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☆ These companies slated to report next week have a history of beating earnings estimates, including one tech giant
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Nearly 76% of companies that have reported have beaten earnings expectations, while 59% have come in above analysts' expectations for revenue. A diverse group of companies reports results next week, on track to be the busiest one of the season. A company's earnings results are, of course, integral to both its near- and long-term performance. As a result, CNPC Pro screened stocks slated to report their earnings next week for those that have a history of beating analysts' expectations. The workflow automation platform beats earnings expectations 89% of the time.

Persons: They've, Meta, Piper Sandler, Five9, Baird, William Power, —, Robert Hum, Fred Imbert Organizations: Dow Jones, Technology, Microsoft, Meta, Humana, Comcast, Chubb, Visa, Investment Group, JPMorgan, Citi, Cloud Locations: industrials

Wells Fargo raised its price target on Bank of America, now calling for more than 15% upside. Evercore ISI hiked its price target on the consumer products company to $150 per share from $133. Power has a $90 price target on the cloud software stock, implying shares can rally 44.5% in the next year. Forbes' $425 price target implies the stock can climb 43.1% from Wednesday's ending price. Analyst Mike Mayo raised his price target for the bank stock by $4 to $44, implying a 16.4% upside over Wednesday's close.

Persons: Wells Fargo, Clark, Javier Escalante, Escalante, KMB, — Jesse Pound, Jefferies, Portillo's, Andy Barish, Barish, — Brian Evans, Jason Gursky, Wednesday's, shakeup, Gursky, Alex Harring, Baird, William Power, — Alex Harring, Steven Forbes, Forbes, RH, BofA, Cintas, Heather Balsky, Balsky, Robinhood, Alex Markgraff, Markgraff, TD Cowen, John Blackledge, Grindr, Blackledge, It's, it's, Estee Lauder, Bryan Spillane, Spillane, Estee, Tom Ford, Joseph Greff, Greff, FanDuel, Vikram Gandhi, Gandhi, Wells, Bank of America Wells, Mike Mayo, Mayo, Goliath Organizations: CNBC, Bank of America, HSBC, Allstate, Kimberly, Staples, ISI, Citi, Boeing, Alaska Airlines, Dow Jones, UC, Guggenheim, RH's, FactSet, Estee Lauder Bank of America, JPMorgan, Allstate Allstate Locations: Portillo's, Five9, Estee, New Jersey, Wednesday's

☆ Here are Friday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Rivian, Micron, Microsoft, Eli Lilly, Amazon & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Citi upgrades Thor Industries to buy from neutral Citi said it see a "favorable event path" for the RV company. " Citi initiates Pure Storage as buy Citi said in its initiation of Pure Storage that the data storage company is an AI beneficiary. Citi reiterates Apple as buy Citi said it's standing by its buy rating on shares of Apple. Bank of America reiterates Amazon as buy Bank of America said it's bullish heading into Amazon's Spring Sales event next week. Citi reiterates Micron as buy Citi raised its price target on the stock to $150 per share from $95 and says it's bullish heading into earnings next week. "

Persons: Piper Sandler, Piper, Morgan Stanley, RSG, Cummins, Baird, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Tesla, Telsey, Todd Vasos, it's, Stellantis, Five9, PBF, DINO, Truist, Eli Lilly, LLYs, Dave Ricks, Patrik Jonsson Organizations: EV, Bank of America, Adobe, Citi, Thor Industries, Morgan Stanley downgrades Republic Services, UBS, Cummins, CMI, Microsoft, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Guggenheim, Apple, Worldwide, " Bank of America, Micron, Catalyst Watch, RBC, UFC, WWE, Inc, Valero Energy, Sinclair, of America, Entertainment, Golden Entertainment, Diabetes, Obesity Locations: Snowflake, F4Q24, China, Nevada

☆ How to make money investing in software stocks, according to Trivariate Research
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Investors looking to make money in the software space may want to consider this winning strategy, according to Trivariate Research. "Own Software stocks with low but accelerating revenue growth: Our work shows this is by far the best way to make money in software," wrote founder Adam Parker, highlighting a basket of stocks that have already been on a tear this year. Growth stocks across the board have rallied to start the year as artificial intelligence tailwinds persist, strong earnings drive expectations for ongoing growth and recent data points to signs of a robust economy. Zscaler and CrowdStrike are among the names included, with shares up 15% and 29%, respectively, since the start of 2024. Both companies are also coming off a strong 2023 in which shares rallied 98% and 142%, respectively.

Persons: Adam Parker, CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Research

☆ Cloud-based software provider Five9 considers options for sale - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 4 (Reuters) - Call center software firm Five9 (FIVN.O) is weighing options for a sale, more than two years after a buyout by Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O) failed, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Five9 declined to comment while Zoom did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Deliberations were ongoing and there is no certainty they will result in a sale, the report added. Virtual meeting company Zoom abandoned its $14.7 billion acquisition of the company in October 2021 after Five9's shareholders voted against the deal. What would have been Zoom's biggest acquisition ever was terminated after proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis had cited growth concerns and advised Five9 shareholders against the deal.

