DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Rakuten shares slump 6% on expected $2.2 bln new share issuance
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The Japanese e-commerce and fintech company's board could meet as early as this week to decide on the capital raising, which is expected to raise roughly 300 billion yen ($2.2 billion), sources told Reuters on Monday. Prospects of a share dilution led on Monday to the biggest one-day drop in three years. "Whenever there is a large sale of new equity, that is dilutive but it also forces decisions about whether to hold. Some will be upset and will sell," said analyst Travis Lundy of Quiddity Advisors, who publishes on Smartkarma. Rakuten said in a statement it was not true that any such decision had been made.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Apple, Tesla, Walmart, Chevron, Lumentum, Rivian & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Barclays initiates 10X Genomics as overweight Barclays said in its initiation of the gene sequencing biotech company that it has margin expansion opportunities for 10X. Barclays reiterates Apple as equal weight Barclays said in its analysis of Apple TV+ that "incremental content spend could take some cash away from buybacks." Goldman Sachs reiterates Chevron as neutral Goldman said it's waiting for an "upstream inflection" before getting positive on Chevron shares. Bank of America reiterates Virgin Galactic as underperform Bank of America said it still sees too much uncertainty for the spaceflight company. Bank of America reiterates Rivian as buy Bank of America saidit's standing by shares of the electric vehicle company after its earnings report on Tuesday.

☆ Adidas runs harder, but also stands still
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That beat analyst expectations of 15 million euros, and was aided by double digit sales growth in Latin America and Asia. The good cheer partly reflects the low expectations of Adidas’s investors. They hold shares worth about half their mid-2021 level, and while sales globally didn’t fall 4% as forecast, they still dipped 1% year-on-year. Meanwhile, CEO Bjorn Gulden has to decide what to do with stacks of Yeezy trainers in storage ever since the company severed ties with the musician. Although certain products like Gazelle and Sambo are doing well, the 40% margins on Yeezy sales were ten times Adidas’s overall level.

☆ Why Porsche is investing $100 million on eFuels to keep its cars on the road
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Robert Ferris | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Porsche has invested more than $100 million in the development of eFuels. "With this approach we have another lever, another opportunity to reduce the CO2 footprint for the combustion engine-driven cars," said Karl Dums, senior manager of eFuels at Porsche. "Electric cars are more expensive to produce, so they are margin dilutive," said Daniel Schwarz, managing director at Stifel. "And Porsche managed to increase the share of electric cars and increase the profitability in parallel." But critics of Porsche's $100 million push into eFuels argue the resultant fuel will be too expensive and inefficient to ever compete with electrification.

☆ Teleperformance launches 3 bln euro offer for call centre group Majorel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Shares in Teleperformance (TEPRF.PA) dropped over 14% in early Wednesday trade after the French outsourcing and call centre group said it intends to buy rival Majorel (MAJ.AS) for 3 billion euros ($3.30 billion). The group, which employs more than 420,000 call centre workers worldwide, plans to raise 2.05 billion euros through a highly dilutive capital hike to entirely fund the acquisition. The announcement follows a $4.8 billion merger deal between U.S.-based competitor Concentrix Corp (CNXC.O) and French firm Webhelp in March. Majority shareholders in Majorel, Bertelsmann (BTGGg.F) and Saham, have irrevocably committed to tender their shares, Teleperformance said in a statement. Teleperformance is offering 30 euros per Majorel share, with an option for the latter's shareholders to receive Teleperformance shares at an exchange ratio of 0.1382.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Rivian, Western Alliance, Peloton and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Netflix posted a quarterly revenue of $8.16 billion, slightly below the $8.18 billion expectation per Refinitiv. Zion rose 4.3% ahead of its earnings report after the bell. Tesla — The electric vehicle maker pulled back 1 % ahead of its scheduled quarterly earnings after Wednesday's closing bell. CDW issued quarterly revenue guidance of $5.1 billion, which came out below the $5.58 billion consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet. Citizens Financial reported earnings per share of $1, falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.13, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls: Netflix, Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Bowlero, Exxon & more
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

UBS upgrades Exxon to buy from neutral UBS said in its upgrade of the oil and gas giant that it likes the company's balance sheet. Bank of America reiterates Meta as buy Bank of America says it likes "self-help stocks in an uncertain macro." Bank of America reiterates Nvidia as buy Bank of America raised its price target on the AI beneficiary to $340 per share from $310. Bank of America downgrades CDW to neutral from buy Bank of America downgraded the technology products company after its disappointing earnings report on Tuesday. Wolfe reiterates Amazon as outperform Wolfe says it's standing by its outperform rating on the stock heading into earnings next week. "

