Apple Reveals Recent Plans For iPhones

Speculations spread regarding the changes and innovations related to the highly anticipated iPhone 8 over amid the sluggish sales of iPhones in this period.

Relatively, Apple announced its plan to lessen the production of iPhone 6s and iPhone6 plus by 30 percent  after its recent quarterly earnings report due to the expected slow down of sales.

In a report released in the media, the prominent multi-tech company apparently has pursued its plan. It has lessened the production until the second quarter of the year. The expected drop of the global smartphone sales this year could have been one of the reasons of Apple as well.

Are we expecting an all glass iPhone 8?

Apple is expected to turn back on its glass backed design for its next iPhone. An infamous tech analyst strongly claimed that the tech juggernaut will dispose the legendary aluminum casing.

The analyst explained that the company will be more strongly motivated to use non-aluminum casings in 2017 in a bid to enhance the competitiveness of iPhone by offering an all new form factor design.

Aside from the all glass enclosure, the new model of iPhone is believed to have an Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode or AMOLED display panel. The shipment of the smartphones with AMOLED display has increased by 54 percent.

“A glass casing may be slightly heavier than an aluminum one of the same thickness, but the difference is so small that the use of the thinner and lighter AMOLED panel will compensate for that” the analyst added.

A senior director of IHS Technology revealed that since the interest of Apple with AMOLED, other companies such as Japan Display and Sharp disclosed their plan to invest in this type of display technology by 2018.

iPhone to last for three years?

Based on the report released by the California based company, iPhones and Apple watch can last for only three years while Apple TV devices and Mac computers have life expectancy of four years.

Apple considers the environmental effect of its devices in determining the intended life span and how quick the users upgrade their devices nowadays.

Recently, Apple recovered £28 million worth of gold after processing 90 million  pounds of unwanted electronics from old iPhones and iPads.

The company revealed that they’ve kept more than 597 million pounds of equipment out of landfills since 1994 and in 2015 they collected around 90 million pounds of e-waste through their recycling programs.

Moreover, the tech firm accumulated 6,612 pounds of silver, 2,953,360 pounds of copper and 101,000 pounds of steel. However, they made sure that the devices are recycled properly and they don’t pose a threat to human health or the environment. Apple also hoped that they will inspire others to do the same thing.

Apple stays on the downside

Shares of Apple dropped by 2.01  percent or 2.25 points to trade at $109.85 on earlier in the session with a market capitalization of 596.85 billion. Apple had an intraday high of 112.30 and an intraday low of 109.73 after opening at 112.11. Currently, the stock has a price earnings ratio of 11.67 and a dividend yield of 1.89 percent.

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Facebook shares down, to perform like Apple

Facebook was down 1.59  percent or $1.70 when it changed hands at $105.46 in the session earlier. The stock has a market capitalization of 300.17 billion and one year target estimate of 133.49. It has gained a consensus rating of Buy from 45 analysts and a consensus average price objective of $133.49.

In its recent quarterly earnings report, the firm has reported $5.84 billion revenue beating the estimated $5.36 of the analysts. The revenue of the firm  significantly increased by 51.7 percent on a year-over-year basis.  Similarly, the stock surpassed the consensus earnings per share of $0.68 when it disclosed $0.79 EPS.

On its coming earnings report on April, most of the investment analyst expects its EPS to increase by 91.30 percent and price earnings ratio 59.92 and a revenue of $1.28 billion for the period.

Recently, Director Jan Koum disposed 1,672,776 shares at an average price of $106.78and worth $178,619,021.28 in total last February 22. Prior to that, the director sold 647,057 shares of the stock at an average price of $101.80 on February 16 followed by another 933, 963 shares worth $96,011, 396.40 on February 17. All the information of the selling activities of the director was taken from the filing with the Securities and Exchange.

Zacks Investment Research shared that the Facebook Platform is a set of tools and application programming interfaces that developers can use to build social apps on Facebook or to integrate their Websites with Facebook. It offers products that enable advertisers and marketers to engage with its users.

In other news, Facebook is expected to follow the trend of Apple in terms of the performance of the stock in the market. The stock is perceived to post further gains in the long run just like how apple attained its position.

Despite the current fall of the stock, market experts believed that the social networking site has been showing positive figures since the start of 2016. To support the perception of the experts, the firm has outperformed the S&P 500 Index around 6.46 percent. The stock was also labeled as high beta wherein it moves more than the market.

 

Even though the market has been experiencing struggle in general, Facebook managed to survive which was a firm indication of stability. Some of the prominent social media stocks such as Twitter marked a -1.48 percent.

Furthermore, Facebook has been quietly competing with Google and Twitter in terms of new search algorithms. We really want to basically make Facebook the best place to find what people are saying about something right now,” Tom Stocky, Facebook Vice President of Search.

