Back in 1998, Gene Hoffman founded eMusic. No doubt, it was smart timing. However, with the emergence of Napster, Hoffman realized he needed to provide users with a better option. "Our approach was to allow full access to our music library for a fee," said Hoffman, in an interview with me.
It was certainly a smart move. In fact, it became the basis of his next venture: Vindicia, which has announced a venture round of $5.6 million. The investors include Leader Ventures and DCM.
Over the past few years, Vindicia has built a robust platform to allow for on-demand payment management, especially for digital goods. The system helps with credit card breakage, fraud, compliance and various currencies. Some of the customers include Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) and Reunion.com.
As seen with the success of companies like Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), the subscription business model definitely has a lot of power. Yet, it requires a sophisticated infrastructure, which can be expensive. "Billing is not a core competency," said Hoffman. "It's something that should be outsourced so a company can focus on what it does the best."
After hitting a one-year high of $21.32 in October, the stock hit a one-year low of $15.15 last week. SYMC opened this morning at $15.16. So far today the stock has hit a low of $15.57 and a high of $16.16. As of 11:00, SYMC is trading at $16.12, up $0.72 (4.7%). The chart for SYMC looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
With recent weakness in its stock Checkpoint Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), the leader in internet security, has become a very attractive play in the security space. A space incidentally, that IBM has indicated it plans on making an acquisition. After about a year of slow growth the company has managed to integrate past acquisitions and is starting to fire on all cylinders. It saw revenue soar 29% to $184 million in Q3. Earnings jumped 21% to 41 cents a share. Analysts were looking for 38 cents.
With operating margins of 52.3% in Q3, Check Point has better margins than many of its competitors, like Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC). By conducting its R&D in Israel it limits its costs as Israeli engineers, while world class in skill, don't get paid like they are world class.
With the recent market sell-off, the stock is now trading under $22 a share which gives it a PE of under 18. This makes for a very intriguing play for the coming year. Checkpoint continues to launch new products designed to ensure organizations receive the highest levels of integrated application security without impeding network traffic and degrading an end user's internet experience. The traction these new products get will ultimately determine if Checkpoint will continue its revival.
Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. Disclosure: Writer holds stock in CHKP. He holds no position in any other stock mentioned as of 11/15/07.
Internet security company Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC) today announced its purchase of Vontu for $350 million. Vontu's information security products and processes will aid Symantec in carving out a larger position in data security.
Symantec has traditionally focused on the gate-keeping aspect of security, while Vontu has been a leader in safeguarding the data inside the gate. This includes managing the wetware - establishing and maintaining policies to guide the worst security exposure, human beings, in their use of data. Vontu has also aggressively pushed to address rapidly evolving technologies such as iPods, Blackberries and thumb drives as possible avenues of data leakage.
The purchase seems well timed, in light of growing public concern (and legal suits) about data loss. It positions Symantec nicely as a turnkey solution for companies frantic to lock down their operations before they become the next public punching bag for their libertine handling of confidential info. Nothing drives business like a little fear.
The sale is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2007. Symantec expects the purchase to dilute 2008 earnings by $0.02 per share.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) shares are trading higher today after the Semiconductor Industry Association announced today that PC sales are up ahead of its forecast so far for 2007, which could translate to a higher demand for SYMC products as well. And this morning, Think Equities upgraded Symantec to Accumulate. If you think that the company won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SYMC.
After hitting a one-year high of $22.19 in October 2006, the stock fell to a one-year low of $16.20 in March. Over the past two months, the stock has been trending generally upward. SYMC opened this morning at $19.59. So far today the stock has hit a low of $19.49 and a high of $19.98. As of 10:35, SYMC is trading at $19.77, up $0.39 (2.0%). The chart for SYMC looks bullish but deteriorating slightly, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $17.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 13.6% return in just 4 months as long as SYMC is above $17.50 at January expiration. Symantec would have to fall by more than 11% before we would start to lose money.
MOST NOTEWORTHY: NutriSystem, Under Armour, CME Group, Air France ADS and Kilroy Realty were today's noteworthy upgrades:
NutriSystem (NASDAQ: NTRI) was upgraded to Strong Buy from Buy at Broadpoint on valuation, as they believe all concerns are overdone.
Think Equities upgraded Under Armour (NYSE: UA) to Buy from Accumulate on valuation.
Wachovia upgraded CME Group (NYSE: CME) to Overweight from Market weight, as they expect fed income volumes to benefit from a more active Federal Reserve.
Goldman added Air France (NYSE: AKH) to its Pan-European Conviction Buy List citing valuation following the recent sell-off.
Citigroup upgraded shares of Kilroy Realty (NYSE: KRC) to Buy from Hold on valuation, as they believe concerns are overblown and the company's underleveraged balance sheet can drive growth.
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) shares are trading higher today after the company announced two new programs designed to improve customer service and tech support for Symantec partners. If you think that the company won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on SYMC.
After hitting a one-year high of $22.19 in October, the stock dipped to a 52-week low of $16.20 in March. SYMC climbed to trade higher in the summer months, but dropped sharply in late July and early August. SYMC opened this morning at $19.36. So far today the stock has hit a low of $19.34 and a high of $19.84. As of 10:35, SYMC is trading at $19.71, up $0.31 (1.6%). The chart for SYMC looks bearish but improving, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $17.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 16.3% return in less than 5 months as long as SYMC is above $17.50 at January expiration. Symantec would have to fall by more than 11% before we would start to lose money.
