Category Archives: Stocks

Splunk is popular within financial services as the company offers advanced security analytics data

On April 25, 2012, Wall Street was introduced by two really hot IPO`s; Splunk and Infoblox. Investors expected to see Splunk to open at $13 a share, but it surprised and opened at $17. Later on the same trading day, Splunk closed at about $32, after it peaked intraday at $38.

Splunk was one of the first big data companies to go public.

Splunk offer technology that helps large enterprises with their IT systems. I have tried Splunks system which is a big data software product. You can make your own dashboard with the data you want. Its up to you.

 

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They can take streams of data from lots of different sources and their software will instantly index it to make it searchable. I like this software because you can take lots of different data sources and simply put it into one system where it can be searched. And best of all; you can make it the way you like it.

Splunk will make it easy to dump all your different data into your own system. Your own dashboard.

You can build your own reports, your own alerts and your own dashboards. You can gather and analyze system alerts to discover what is causing problems with an IT system, or to see the power consumed by various applications and servers.

Now, Splunk is trading at $54,36 with a market cap of $7,29 Billion. A small company compared to Microsoft, but very interesting.

As the analytics market continues to gain strength, especially in the enterprise space, Splunk has no doubt benefitted, becoming especially popular within financial services as the company offers advanced security analytics data.

Splunk has been expanding these cybersecurity offerings, acquiring two companies in the industry, Caspida and Metaphor Sofware, last year.

Despite the upward trajectory, Splunk has some stiff competition. The company`s rival, ELK Stack, an open source stack company, has been gaining massive global traction and is starting to become a threat.

Even bigger players such as Amazon, IBM and Microsoft are fighting for more market share. Investments into R&D in order to compete with these players may suppress profitability in the near-term.

Splunk will continue to invest heavily in marketing and sales, which is up about 50% YoY last quarter, to $162 million. R&D was up about 40% last quarter to about $66 million, which is both very important to stay competitive in the market.

CEO Dough Merritt raised Splunk`s fiscal 2017 revenue guidance by $30 million, to $880 million and that represent a growth of about 32%. He also told investors to anticipate fiscal full-year adjusted operating profit of 5%.

The Estimize consensus is calling for flat YoY earnings, as compared to -$0,02 from Wall Street. Revenue expectations of $179,0 million are nearly $5 million above the sell-side. Estimates on both the top and bottom-line seen massive revisions since the Q4 2015 report., with EPS expectations increased 92% and revenue 8%. This pegs YoY EPS growth at 102% and sales growth at 41%.

Splunk is set to release fiscal first-quarter results after the market close on Thursday, May 26, 2016, after the close.

Splunk historically has beaten both EPS and revenue estimates more than 73% of the time.

I will not be surprised if Splunk outperforms once again.

 

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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Tiffany`s demand for luxury goods and earnings per share have dropped

Tiffany & Co`s share price has plummeted since its top in January 2015. The share price has dropped from over $100 to about $60. The main reason for that is the global softening demand for luxury goods.

The demand for jewelry has declined in the past few years, led y a strong U.S dollar, weakness in China and changing spending habits. Earnings at Tiffany has been falling for 4 consecutive quarters. The stock has been following the earnings.

 

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Currency headwinds negatively impact both non-US sales and tourist spending in the United States. Early indications are these problems will persist throughout fiscal 2016. In its most recent analyst call, management guided minimal growth on a constant currency basis with earnings ranging from unchanged to a mid-single digit decline.

There are a number of bright spots for Tiffanys. The companys effort to bolster its omnichannel platform and open new stores should bode well. On a constant currency basis, sales and comparable store sales increased across its international markets like Japan, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The Estimize consensus is calling for earnings of 69 cents per share on $922,7 million in revenue, a penny higher than Wall Street on the bottom line but $2,5 million below on the top. Earnings per share estimates have dropped 13% in the past three months on negative sentiment heading into the Q1 report. Compared to a year earlier, this reflects a 15% decline in EPS with revenue projected to fall 4%.

