Continue reading Oracle Completes Sun Merger

Oracle Completes Sun Merger originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cisco CEO Upbeat About Economic Recovery

Cisco CEO Upbeat About Economic Recovery originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Equity markets ended the third quarter with their biggest losses in four months, and we're now staring down the closing months of 2009. Half the quarter, of course, is dominated by holiday sales, which ups the stakes at the finish line and sets the tone for the bulk of 2010.

Even though company performances have been fairly strong through this reporting season, it's tough to shake the nerves associated with depressed consumer spending and high unemployment.

Continue reading The 2009 home stretch could be bumpy for stocks

The 2009 home stretch could be bumpy for stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Some big names setting new highs today: STAR, GG, PIR, EBAY

Some big names setting new highs today: STAR, GG, PIR, EBAY originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC): Chipmaker Intel Corp. traded up to a new 52 week high today of $20.65. It set its 52 week low of $12.05 back on 2/23/09. The stock is trading higher today ahead of the company's third quarter earnings numbers, which are due out tomorrow following the market close. Analysts are expecting the company to show earnings of 27 cents per share. The company reported a loss of 7 cents per share for its second quarter. The stock closed the day up 1.1% at $20.40, up $0.23 on the day.

Continue reading Some big names setting new highs: INTC, STX, SGP

Some big names setting new highs: INTC, STX, SGP originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Networking equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced Wednesday that sales are likely to fall this quarter, making it four declines in a row. The company anticipates that revenue will fall 15 to 17% for the first fiscal quarter, which ends in October. This will put revenue between $8.6 billion and $8.8 billion -- down from $10.4 billion for the same quarter last year.

For now, Cisco is looking back on a tough fiscal fourth quarter. The company watched net income fall 46% year-over-year from $2.01 billion to $1.08 billion for the quarter. Revenue was off 18%, down to $8.54 billion but ahead of analyst expectations of $8.51 billion.

Continue reading Cisco expects sales drop of more than 15%

Cisco expects sales drop of more than 15% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cisco, Travelers join the Dow

Cisco, Travelers join the Dow originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

At the end of the regular trading session Tuesday, Cisco Systems (NYSE: CSCO) had a capitalization of $97.36 billion at a stock price of $16.68. The latest company report of February 4, 2009 stated that total cash, cash equivalents and Investments was $29.5 billion.

What can you say but WOW! -- CSCO has 31% cash!

There are other cash rich companies that are holding up well through the economic firestorm but I do not know of any others with this much cash. As consumers and large companies have been trimming their spending, Cisco has had difficulty growing, but I think this is a buying opportunity.

Continue reading Chasing Value: Cisco Systems -- rich, good looking & smart

Chasing Value: Cisco Systems -- rich, good looking & smart originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Networking giant Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) announced today that it will purchase Pure Digital Technologies Inc. for $590 million in stock.

In addition to the acquisition fee, CSCO will pitch in $15 million in incentives for Pure Digital employees. The acquisition is tentatively scheduled for completion in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2009.

Pure Digital is best known for its Flip video miniature camcorder, which runs slightly more than $100 for the basic model and is popular with the blogging sect. (True story: mine -- bought by my early-adopter Dad in Christmas 2007 -- is sitting on my desk right now, having been borrowed by our social media team for South by Southwest Interactive coverage.)

A new version, Flip MinoHD, takes high-definition shots and costs about $210. More than 2 million Flip camcorders have been sold since the product first hit shelves.

Continue reading Cisco Systems (CSCO) flipping its lid

Cisco Systems (CSCO) flipping its lid originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Serious Money: No secret for market turn-around -- AAPL, AEO, CISCO, & ISRG

Serious Money: No secret for market turn-around -- AAPL, AEO, CISCO, & ISRG originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nostradamus was a punk! Have we reached bottom?

Nostradamus was a punk! Have we reached bottom? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Cisco beats expectations, offers downbeat guidance

Cisco beats expectations, offers downbeat guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Computer-networking icon Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is trying to cut costs wherever it can. In a sign of the times, Cisco will shut offices for four days during the Christmas/New-Year period in an effort to defend its profit margins (critical operations will remain open). Other tech companies that are trying to utilize time off for employees as a way of saving money include Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE).

When I read headlines like this, it makes me doubt the current rally we've seen in the markets. Indeed, bear-market rallies are common when things get way oversold. Then the euphoria gets put in perspective when we realize that it's going to be a long time until the economy truly finds its way back into a cycle of growth.

