite falling off significantly from its highest point of the year at over $700 a share, Apple's stock is still a hot topic amongst investment gurus. Financial magazine Barron's not only retains faith in Cupertino's value, but feels so strongly about the company's ability to once again reach a lofty value that is has placed Apple at the top of its Favorite Stocks for 2013 list. Helping boost Apple's standing in Barron's eyes is its current price-to-earnings ratio, which the publication notes is at its lowest point in half a decade. "None of the recent investor concerns -- lower margins, supply constraints, management changes, iPad competition and the iPhone 5 map fiasco -- are major," Barron's explains. "There's room for a higher dividend and a more aggressive share-repurchase program in 2013. Both could play well with investors." [Via: BGR]
Analyst: Black Ops 2 sales a 'cause for concern,' downgrades Activision
Sales of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 are on a trend to be down 15 percent from last year's launch of Modern Warfare 3, financial analyst Arvind Bhatia of Sterne Agee posits. Modern Warfare 3 sales were down 5 percent from the previous year's Black Ops, and if this scenario plays out again Bhatia calls it "a cause for concern" for Activision-Blizzard.Call of Duty as a franchise is responsible for up to 45 percent of Activision's earnings before interest and taxes, Bhatia says, justifying the concern clause. Average reviews of Black Ops 2 were lower than Modern Warfare 3's, and Black Ops 2 launched a week after Halo 4 but a week before Black Friday, meaning some customers may have waited to buy it, Bhatia says.Sterne Agee downgraded Activision's rating from "buy" to "neutral" and reduced 2013 estimates from $4.74 billion to $4.3 billion.All this is in spite of the fact that Black Ops 2 pulled in $500 million at retail on its first day, breaking records and surpassing Modern Warfare 3's $400 million, and is the UK's fourth largest launch ever.