The shares of Tiffany`s have dropped 25,5% over the past 52 weeks, but the majority of analysts maintain a «strong buy» on the underperformer, while the average 12-month price target of $81,29 stands at a 26% premium to current trading levels.

If Tiffany continue to struggle, analysts will continue to be negative on the stock.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

 

 

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The best social network advertisers love the most

How in the world are you gonna survive on this planet without marketing? The answer is very simple; you wont. How can you expect your customers to buy your product if they don`t know about you?

You need to brand your business and let people know about you, and the more they know about you, the more they will talk about you and remember you. Word of mouth is cheap and an extremely powerful form of advertisement, but is that enough?

Social media is the real big thing at the moment. Your competitors are using it. Your customers are using it, and so need you. This form of media advertising is extremely powerful, and by one simple click, you give them all something positive to talk about; Your products.

 

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You need to be were your customers are; on social media. You can`t run from it, so you may as well embrace it. The only way to connect with them is to make your online presence known. So, what platform do marketers spend time and money on, and who are the best? The answer is simple; Facebook!

Social media is a must. It makes you communicate with your customers and that will significantly increase your brand visibility. Traditional marketing in paper media could increase your traffic, but social media will bring people together, and your friends and followers will talk about you. That in turn will increase your revenue.

As you can see from the chart above, Facebook is by far the most popular network of choice. All marketers are using it, but Twitter can be replaced as the second most popular social media platform.

Instragram is third right now, but that seems to change very soon. A fresh new report claims that Instagram is quickly gaining popularity among marketers and could soon take Twitter`s place as the second most important social advertising channel.

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook revealed in its recent earnings report that more than 200,000 businesses around the world advertise on Instagram each and every month. Instagram and its network is available in more than 30 countries and their popularity is growing.

People come to Instagram for visual inspiration, and advertising on Instagram has the power to touch, inspire and move people. Instagram ads have proven to drive strong branding results. 97% of measured campaigns on Instagram have generated significant lifts in ad recall.

Instagram is expected to grow a lot further in the future.

 

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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GoPro must rethink its VR strategy

GoPro was once a Wall Street favorite. Right after the IPO, the stock peaked at about $87 in October 2014. That was then. The stock has been falling since then and are now trading at about $12.

The stock has plummeted on weaker demand and an economic slowdown in China. Many analysts have lowered GoPro`s expectations for 2016 and 2017 EPS and revenue, as well as average selling price expectations.

 

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The competition in the market put a pressure on GoPro as both Sony and Xiaomi are launching similar products. The action camera space has become increasingly crowded and commoditized. The company`s target market has become saturated with cheaper and more innovative products, severely hurting its bottom line.

They will also meet challenges from Facebook on their VR ambitions. Facebook encourage everyone on the platform to make their own high-end 360-degree cameras, which means GoPro need to build a new strategy for their VR ambitions.

Investor need to know that GoPro is innovative enough to create a new VR capture device that can beat their competitors like Facebook.

GoPro President, Bates said last quarter that virtual reality is a «key initiative,» and that it had «several products in development that will position GoPro as a leader in VR.»

The competition between Surround 360 makers are tightening and GoPro can lose the high-end VR camera market to other new players and one of the cheaper rivals are Ricoh.

The $400 HEO4 camera has consistently missed sales forecasts, leading to steep price cuts to spur demand. Thats not profitable for the company in the long run, so investors are now holding out hope that GoPros Karma Drone, set to launch later this quarter, is the product that can resuscitate the company.

GoPro bulls belive the launch of Karma drone and a new HERO5 cameras might get the firm back on track, but the company doesnt have a new release date for either device. We only know its gonna be later this quarter.

This puts growth expectations at -302% for EPS and -48% for sales.

