NexOptic Technology Corp (TSXV: NXO)
You’ll Never See The World The Same Way Again
Ahead of the April 30 earnings report, Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani expects Apple (AAPL +3.2%) to authorize $75-100M in buybacks and a 4-7% dividend increase, seeing it as a “logical decision given how attractive the current stock price is.”
The analyst notes that in the two years since Apple announced its “net-cash neutral” plans, the company has returned 135% of FCF through buybacks and 20% through dividends.
Bernstein’s Toni Sacconaghi predicts the same authorization range for next week, seeing the current buyback model as sustainable through FY23.
Sacconaghi thinks Apple could add another three years to its buyback program if it took on net debt.
The analyst estimates a 5-6% EPS growth from “buybacks alone” for the next four to seven years.
Out positive on Micron (NASDAQ:MU), Cleveland Research analyst Chandler Converse sees favorable price dynamics through the May quarter and raises his revenue estimate for the period.
Converse cites steeper price increases in PC and server DRAM plus better bit demand.
The analyst’s channel checks imply weaker H2 demand, suggesting flat Q3 pricing and a Q4 decline.
Converse maintains a Buy rating on Micron, which has a Bullish average Sell Side rating.
Micron shares are up 5% to $43.48.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Intel (INTC +4.8%) report, Jefferies maintains a Hold rating and raises the price target from $53 to $62.
Analyst Mark Lipacis expects the company to beat its revenue forecast for the quarter, driven by data center strength and the work-from-home demand for components.
Street estimates expect Intel to report $18.67B in revenue compared to its $19B.
Related: Last month, Intel suspended its share buyback program, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Intel management recently said that server and PC chip demand picked up in Q1.
Citing a long-term monetization opportunity, Oppenheimer upgrades Snap (NYSE:SNAP) to an Outperform rating from Market Perform.
“While we previously expected 2Q revenue growth to remain nicely positive (+12% estimate vs. +15% through April 19), pre-COVID-19 revenue +58% y/y in Jan/Feb suggests SNAP has overcome its monetization issues. Moreover, SNAP’s revenue/hour gap vs. peers remains ~55%, suggesting a multi-year tailwind if user metrics remain stable,” updates Oppenheimer.
Snap Select video ads are also called promising.
The firm sets a 12-month to 18-month price target of $18 to rep huge upside potential.
Previously: Snap +13% as Q1 revenues beat easily, users grow 20% (April 21)
SNAP +20.75% premarket to $15.02.
Q1 Communications segment operating revenue of $34.2B was down 2.6% Y/Y, with operating income of $8.2B up 2.4% thanks to margins of 24% vs. 22.8%.
Total phone net adds of 120K, with postpaid sub adds of 27K, prepaid sub net adds a loss of 45K. Postpaid phone-only churn of 0.86% vs. 0.92% a year ago.
Q1 WarnerMedia operating revenue of $7.4B down 12.2% Y/Y, with operating income of $1.7B down 25.8%; margin of 23.1% down from 26.8%. Turner revenues fell 8.2% to $3.2B, mostly thanks to the cancellation of March Madness. HBO revenue of $1.5B was down 0.9%. Warner Bros. revenue of $3.2B was down 7.9% with no Aquaman to help this year, and lower telecast revenues thanks to virus-related production delays.
Q1 buybacks of 141.6M shares for $5.3B.
The pandemic is responsible for about a $600M hit to Q1 results, says the company.
Forward guidance has been pulled.
Earnings call at 8:30 ET.
T +0.7% premarket