The vice president revealed that they want to make Facebook a place where you could tap into the global conversation of what was happening in the world.

“If they get it right and they’re able to monetize against searches, it’s extremely lucrative for Facebook—billions in revenue,” Victor Anthony, an analyst at Axiom Capital Management said.

The price/earnings to growth ratio of Facebook is at 1.03 for the next five years, analyst say.  The social media giant is already considered as an extremely expensive  stock and can  possibly retain in this state just the same with the direction Apple had followed.

Mark Zuckerberg announced his plans to use unmanned drones to connect the people from cut-off rural regions around the world to the internet at the Mobile World Congress.

According to Yael Maguire, engineering director and head of Facebook Connectivity Laboratory, the firm  will bring internet connection through these regions via a network of solar-powered internet drones. The drones will have the liberty to fly at high altitude. The firm doesn’t guarantee the effectivity of the plan soon. The company is aware of the immense time needed and the regulatory rules that it needs to comply with.

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Microsoft to install apps on Acer Android devices

Microsoft announced its newest expansion strategy when it reported a total of 74 hardwares makers in 25 countries that will pre-install or already pre-installing Microsoft applications on their Android phones last Wednesday.

Nick Parker, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s OEM division, wrote on a blog post that Office and Microsoft services are available on a wide variety of Android devices today, such as the LG G Pad 2, Samsung Galaxy S6, Sony Xperia Z4 and many other tablets and phones offered by their partners.

Parker wrote the some of the applications included in the plan are Word, Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint and Skype.

“We’re pleased that we have been able to enhance the already strong partnership that exists between Microsoft and Acer. Mutually beneficial and collaborative agreements such as this one promote innovation and lead to better products and experiences for consumers,” expressed by Nick Psyhogeos, president of Microsoft Technology Licensing.

Acer joins the arrangement

As Microsoft makes another move on its recent announcement, Acer joined the list of the Android hardware partners of the Redmond, Washington based company.

“We’re excited to partner with Microsoft to provide enhanced mobile productivity to our products. By integrating the Microsoft software suite, Acer customers will enjoy productivity on-the-go along with the familiar computing experience on their smartphones and tablets,” said by the president of Acer Smart Products Business Group.

Microsoft explained that the arrangement is a cornerstone of their broad services strategy which is to bring an array of Microsoft services to every person on every device.

“Our strategic agreements with these partners, in which IP alignment is an important feature, demonstrate how Microsoft is leveraging the scale of the hardware ecosystem, and working with partners in new ways to deliver rich experiences to our customers,” Parker Said.

Acer will start to pre-installing Microsoft services and applications on its portfolio of Android smartphones and tablets as it honor the global partnership with Microsoft in the second half of 2016.

Acer has been involved with  research, development, design, manufacture and distribution of personal computers and notebook computers. It also distributes its products within the domestic market and to overseas, including Europe, America and the rest of Asia.

Other Partnerships.

Microsoft has acquired Zikera’s Groove music application based on a report released on Wednesday and later confirmed by Zikera.

Zikera informed the public that Groove is no  longer available for download, but current users may continue to use the app. We are thrilled to announce that Groove has been acquired by Microsoft!, “ the music service provider said.

However, Microsoft has remained tamed about the matter. The spokesperson of the company confirmed the news but stated that they have nothing more to share.The recent acquisition of Microsoft is seen as another strategy to boost its mobile offerings.Microsoft has completed the transaction with Swiftkey as well last week.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has also tied up with Xero to provide Cloud Accounting Services Integration. The multi-tech company wants its users to use Xero as a channel for its very own huge data solutions which is offered through the company’s Power Business Intelligence.

Through the intervention of Xero, small businesses will attain support in visualizing and processing more information which includes basic metrics.

Microsoft currently has 392.1 billion and a dividend yield of 2.90 percent. The stock traded higher by 0.87 percent to $49.71 in the session earlier. It has a price earnings ratio of 35.4, while the recorded session low is at $49.52 and a session high of $50.39.

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Oil prices fail to recover ahead the Fed meeting

Oil prices remained on driving down ahead of the first policy meeting  of the U.S. Federal Reserve for this year and amid the release of the U.S inventories.

The rise of 3 percent last Tuesday was limited when Brent crude traded at $31.25 per barrel, a drop of 55 cents, also, U.S. crude futures edged down at $30.51 per barrel, a drop of 94 cents.

The American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude stocks increased  by 11.4  million barrels amounting to 496.6 million, beating the 3.3 million barrels expected increase by the analysts.

“We are going to trough several times this spring. It’s a terrible situation in the physical market and stocks are just going to pile up more, so we will get these reels down again. We haven’t seen the end of that process of being ‘deep in the ditch,” an analyst shared.

There are already three U.S. shale oil companies who have cut their capital spending plans for this year to  live with the volatile state of oil.