Esimize consensus calls for EPS of $-0,55, which is three cents above Wall Street. Revenue expectations of $171,6M are just slightly higher than the Street`s $169,6M. Numbers on the bottom-line have been ratcheted down 899% in just the last 3 months, with top-line numbers reduced 49%.

Watch out for the report on May 5, 2016, after the close.

GoPro aquired smaller companies like Kolor, which produces 360-degree videos, and video editing startups Stupeflix and Vemory, and remain to see if that can help the company to diversify their business.

 

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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Halliburton`s merger plan with Baker Hughes collapsed

The oil price has plummeted. So has the stocks in this sector, but where is the bottom for the oil price. And what about all the companies that are struggling because of the low oil price? I will take a closer look at Halliburton Company this time.

They postponed the earnings call and the company is set to report first-quarter earnings 2016 on Tuesday May 3.

 

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Halliburton`s stock peaked in the summer of 2014 at about $70, but that was then. The stock has, like many other stocks in the same sector, plummeted, trading at about $40. When it comes to earnings, Halliburton have surprised investors with a positive earnings surprise of about 30% last quarter.

Halliburton Company is a provider of services and products to the upstream oil and natural gas industry. The company operates under two divisions, which form the basis for its two operating segments: the completion and production segment, and the Drilling and Evaluation segment.

Their business is positively correlated with the oil price, and they support upstream companies that include drilling firms setting up their oil and gas wells. It speak for itself. The lower the oil price, the lower the demand for oil field services firms it will be.

Todays low oil price is not good for the energy sector and so is it for Halliburton and their upstream operations or oilfield services players in the same sector. Therefore, it can be difficult for them to increase the earnings this time.

Halliburton`s market cap is $35,72 billion, and the company conducts its business in approximately 80 countries. But they want more. They want to grow and find a new business combination to deliver benefits for shareholders, customers and their employees.

In November 2014, Halliburton announced the Baker Hughes takeover in a bid to better compete against its competitor and industry leader Schlumberger Ltd. The deal could be great for Halliburton, but merger watchdogs from Washington and Brussels wanted it different.

On Sunday, May 1, the merger plan collapsed under the weight of worldwide antitrust opposition. EU`s Vestager says firms’ customers warned of risks of deal. They tried to get approval from regulators in the U.S, EU, Australia and Brazil, but Halliburton and Baker Hughes failed to overcome concerns shared by watchdogs who claim that the deal would reduce choice in oilfield services, and that in turn would push the oil and gas prices higher for the consumers. The $28 billion deal ended on Sunday May 1.

U.S Justice Department chief Bill Baer said in April that the problems were «unfixable» for a transaction critical to the American economy. Investigators in the country identified 23 markets where they said the transaction would create a duopoly with market leader Schlumberger.

Brazils oil company Petrobras told antitrust regulator CADE about its competition concerns in a number of service lines. CADE challenged the deal in court last year, citing possible price increase and less innovation that might harm Brazils oil and gas industry.

Australia`s competition watchdog raised concerns in October last year. They said the merger might shrink the number of suppliers for oilfield goods and services, particularly offshore drilling. They said the proposed acquisition «may create conditions that would facilitate coordinated behavior» in the oil-services market.

Schlumbers are the global leader, while the two U.S companies in the planned merger are number 2 and 3 providers of equipment for oil and gas exploration and production required approval internationally.

EU`s Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Monday, such services are crucial to «ensuring competitive energy prices for consumers and companies across the EU.»

«Today`s outcome is disappointing because of our strong belief in the vast potential of the business combination to deliver benefits for shareholders, customers and both companies’ employees,» said Martin Craighead, Chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes.

In connection with the termination of the merger agreement, Halliburton will pay Baker Hughes the termination fee of $3,5 billion by Wednesday, May 4, 2016.

Halliburton will discuss the termination of the merger agreement during its previously scheduled conference call on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at 8:00 AM Central Time (9:00 AM Eastern Time).

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Shiny bull. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Shiny bull nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Shiny bull and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

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