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Apple (AAPL): 'Nothing short of amazing'

"Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), a holding on our recommended buy list, delivered another blowout quarter, driven by booming sales of both the iPhone and its Macintosh computers," notes analyst Geoffrey Seiler.

In his BullMarket.com advisory, he suggests, "Overall, Apple's results are nothing short of amazing." Here, he provides an in-depth analysis of the quarter, his outlook, and the reasoning behind the boost to his longer-term price target to $270 a share.

"Apple sold 7.4 million iPhones in the quarter, 7% more than the year-ago quarter, and 3.05 million Macs, a 17% year-over-year increase. The end result was that the company posted a whopping 47% increase in Q4 net income.

Continue reading Apple (AAPL): 'Nothing short of amazing'

Kleiner Perkins takes a piece of Shazam, fingers crossed for an IPO

When you smell an IPO coming, look for Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers. The Sand Hill Road institution has a knack for sniffing out high-potential deals and putting its venture capital coffers to work. Mobile phone music discovery service Shazam could have a liquidity event coming, according to the Financial Times, which caught Kleiner Perkins' attention. So, the VC company has decided to take a stake in Shazam.

Continue reading Kleiner Perkins takes a piece of Shazam, fingers crossed for an IPO

Shazam: iPhone startup gets a slug of funding

In the online music world, there is a trail of dead companies. But, some have somehow found ways to not only survive -- but thrive. One is Shazam, which builds applications for mobile phones.

This week, the firm hit 50 million users. And, it was also able to secure venture funding from the premier VC firm, Kleiner Perkins (the other investors include Acacia Venture Partners and DN Capital). The amount was not disclosed.

What explains the success of Shazam? First of all, the company has cool technology that lets your phone hear a song and then it will figure out its name as well as the artist.


Continue reading Shazam: iPhone startup gets a slug of funding

Real bargain stock #5: Apple (AAPL)

appleApple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a shining example of capitalism at its best -- and that's just one of the many reasons why Apple is an excellent stock to buy now.

If you're a member of the Apple cult like I am, you already know the near-religious commitment we have to anything Steve Jobs and company bring to market. Sure, the company makes the most expensive computers out there, as well as the costly iPhone -- but to us addicts, money is really no object.

Continue reading Real bargain stock #5: Apple (AAPL)

Apple reports 2 billion app downloads

Apple hits 2 billion downloadsApple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) hit another big milestone today, announcing that its App Store had hit 2 billion total downloads.

The number is pretty impressive to say the least, and will continue to rise at a rapid pace. Apple now has 85,000 applications available for download, and its services are currently being offered in 77 different countries. That number is up from the 65,000 applications that were available this past July.

Continue reading Apple reports 2 billion app downloads

iPhone app makes stock market rally disappointing

A new stock ticker tool for the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone may not have you hoping for a plunge, but at least it takes the sting out a little bit. This new application pairs strippers with tickers, and as the numbers tick down, items of clothing find their way to the floor. There's a different girl for each of the major indices, providing a bit of spice to international financial markets. So, whether you follow the DAX or the Dow, you won't be the only person losing his shirt when the market tanks.

Doubtless, some have no interest in watching svelte stripping women illustrate their loss of fortune. For this crowd, male strippers are available. Whether you lean toward boys or girls, whatever your sex and orientation, sometimes a helpful hottie is exactly what you need to soothe your spirit.

Continue reading iPhone app makes stock market rally disappointing

Changing media consumption habits? We still luv luv luv our TV

Wondering where to put your money in the race for entertainment eyeballs? Before you buy into the hoopla surrounding video via smart phone, check out the latest Nielsen Three Screen Report. Couch surfing remains a strong American favorite.

The amount of time we spend watching TV at home actually increased by 2 hours and 2 minutes per month in the second quarter of 2009 over a year ago, up to 141+ hours, or 4.7 hours per day. Time-shifting (Tivoing) those TV selections is growing in popularity very quickly, up almost 20% in the same one-year period.

Continue reading Changing media consumption habits? We still luv luv luv our TV

China Unicom (CHU) will sell iPhone

CHU logoChina Unicom (NYSE: CHU - option chain) stock is trading lower Monday even though the company announced Sunday night that it had reached a deal with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to sell the iPhone in China. The news was not enough to carry CHU against the tide of falling Asian markets as an Apple spokeswomen confirmed that CHU will not be the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in China. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on CHU.

This morning, CHU opened at $14.00. So far today the stock has hit a low of $13.85 and a high of $14.02. As of 11:30, CHU is trading at $13.99, down 44 cents (-3.0%). The chart for CHU looks bearish and S&P gives CHU a negative 2 STARS (out of 5) sell ranking.

