Equity research analysts at Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) from Wednesday. The firm assigned a “buy” rating and set a price target of $60.00. The price target implies an upside potential of 23.84% over Tuesday’s closing stock price. In the research report, analyst said that the reason behind initiating coverage of FB with a “buy” rating was the belief that company’s is still in a very early stage of generating revenue from its huge user base, despite twofold jump in its stock price.
AutoZone Beats Q4 Expectations
AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) said on Wednesday that fiscal fourth quarter net income increased 15% as the U.S. biggest auto parts seller’s top line growth continued to show an improvement, aided by new stores opening in the U.S. and Mexico and expanding commercial business. For the latest period ended Aug. 31, AutoZone posted a net income of $371.2 million or $10.42 a share compared to a profit of $323.7 million or $8.46 a share. On adjusted basis, earnings stood at $9.76 a share. Net sales climbed 12% to $3.1 billion while same-store-sales rose 1% in the fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecasted earnings of $10.34 cents on revenue of $3.09 billion.
Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron To Merge
Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) and rival chipmaker Tokyo Electron agreed to merge in an all-stock deal on Tuesday. Under the terms of the deal, Tokyo Electron shareholders will be offered 3.25 shares of the new entity for each share held in Tokyo Electron while Applied Materials shareholders will get one share of the merged company for every share held in Applied Materials. After the merger, Applied Materials’ shareholders will have a stake of around of 68% in the new entity while Tokyo Electron shareholders will have 32% stake.
Lennar Corp. Posts Better-Than-Expected Q3 Results
Homebuilder, Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN) said on Tuesday that fiscal third quarter earnings increased 39%, aided by stronger margins, jump in orders and deliveries and a staggering revenue growth. For the latest period, profit stood at $120.7 million or 54 cents a share, compared to a net income of $87.1 million or 40 cents a share, in the same quarter of last year. Revenue jumped 46% to $1.6 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected earnings of 45 cents a share on revenue of $1.56 billion. Gross margin widened to 24.9% from 23.2%. Home deliveries climbed 37% to 4,990 homes while average selling price rose 16%.
Stifel Nicolaus Downgrades FedEx
The world’s leading package delivery company, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) was downgraded by Stifel Nicolaus to a “hold” from a “buy” on Monday. Stifel pointed out that the company still expects headwinds due to slow global economic growth. In all, currently, thirteen equity analysts keep a “hold” rating on the stock; sixteen have assigned a “buy” rating while one has given a “sell rating. On average, the stock has a “buy” rating and price target of $116.00. The Company last reported quarterly results on September 18, Wednesday. Both earnings and revenue topped analysts’ consensus estimate.
Apple’s iPhone 5S and 5C Posts Record Sales
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) sold record 9 million iPhones over the weekend. The tech giant’s two latest models, iPhone 5S and 5C went on to sales on Friday. The demand for the 5S model, the high end version, has been so strong that some customers had to go disappointed from Apple Stores due to supply constraints. The sales were almost double the previous record. Analysts had forecasted that the Company would sell 5 million to 7.75 million units of 5S and 5C models. Both these models were simultaneously launched in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Puerto Rico.
New York Times To Pay Quarterly Dividend After Nearly Five Years
The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) said on Friday that board of directors has agreed to pay quarterly dividend payout. The dividend payout will be the first one in almost last five years. The Company said that it will pay 4 cents per share on October 24 to class A and B shareholders as of record of on Oct. 9. At the height of financial crisis of 2009, The New York Times had suspended dividend payouts. The newspaper industry, in particular, was badly hit during the last recession.
Darden Restaurants Q1 Results Fall Short of Expectation, Shares Plunge
Parent Company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) said on Friday that fiscal first quarter earnings fell sharply as rising labor and food costs dented margin even as the restaurant operator’s biggest chain did not fare well. For the period which ended Aug. 25, same-store-sales at Olive Garden fell 4% while it dipped 5.2% at Red Lobster. Same-store-sales at LongHorn rose 3.2%. Overall, same-store-sales fell 3.3%. Both earnings and revenue missed analysts’ forecast. Total costs and expenses increased 9.6% to $2.07 billion. However, Darden backed its full-year guidance.
ConAgra Q1 Revenue Miss Analysts’ Expectation, Shares Fall
ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) said on Thursday that net income dipped 42% in the fiscal first quarter. The Company said weaker results in the consumer food division hurt the bottom line. Overall revenue climbed 27% to $4.2 billion, aided by the acquisition of Ralcorp Holdings. Still, it fell short of street’s expectation of $4.29 billion. While sales at consumer foods unit fell 1.8% to $2 billion, sales at commercial foods unit slipped 0.4%. Shares fell sharply as the company reiterated its weaker-than-expected earnings outlook for the current quarter.
Groupon Upgraded By Stifel Nicolaus
Shares of Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) soared on Thursday to clock a new 52 week high after Stifel Nicolaus upgraded the online marketplace stock to a “buy” from a “hold”. The firm has a price target of $16. Ever since Eric Lefkofsky took over the reins of the Company from Andrew Masson, the stock has rebounded after hitting a record low in late 2012. In the research report, Stifel’s research analyst, Jordan Rohan said that although the company hasn’t shown acceleration in growth, it could do it in the near-future and perhaps in this quarter itself.