Persons: Five9, Glass Lewis, Arsheeya, Shinjini Ganguli, Maju Samuel Organizations: Zoom Video Communications, Bloomberg, Services, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Morgan Stanley says investors are overlooking a $4 trillion opportunity in AI. These are the top stocks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The growth of artificial intelligence is creating a multitrillion dollar opportunity poised to benefit these software and technology stocks, according to Morgan Stanley. Nvidia shares have more than tripled this year as investors bet on the promise of its graphics processing units fueling many AI models. For Alphabet, Morgan Stanley forecasts that every 2% of AI spending could drive 5% upside to the company's cloud platform, and account for $3 billion in incremental revenue by 2026. Within the software space, the Morgan Stanley also highlighted Adobe as a long term beneficiary, noting that generative AI could accelerate EPS growth back toward the mid-high teens. "Generative AI functionality into existing workflows of a broad base of subscribers, enabling stickier customer engagement and opportunity to monetize incremental productivity provided to users," the firm said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Keith Weiss, Morgan Stanley's, Joe Moore, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Microsoft, Nvidia, NVDA

☆ Boards Still Lack Cybersecurity Expertise
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. This includes people who sit on the boards of cyber companies or have an affiliation with a cybersecurity-related professional organization. Heath, a former security chief at United Airlines and tech provider DocuSign, sits on the boards of cyber companies Wiz and Gen Digital. Board work demands wide business experience that many security chiefs lack, said Myrna Soto, founder and chief executive of consulting firm Apogee Executive Advisors. Solving this problem will take effort from boards and cybersecurity professionals, said NightDragon’s DeWalt.

Persons: ”, Dave DeWalt, Emily Heath, Heath, “, Myrna Soto, Patrick T, Soto, NightDragon’s DeWalt, James Rundle Organizations: Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Gen Digital, Wall Street, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Apogee, Fallon, Bloomberg, Directors, Spirit Airlines, Popular, TriNet Locations: U.S, NightDragon, cybersecurity, Heath

☆ Deutsche Bank says this cloud software software stock is poised for big gains ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Five9 is well-positioned to grow its market share in the software space as companies prioritize customer satisfaction, according to Deutsche Bank. The firm upgraded Five9, which provides cloud software services to customer contact centers, to buy from hold. Niknam thinks there is a significant runway for incremental growth in the cloud contact center as a service market, which he said has a size of about 16 million total agent seats globally. Only about 20% of these seats have transitioned to the cloud — which suggests additional room for growth. Shares also trade at an attractive valuation — and off peak-levels — despite "enhanced visibility toward re-accelerating growth," the analyst added.

Persons: Five9, Matt Niknam, Niknam, Michael Bloom Organizations: Deutsche Bank

☆ Here are Thursday's biggest analyst calls: Meta, Amazon, Costco, Uber, Sunrun, Alphabet, Exxon & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Here are Thursday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Baird reiterates Meta as outperform Baird said it's bullish heading into Meta's Connect event next week. Bank of America upgrades Nutanix to buy from neutral Bank of America said it sees numerous positive growth drivers ahead for the computer software company. " Guggenheim reiterates Sunrun as buy Guggenheim said Sunrun is the best positioned solar company. Bank of America reiterates Marriott as buy Bank of America said it's bullish heading into Marriott's analyst day next week. Wells Fargo reiterates Amazon as overweight Wells said it sees several "discreet headwinds" for Amazon that investors may not know about.

Persons: Baird, it's, NTNX, Guggenheim, Sunrun, Evercore, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Jefferies, Wedbush, Uber, JPMorgan, rideshare, Piper Sandler, Piper, Marriott, Wolfe, Wells, Morgan Stanley, Howmet, Truist Organizations: Meta's, Meta, Qualcomm, Bank of America, of America, Costco, Google, JPMorgan, Disney, Petrobras, CF, Microsoft, monetization, UBS, Walmart, Deutsche Bank, Wax Center, Exxon, ExxonMobil, " Bank of America, Citi, Energy, Micron, MU, Aerospace Locations: Howmet's Whitehall

☆ Zoom beats expectations and lifts full-year guidance on enterprise business strength
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Here's how the company did:Earnings: $1.34 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.05 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. $1.34 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.05 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Zoom's revenue grew 3.6% year over year in the quarter that ended on July 31, according to a statement. Three months ago Zoom said it was looking for $4.25 to $4.31 in adjusted earnings per share and $4.465 billion to $4.485 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had predicted that Zoom would produce $4.30 in adjusted earnings per share and $4.49 billion in revenue.