Businesses like Cisco will suffer from declining top-line sales as its customers become increasingly conservative with their investment capital. At that point, the only defensive move is to cut costs. And that's not a great position to be in. It limits management's ability to run operations, and it sends a bad message to Wall Street. Like some people have been saying, tools such as cost-cutting and layoffs aren't necessarily being perceived as positive elements in this cycle; they only serve to accentuate the dread of the slowing global economy.

Continue reading Cisco Systems in need of cost containment

Cisco Systems in need of cost containment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) gets big lift from Q4 forecast

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) gets big lift from Q4 forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Nov 2008 11:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This is the fourth in a four part series which I hope gives buyers, sellers, shareholders and dare I say management a platform for discussion.

This week I envisioned an eBay (NASADQ: EBAY) without Skype, eBay Motors and Paypal. Everything goes to the highest bidder, excluding handling and delivery of course.

While EBay might benefit from selling Skype and Motors, considering they might be worth more to others like Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and AutoNation Inc. (NYSE:AN), it should not sell PayPal unless it is contemplating a merger, since the acquiring company most likely would want PayPal to be an integral part of any deal.

Ebay is going through some growing pains right now but it is still a primary center of activity on the web. Although there are many disgruntled sellers that have left the site or been forced off because of the constant changes in the rules, it really has only one main rival and that is Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Continue reading Serious Money: eBay auction off eBay

Serious Money: eBay auction off eBay originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) are headed lower today following a downgrade from Merrill Lynch. The brokerage firm cut its rating on the equity from Buy to Neutral due to valuation concerns; VMW has added more than 60% since its October 21 earnings report. Merrill maintains a $31 price target on VMware, which represents a premium of just 1.4% to the stock's closing price on Tuesday.

It's shaping up to be a rough week for VMW. Yesterday, the tech stock sat out a broad-based rally in the equities market, and slumped to a daily loss of nearly 4% as word hit the Street that Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) chopped its VMware stake in half. Specifically, Intel unloaded about 4.75 million of the 9.5 million VMW shares it purchased in July 2007. According to a regulatory filing, half a million shares each were sold to Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) and EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) -- the latter of which already owns a majority stake in VMW.

With VMW shedding nearly 6% out of the gate this morning, it seems likely that the shares will add on to their year-to-date slump of more than 64%. The stock continues to find resistance from its 10-week and 20-week moving averages, and a reversal of optimism among option traders could accelerate the equity's decline. During the past 10 days, investors on the International Securities Exchange have bought to open nearly two times more calls than puts on VMW.

Elizabeth Harrow is an analyst and financial writer in the research department at Schaeffer's Investment Research. She is featured in the video series Schaeffer's Daily Q&A on SchaeffersResearch.com.

VMware chopped to Neutral after Intel slashes its stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Best stocks to retire on from Fortune 40

Best stocks to retire on from Fortune 40 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cisco (CSCO) falls on Barron's warning ahead of earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 May 2008 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• A newly published report by Standard & Poor's said that the performance of organizations such as Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM), or Fannie Mae, and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE), or Freddie Mac, could directly affect the U.S. economy and the country's credit rating, especially if they have to be rescued by the government, according to the Wall Street Journal's "Credit Markets" column.
• Seagate Technology LLC (NYSE: STX), a hard drive maker, filed a patent infringement suit in San Francisco against STEC Inc (NASDAQ: STEC) over four patents related to technology used to store data on computer chips, the Wall Street Journal reported.
• The Financial Times reported that Citigroup Incorporated (NYSE: C) is allowing private equity groups such as Apollo, The Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) and TPG that are bidding for up to $12B of its leveraged loans to 'cherry-pick' from a wide range of assets with different credit ratings and prices.

• According to analysts, Reuters reported that technology industry leaders that include International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL), Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ) are among the companies with large cash reserves that could be used to fund acquisitions.

Newspaper wrap-up: If the U.S. has to save Fannie and Freddie, triple-A rating could suffer originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A Morningstar advertisement asking "Is The Market Cheap Yet? We Think It Is" got my attention in a recent issue of Barron's. Promoting its Equity Research service, Morningstar discusses the NASDAQ sell-off this year, stating that in July of 2007 the market was 6% overvalued, but now it is 15% undervalued.

The ad goes on to state that eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) is trading at a 41% discount to Morningstar's estimate of value and that Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is trading at a 35% discount. At the time, eBay was trading at $28.81, but it closed at $25.72 yesterday making the stock 52.7% undervalued by their measure. Cisco was then $24.94 and last night closed at $23.99, so it is now 38.8% below fair value.

Continue reading Morningstar: eBay is 41% undervalued, Cisco 35%

Morningstar: eBay is 41% undervalued, Cisco 35% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.