Continue reading China Unicom (CHU) will sell iPhone

What can we learn from the Beanie Baby bubble?

There was a very interesting piece written by Karen Blumenthal in The Wall Street Journal yesterday. Blumenthal takes a look at the Beanie Baby craze and how we can all learn from the "Beanie Baby Bubble." Blumenthal has studied bubbles and has determined that there is a pattern that drives these economic phenomena - be it Beanie Babies, real estate, or "Dot Coms."

Blumenthal contends that bubbles need these characteristics: fertile ground, people getting on board, ignoring warnings, greed, and an after-party. Think about the fertile ground, when Beanie Babies first came out, there was a fertile ground. Kids, parents, and grandparents were looking for a new toy, one that could be both a cherished heirloom and a cute adornment for mantles, dressers, and the back window of Cadillacs. The ground was fertile, and this group quickly jumped on board the Beanie Baby train and pushed the prices to a point where some people would pay upwards of $100 for a $5 bean-bag animal.

Continue reading What can we learn from the Beanie Baby bubble?

Research in Motion (RIMM) still has room for growth

"By 2017, wireless service providers could generate more than $100 billion from services such as text messaging, GPS and movie, and music downloads " says Roger Conrad.

In Personal Finance, he adds, "Even this forecast could prove extremely conservative thanks to an explosion in sales of smartphones." How to play this trend? Here, he looks at Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM).

"Smartphones account for only 11% of the world's mobile handsets; penetration remains under 20% in the U.S. This leaves plenty of room for further growth.

Continue reading Research in Motion (RIMM) still has room for growth

Bullish momentum boosts Apple (AAPL)

"Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), already on our recommended list selection, announced fiscal Q3 earnings after the bell last night that, to no one's surprise, easily topped Wall Street estimates," notes Geoffrey Seiler.

In his Bull Market.com advisory, he reviews the latest earnings report and offers his outlook for the shares -- including a boost to his price target for the stock.

"For the quarter ended June 27th, the company earned $1.23 billion, or $1.35 a share, up 15% from $1.07 billion, or $1.19 a share, a year ago. Analysts were only looking for EPS of $1.17.

Continue reading Bullish momentum boosts Apple (AAPL)

Steve Jobs returns to Apple part time

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced today that its CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs, is back at work following a five-and-a-half month medical leave for a liver transplant.

According to Apple, Jobs is going to be working a few days a week at the company's headquarters, and working from home the remainder of days.

Continue reading Steve Jobs returns to Apple part time

Five blue-chip stocks with revolutionary new products

Normally we think of revolutionary products created by start-ups or entrepreneurial minds just out of college, but the most talked about new projects of 2009 are being produced by some of the best known companies in the world.

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN): With its massive online presence and a truly efficient business model, Amazon has become the largest online retailer in the world. It is now taking on a new business, web services, namely cloud computing (learn more HERE), called the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). While hosting this infrastructure and presenting e-commerce with a reasonably affordable alternative with no up-front costs, Amazon has taken an early lead in this space, with some believing its cloud computing business will one day overtake retailing. "Amazon will be like a book store that sells cocaine out the back door. Books will be just a front to sell storage and cloud computing." says Larry Dignan, Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic.

Continue reading Five blue-chip stocks with revolutionary new products

Inside the iPhone: A look at component makers

Technology sector expert Paul McWilliams offers an intriguing look at the new iPhone from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to uncover what tech companies are supplying components.

In his Next Inning -- a newsletter that focuses solely on high tech stocks -- the advisors offers a look at the players inside the iPhone.

McWilliams explains, "A few interesting notes have come from the folks busily tearing down the new Apple iPhone 3G S since its launch.

Continue reading Inside the iPhone: A look at component makers

Nuance (NUAN): Invest in speech recognition

"For investors with a more aggressive bent, one stock on our radar is Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: NUAN)," says trading and investing expert Bill Martin.

In BullMarket.com, he explains, "The firm's core niche is producing speech-based voice-recognition and synthesis software for use in corporate customer-care operations, mobile applications including the new iPhone and to automate health records."

"Nuance creates those automated voices you have to listen to when what you really need is a human being to tell you why your cable modem isn't delivering the Internet.

Continue reading Nuance (NUAN): Invest in speech recognition

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Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA+17.4610,023.42
NASDAQ+7.122,112.44
S&P 500+2.671,069.30

Last updated: November 08, 2009: 05:26 AM

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