Persons: Eric Yuan, Covid, Refinitiv, Kelly Steckelberg, Steckelberg Organizations: Nasdaq, Management Locations: New York, Refinitiv

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Nvidia, Chevron, Amazon, Avis, SeaWorld & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are Wednesday's biggest calls on Wall Street: Needham initiates Sovos Brands as buy Citi said Sovos' Brands Rao's Tomato Sauce will be a $1 billion brand in the next three-to-four years. " Citi reiterates Anheuser-Busch InBev as buy Citi said investors should buy the dip in the beer giant. Deutsche Bank upgrades Avis to buy from hold Deutsche said the rental car company that it has upside potential. "In a tougher recession and sharp travel fall-off where revenue growth is cut in half, we estimate mid to high single digit EPS risk, implying an excellent risk/reward given valuation. Citi reiterates Nvidia as buy Citi said investors should "stay long" in shares of Nvidia.

Persons: Needham, Sovos, Michael Angelo's, Bernstein, Wedbush, it's, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Bud, Baird, Mobileye, XYL, Wells, Key, AMBA, Mizuho, Piper Sandler, Piper Organizations: Brands, Citi, Amazon, Worldwide, Conference, SeaWorld, Anheuser, Busch InBev, Deutsche Bank, Avis, Deutsche, UBS, American Express, American, Palo Alto Networks, JPMorgan, Chevron, Service, Nvidia, TAM, Liberty, Microsoft Locations: US, Noosa, Cupertino, European, Wells Fargo, CrowdStrike, Zscaler, Palo, America, F2023E

☆ How artificial intelligence could threaten major industries and business models
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Meanwhile, limits on applicable copyright rules make it simpler to train AI tools. Nevertheless, accuracy issues with AI tools, Redburn said, could boost the use case for Pearson. Copyright issues are another major obstacle for music companies. Some potential copyright violations include replicating an artist's likeness or voice, and that could weaken the catalog value for many music companies, analysts said. Similarly, Deutsche Bank analyst Matthew Niknam highlighted in a recent note AI presents more opportunities than risks and offers "underappreciated upside tailwinds" for Five9.

Persons: GOOGL, Goldman Sachs, Dan Rosensweig, Chegg, Brad Erickson, Hayden Brown, Brown, BTIG, Chegg's, Pearson, Redburn, Morgan Stanley, Brent Thill, Thill, Douglas Mitchelson, Rosenblatt, Barton Crockett, Morgan Stanley's Omar Sheikh, Ygal, Nat Schindler, Wix, Jefferies, Oppenheimer, Timothy Horan, Matthew Niknam, Meta Marshall, Marshall, Michael Bloom Organizations: Wall Street, Microsoft, Nvidia, Goldman, Chegg, Companies, Freelance, Upwork, RBC Capital, Pearson, Bank of America, UBS, Jefferies, Industry Music, Spotify, Credit, Warner, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Citi, NICE, Deutsche Bank Locations: Nice

☆ AI stock picks: A portfolio manager overseeing more than $1 billion shares 6 firms he's betting on — and how to spot opportunities without getting caught up in the hype
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Artificial intelligence is here to stay, says Gregg Fisher, the founder and portfolio manager of $1 billion Quent Capital. "I don't even think I can name a business that's not using AI in some capacity. Fisher shared six small-to-mid-cap stocks he invests in that he's put through this analysis and that have exposure to AI. 6 AI stocks to watchThe first firm Fisher named is RanPak (PACK), a $419 million firm that uses AI for packing solutions to reduce cardboard waste. He said they're using AI to predict when customers are set to have problems, and alerts business owners so they can preemptively reach out.

☆ Here are the 34 tech companies most likely to be snapped up by private equity firms like Vista and Thoma Bravo in 2023, according to bankers and market data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Ben Bergman | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

With a stock price down 45% in the last year, though, it may soon find itself on the other side of the table. But it has $732 million in cash on hand, with zero debt, and analysts are projecting 16% revenue growth. This year, though, Varonis has come back to earth — its stock price has sunk over 57% in the last 12 months. However, with strong projected 2023 revenue growth of 18.6%, Zuora remains a strong target for PE firms. Its stock price has been hammered, going down about 40% this year and making it the subject of mergers-and-acquisitions chatter.