On August 16th, Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC) informedMonster Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNST) of a thread of malicious software, called Infostealer.Monstres, which uploaded 1.3 million entries with personal information from a remote server. The information contained on this server was limited to names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
It took Monster Worldwide five days to comment on the situation. "Regrettably, opportunistic criminals are increasingly using the Internet for illegitimate purposes," the company said in a statement Wednesday. The company is in the process of reaching out to its users and law enforcement on this issue.
Now, one might quickly say, "five days is a long time to keep quiet about this," but you'd be mistaken. Take a look at a few of the recent security breeches and how fast the response has been from corporations:
Back on June 17th, 2005, MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE: MA) announced the information from 40 million credit cards "may" have been stolen. According to CardSystems, a third party processor of payment data, the credit card theft possibly occurred late last month, CNet.com reported. The company continued to say, "It identified a 'potential security incident' on Sunday, May 22nd and called the FBI the next day.
CNBC's Charlie Gasparino reported earlier this month that a 'major identity-theft incident' occurred at Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER). According to his sources, the device stolen from Merrill's corporate offices included personal information, including Social Security numbers, of nearly 33,000 employees. Gasparino said the incident allegedly occurred two weeks ago, but Merrill is now "only getting around to telling people."
Massachusetts-based TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TJX) reported on the week of January 15th than an "unauthorized intruder" gained access to its systems in mid-December, taking 45.6 million credit card and debt card numbers over a period of 18 months.
Monster Worldwide should be applauded on its immediate response on the matter. While the data stolen did not include credit card numbers or social security numbers, people need to be know what is happening with the information they hand out to websites.
Five insiders bought $592.7K in Orbitz Worldwide Inc's (NYSE: OWW) stock at per-share prices ranging from $9.55 to $10.10, reported Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Inside Scoop" column.
The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) is believed to be considering the sale of Lake, its Japanese consumer finance subsidiary.
According to security company Symantec Corporation's (NASDAQ: SYMC) blog, there is a new Trojan called "infostealer.monstres" which is attacking online recruitment site Monster.com (NASDAQ: MNST).
Friedman Billings believes Symantec's (NASDAQ: SYMC) fundamentals are about to show significant improvement over the next year and upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform.
JP Morgan raised OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX) shares to Overweight from Neutral on valuation.
Qwest (NYSE: Q) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer, expecting revenue growth to be driven by the improving enterprise business. JP Morgan added Qwest to its Focus List.
Metlife (NYSE: MET) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Merrill, based on valuation...
OTHER UPGRADES:
ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at Pacific Crest.
Penn West (NYSE: PWE) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.
Friedman Billings upgraded Cubic (AMEX: CUB) to Market Perform from Underperform.
Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Jones Apparel (NYSE: JNY) to Equal Weight from Underweight.
Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) was raised to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.
Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) opened at $20.90. So far today the stock has hit a low of $20.40 and a high of $21.03. As of 10:40, the stock is trading at $20.52, up $0.56 (2.8%).
The stock hit its 52-week high of 22.19 in October and set its 52-week low of $15.25 last July. After trading higher through the second half of last year, the stock took a hit at the start of this year, but has been gradually trading higher since the beginning of May. Shares of Symantec have been moving strongly to the upside today following better than expected earnings following yesterday's market close. The company reported earnings of 29 cents, 9 cents better than what analysts had expected because of cost cutting strategies and the resolution of issues that have hurt sales in past quarters. Technical indicators for the stock are bullish but deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.
For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a January bull-put credit spread below the $17.50 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk and leverage returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 13.6% return in just 6 months as long as Symantec is above $17.50 at January expiration. The stock would have to fall by more than 14% before we would start to lose money.
This trade could be risky if today's earnings are not as positive as they seem, but even if that happens, it looks like this position could be protected the strong support the stock found between $19 and $20 over the past three months.
Goldman Sachs keeps a list of the Top Five Tech Value Stocks. The list includes big tech companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC). To make room for Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) and Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Accenture (NYSE: ACN) were pushed off the list.
Intel was added to the list because Goldman thinks it will beat Q2 earnings. Cisco was added because it falls into the "top quartile on both growth and value lists" at the investment bank.
The problem with these lists is often that, for shareholders, they are a look into the rear view mirror. Wall Street has already caught on to the fact that these are promising companies, a fact that may already be priced into their shares.
Over the last year, Intel's shares are up nearly 40%. Most of the concerns about it continuing to lose market share to AMD (NYSE: AMD) are now gone. Cisco's shares are up about 50% over the same period. The market's perception that its router business will benefit from cable and telco upgrades to handle more broadband traffic have pushed the shares relentlessly forward.
To say that there is something wrong with Intel or Cisco would be to get on the wrong side of Wall Street's perception. But that does not mean the shares are going higher.
If your credit card is stolen, don't be surprised if the first transaction the thief puts on your card is a charitable donation.
According to a posting on virus-protection company Symantec's (NASDAQ: SYMC) blog, making a small donation to a charity such as Red Cross is often used as a way to test the card, to see if it has been already been reported missing or is otherwise unusable.
Apparently, since donations are not the type of transaction that might trigger the set-points of fraud detection software, they provide a below-the-radar way to check the card's usefulness.
Back in 1998, Gene Hoffman founded eMusic. No doubt, it was smart timing. However, with the emergence of Napster, Hoffman realized he needed to provide users with a better option. "Our approach was to allow full access to our music library for a fee," said Hoffman, in an interview with me. 
and 
. He also operates 
Internet security company 
.gif){kind=logo}
.gif){kind=logo}
.gif){kind=logo}
If your credit card is stolen, don't be surprised if the first transaction the thief puts on your card is a charitable donation. 
Earnings preview for Ford
Apple shares rise on report Steve Jobs is free of cancer
Toyota whups GM in the first half of 2008