Some experts expressed their disappointment with  the OPEC in responding to this global concern.

“The positive sentiment stemmed from strong U.S. corporate earnings and talk of OPEC and Russia considering production cuts. We consider the likelihood of any agreement between these parties as extremely low However, rising U.S. crude stockpiles are likely to remain a headwind in the near term,” a bank expert concluded.

Temporary price increase

Oil managed to be steady as the market players kept their eyes on the results of the Federal Reserve policy meeting on Tuesday midnight and extended until early morning of Wednesday. Oil  prices recovered  in the late trading session as Russian officials and senior OPEC gave a hint of executing possible stimulus to address the concern on the global glut supply.

The commodity bounced back after hitting 12-year low at $27.10 per barrel the previous week when Brent  changed hands at $31.13 per barrel, though WTI was still down by 2.3  to $30.72.

No more price hike for oil?

Due to the continuous production of oil that leads  to oversupply in the market, market experts are losing hope for the increase of oil price in the coming days. Oil producers pumped around one to two million barrels a day despite the global glut supply.

Iran is perceived to flood the market more and Iran recently reported a new record of production level. Similarly, Saudi Arabia hasn’t approved for any production cut as the United States goes on its output figure.

“I got the feeling that Saudi Arabia has decided that this is it, that $30 has got to hold, they just can’t have it any lower than that . If they communicate to the market that they’re going to contain supply, that’ll be enough for a short squeeze,” a  market strategist said in  an interview

Although oil managed  to edge a bit higher on Friday, it is not enough to sustain the recovery. It was considered as an overreaction to the storm by some oil consultants and was seconded by an economist who said that there’s more oil coming into the market and there’s no reason to expect oil prices to go up.

Given the current trend of oil prices, the market likely will depend on its movement in the future. Other experts thought that it is slowly becoming a game of psychology instead of being seen in an economic point of view. The trend shows that if the price of oil surges then it would mean a comeback of demand in the market.

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General Motors shares surge 45%

The decline of gasoline prices and the marginal economic growth have caused in the United States have resulted an increase of demand for cars. General Motors is one of the companies who benefit from this. On the latest report, General Motors (GM) experienced an increase on its shares by 45 percent recovering from their fall last August.

General motors gained strong monthly sales for November. According to its report, truck sales increased by 10 percent and its SUV sales jumped by 35 percent.

Earlier today, the shares of General Motors Company opened at 35.73. It has a 52-week high of $38.99 and a 52-week low of $24.62. GM has a market capitalization of $55.60 billion. Its 50-day moving average is 35.30 and its 200-day moving average is $33.00.

Presently, GM owns the top market share spot when it comes to U.S. auto sales, an advantage for the company since auto sales continue to surge.

General Motor’s average transaction price went up to $35,800 last month. It was $740 higher than the average price in October and a new record for GM. The company’s third quarter earnings edged higher to 11 percent.

The growth rate of 57% in 2015 is expected to decline to 12.7 percent only; however, it might not affect the company since its annual revenue is around $150 billion.

The consensus estimate of the company’s revenue for the quarter is $38.61 billion but it gained $38.80 billion.

The multinational corporation pays $0.36 for their dividend per quarter, therefore an annual dividend of $1.44. Its 4 percent annual yield is twice the yield of the Standard and Poor (S&P) 500.

Expectations and Ratings

A stock strategist fears that autosales will be affected by the anticipated Fed increase rate, however, if won’t be implemented, the yield of 4 percent is an optimistic sign to draw attention from the investors in 2016.

Other claims that General Motors shares are less expensive with an estimated price to earnings of only 7.5. Analysts expect that its earnings will increase again next year although some investors assume an “auto bubble” might happen.

The Securities & Exchange Commission announced the sold shares of the company. About 20,535 shares of the business stock were sold at an average price of $35.65, last November by Thomas S. Timko, General Motor’s vice president. Meanwhile, the executive vice president of the firm sold 10.153 shares with a total value of $366,523.30 last November 23.

On the other hand, General Motors received “BBB” credit rating which means the company is a moderate default risk.

In the news

General Motors recently has joined United Nations Global Compact to support and promote the compact’s ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. The sustainability report regarding its accountability and transparency will be released in May 2016.

Furthermore, the Canadian Engineering Centre in Oshawa of General Motors is set to lead in building autonomous vehicles. Report says that the 2016 model of Chevrolet will be replaced by the 2017 Chevrolet Volt.

“Our Engineering Centre in Oshawa was a logical place to locate this important work and it is the next step in growing the new mandate of the Centre to focus on work related to the Connected Car. The Province of Ontario’s leadership in allowing autonomous vehicle testing was a helpful support in securing this advanced technology work for our Canadian facility,” revealed by Steve Carlisle, GM Canada president and managing director.