☆ Here are the 34 tech companies most likely to be on the holiday shopping lists of private-equity firms after valuations plunged this year, according to bankers and private data
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Ben Bergman | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

☆ Redis Names Former Five9 CEO to Head Database Startup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Database startup Redis Ltd. has named Rowan Trollope its new chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1. Mr. Trollope was CEO of the cloud-based customer-service software firm Five9 Inc. until Nov. 28, and had served in the role since 2018. After Mr. Trollope’s departure, former Five9 CEO Mike Burkland returned to his previous post. At Redis, Mr. Trollope will succeed Ofer Bengal, who co-founded the startup with Yiftach Shoolman in 2011 and has served as CEO since its founding. Mr. Trollope led Five9 through its plans to merge with Zoom Video Communications Inc. in September of last year.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Lyft, Tripadvisor, Take-Two Interactive and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Lyft – Shares of Lyft plummeted 21% after the company's earnings report showed mixed results in the last quarter. SolarEdge Technologies – Shares of SolarEdge rose 18% after the company reported record revenue in its last quarter that beat analysts' expectations. Revenue fell short of estimates coming in at $967 million instead of $979 million. Perrigo – Shares of pharmaceutical company Perrigo slumped 16% after the company reported earnings and revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations, according to Refinitiv. The company reported $198.3 million in revenue, which beat expectations, according to StreetAccount.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves after hours: Lyft, Take-Two Interactive, Tripadvisor and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Carmen Reinicke | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Lyft – Lyft stock sank 13% after the ridesharing company reported mixed earnings results. Take-Two Interactive – Shares of software company Take-Two sank 15% after reporting a miss on revenue and lowering their guidance for the rest of the fiscal year. Tripadvisor – Shares of Tripadvisor sank more than 15% in after hours trading following a miss on earnings. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 28 cents where analysts expected adjusted earnings per share of 38 cents, according to Refinitiv. Groupon – Groupon's stock fell 4.8% after the company reported earnings that disappointed on the top and bottom lines.

☆ Cloud stocks just wrapped up their worst week since January, led by plunge in Five9 and SentinelOne
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Ari Levy | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Cloud stocks plummeted 11% this week, the steepest drop since January, as executive departures at Five9 and Zscaler and investors' continued rotation out of risk combined to send the group to its lowest level since March 2020. The WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund, a basket of 75 cloud software stocks, has lost 53% of its value for the year, more than double the drop in the S&P 500. Five9 shares suffered the biggest decline in the index, falling 29% for the week, after CEO Rowan Trollope said he was leaving to run a pre-IPO company. Security software vendor Zscaler announced the resignation of its president, Amit Sinha, who is also taking a CEO position at a pre-IPO company. The WisdomTree index fell all five days this week, and had its worst day on Friday, dropping 3.6%.

☆ Five9 shares plunge more than 20% after CEO announces resignation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of cloud software vendor Five9 tumbled 22% Monday and fell to their lowest since March 2020 after CEO Rowan Trollope announced his resignation. He is being succeeded by former Five9 CEO Mike Burkland, who resigned as CEO in 2017 after he was diagnosed with cancer. "It has been an honor and privilege to serve our employees, our customers and our shareholders," Trollope wrote in a tweet. However, Five9 shareholders were not satisfied with the small premium that Zoom was set to pay, and they ultimately rejected the deal. WATCH: Five9 CEO discusses company's voice recognition software

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Ford, Las Vegas Sands, Nvidia, Kraft Heinz and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Ford Motor , General Motors — Shares of Ford and GM fell 7% and 5% respectively, after UBS downgraded both stocks. The firm lowered Ford to a sell rating from neutral and cut GM to a neutral from a buy. Casino stocks — Shares of hotel and casino companies were the top decliners in the S&P 500, with Wynn Resorts down 11.6% and Las Vegas Sands losing 8.5%. Kraft Heinz — The food maker's shares rose 2% after Goldman Sachs upgraded them to buy from neutral, noting that higher profit margins haven't been fully priced into the stock. Merck — Shares of the pharmaceutical giant rose 2.8% after Guggenheim upgraded Merck to buy from neutral.

☆ Amazon plans to close several U.S. call centers - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 28 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is planning to close several call centers in the United States in a move toward remote working, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday citing people familiar with the matter. The shift to remote working across most industries was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic with cloud call center companies such as Five9 Inc (FIVN.O) seeing a boom in business. Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, is also encouraging its customer service employees at some call centers in the country to work from home in a move that would save money on real estate, the report added. (https://bloom.bg/3LSo4RP)The company's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, also sells Amazon Connect software that enables companies serve their customers using remote networks. Amazon is working with employees to make sure their transition to remote working is seamless, a spokesman for the company told Reuters, but did not comment on the planned closure of call centers.

☆ Barclays sees buying opportunity in these stocks, including one that could roughly double
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-12 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

One of those stocks, Five9, could see 98% upside, according to the firm's price target. In addition, the stocks had a 14-day RSI (or relative strength index) below 35, as of Sept. 7. Splunk and FedEx followed, with both names potentially seeing 59% gains, according to Barclays' price targets. The stock has 39% upside, as well as a 14-day RSI reading of 30.5, according to Barclays' price target. Another tech name, Salesforce , is down about 35% year to date, but has 32% upside, according to Barclays.

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