“The opportunity to realize fully autonomous vehicles has recently become a high profile issue for governments as billions of dollars are expected to be invested in new infrastructure. The Conference Board of Canada has suggested that autonomous cars could save Canadians $65 billion per year through less congestion, less fuel and fewer collisions and fatalities,” he added

General Motors Company designs, builds, and sells cars, crossovers, trucks, and automobile parts worldwide. It is also the home of Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet. It also sells cars and trucks to dealers for consumer retail sales, as well as to fleet customers, including daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments. In addition, the company offers connected safety, security and mobility solutions, and information technology services.

 

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Merck shares climb 2% after the overweight rating

After the drug makers were all upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Barclays, Merck & Co. gained 2 percent. From the price target of $64 it increased to $66.

An analyst thought that the political scrutiny over drug pricing is more election season rhetoric than a push toward structural changes, and demand for innovative therapies will continue to support premium pricing at the expense of older, less effective drugs.

Experts remain positive over the pipelines of drugs.

Merck’s previous fall

Recently, the company had a decline in the market capitalization when its shares slipped 1.76 percent. Merck has a market capitalization of $150.74 billion and outstanding shares of 2,793,543,100.

 

Merck has the price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14, the price-to-sales ratio of 3.72 and price-to-book ratio of 3.27.

Merck & Co. traded total volume of 2.98 million shares lower than to its average volume of 9.86 million shares. The 52-week low share price is $45.69 and ended as high as $63.62.

The share is purchased at a higher price of $67.74 million and went down at $60.28 million. The pharmaceutical company has a dividend yield of 3.34 percent.

“There have been several headwinds and risks that make Merck a ‘show me’ story, there appears to be ‘too much underlying value to ignore,’ even under the most potential negative scenarios” shared by a bank analyst.

Seven analysts has given the stock with a Hold rating and while none has rated the stock with a sell rating.

Merck to sell Allergopharma

It has been reported that Merck has plans of selling Allergopharma for 600 million euros. If the deal proceeds it can be use to reduce the debts of the company worth 10 billion euros.

After the takeover of American life sciences and biotech company Sigma-Aldrich, Merck had $17 billion debt.

Allergopharma focuses on diagnosing and treating allergies by teaching the body’s immune system not to react to the substances that usually trigger a reaction, such as pollen or dust.

Merck extends contract with Kuehne + Nagel

Merck & Co., doing business as Merck Sharp & Dohme is extending its partnership with Kuehne + Nagel for another two years.

 

“Kuehne + Nagel has proven to be a reliable partner that is able to meet our challenging requirements thanks to its expertise in the pharma and healthcare industry. We are confident that our collaboration will support our growth ambitions over the next years, “released by a representative from MSD.

MSD and KN has been partners since 2012.

Merck & Co. is an American pharmaceutical company and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. It provides health care solutions around the world.

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Johnson & Johnson Shares Rise Despite Hold Rating

Johnson & Johnson shares traded 0.29 percent higher at $ 102.77 at the latest session. The shares accumulated a 0.28 percent price change for the week.  Within the day, the upticks ended at $79.77 million, while the downticks went at $91.26 million. The stock has a 52-week high of $109.06 and a 52-week low of $81.79.

Johnson & Johnson declared $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, higher than $0.04 compared to Zacks’ consensus estimate of $1.45. The firm exceeded the $17.47 billion expected earnings claimed by analysts. Its earnings hit a total of $17.10 billion during the quarter, while its quarterly revenue tumbled by 7.4 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Jefferies LLC, an American global investment bank and institutional securities firm, reiterated its Hold rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson.

Brokerage expectations

Brokerage house gave a Buy rating for the shares of J&J. The firm also released a Hold rating for the shares of the company.

The firm’s analysts are anticipating an EPS of $1.43 for the current quarter.. Brokerage firms have declared $105.222 as the one-year average price target on the stock—similar to the consensus estimate of nine analysts polled by Zacks Research. Bullish analysts expect a price target of $115, lower than the bearish expectations of $90. Johnson & Johnson has an analyst brokerage rating of 2.07.

Johnson & Johnson shares

The company Insiders hold 0.8 percent of the total shares in Johnson & Johnson, according to the released statements. However, there was a significant change of 10.8 percent in the six-month period. On November 24, the shares were sold at $102.47 per share, amounting to $1,808,542.50.

About 65.61 percent of the shares are held by the Institutional Investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed that 20,569 shares worth $2,102,357 were sold at $102.21 per share by Caruso Dominic J, vice president of J&, J last November 2. Also, VP and General Counsel of J&J Michael H Ullmann notably sold 17,650 shares on Nov 20.

The company has a market capitalization of $284,359 million.

Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational medical device, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500. The company focuses primarily on products related to human health and well-being.

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