Organizations: ~$

The recent selloff of Global Payments shares presents a prime buying opportunity for investors, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Will Nance upgraded Global Payment shares to buy. The analyst thinks that recent mergers and acquisitions Global Payments has undertaken should simplify business and put it on track towards "the highest growth vertical." But, Goldman Sachs said investors have become too negative around the share loss narrative for the stock. GPN YTD mountain Global Payments stock —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

☆ My small business banked at SVB and almost lost $300,000. I worry some banks will never take care of Black of women founders.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gilbert revealed how other founders of color can protect themselves amid banking uncertainty. Gilbert, who has raised $1.3 million in pre-seed VC, revealed how other founders can protect themselves amid banking uncertainty. Many of the women who were impacted by SVB, specifically the Brown women, noticed how quickly our government reacted. Founders need to find opportunities that will serve themIt's important that founders find opportunities that will protect them along the way. When SVB closed, I was pushed toward FWB by my investors as the bank opened floods of accounts for other women founders and founders of color.

☆ Piper Sandler says this struggling bank stock is not the next SVB, buy the dip
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

PacWest Bancorp has withstood large withdrawals in deposits, and the regional bank stock is now set up for a rebound, according to Piper Sander. PacWest was one of several regional banks that saw deposits pulled by customers in the aftermath of the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. PACW 1M mountain PacWest's stock has dropped sharply since the failure of SVB. The company also said Wednesday that deposits have stabilized and that it had decided against a capital raise. Piper Sandler has a price target of $33 per share for PacWest, which is more than 200% above where the stock closed on Wednesday.

☆ First Republic slumps after report of potential government backing in deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Shares of First Republic Bank (FRC.N) tumbled 14% in extended trade on Tuesday following a report that a potential deal for the troubled bank could rely on government backing to encourage buyers. Potential government backing in a deal to save First National could involve conditions at the expense of the bank's shareholders, said Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading in Ontario, Canada. While a sale of the entire bank remains possible, First Republic is currently focused on raising capital, the third source said. First Republic's shares had surged as much as 60% on Tuesday before closing up 30%, but even so First Republic's stock has lost over 80% in value in the past two weeks. JPMorgan is advising First Republic on its options to raise capital from investors, a source familiar with the situation previously said.

☆ The SVB fallout has been a wake up call for startup founders. Many are rethinking their VC relationships: 'There's certain people I wouldn't want to take money from now.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Startup founders are wary of some VCs after their actions during the SVB crisis. Some founders were disheartened by investor advice on what to do with their money in SVB. "There's certain people I wouldn't want to take money from now," Sami Khan, cofounder and CEO of mobile games company Atlas Reality told Insider. He adds that it's difficult to blame people, both investors and founders, for the decisions they make in fast-moving situations. Without access to the dependable venture debt SVB offered, more founders may be forced to turn to dilutive venture capital for financing instead.

☆ Astra outlines its plan to avoid Nasdaq delisting, including possible reverse stock split
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spacecraft engine manufacturer and small rocket builder Astra on Thursday outlined a plan to avoid having its stock delisted from the Nasdaq. In its plan, Astra also noted the possibility of conducting a reverse stock split to get back into compliance with Nasdaq's listing standards. A reverse split does not affect the fundamentals of a company, as it is not dilutive to the stock and does not change the company's valuation, but it would lift the stock price by combining shares. Functionally, a reverse split, often done as a 1-for-10, would mean a $3 stock, for example, would become $30 a share. "Astra continues to actively monitor our listing status and intends to preserve our Nasdaq listing," Martinez wrote.

☆ Stripe slashes valuation to $50 billion in new $6.5 billion funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Rohan Goswami | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Payment processor Stripe raised $6.5 billion at a $50 billion valuation, the company said Wednesday, a sharp discount from its record valuation of $95 billion in 2021. Goldman Sachs served as the sole placement agent, while J.P. Morgan served as Stripe's financial advisor. "We're very happy as a private company," Stripe co-founder John Collison told CNBC in 2021. In July, Stripe cut its internal valuation by 28%, from $95 billion to $74 billion. Then in January, The Information reported that Stripe again lowered its valuation to $63 billion.

☆ When Silicon Valley Bank imploded it took a $70 billion loan portfolio with it. Competitors are already stepping in to fill the gap.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Silicon Valley Bank had more than $70 billion in credit lines on its books when it failed. He's one of many who now stand to benefit from the sudden disappearance of one of Silicon Valley's most reliable lenders. Venture debt, like a typical venture-capital investment, involves betting big on fledgling startups that may be far off from profitability. Another person in SVB's venture debt business said that employees are working hard to maintain "business as usual" so as to make SVB's loan portfolio more attractive to a potential buyer. An opportunity for the competitionNone of this has stopped other lenders from stepping up to try to win some of SVB's debt business.

☆ Billionaire investor Bill Ackman says SVB was not a bailout: 'The people who screwed up will bear the consequences'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

US regulators are guaranteeing depositors' funds after the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed. But this isn't "a bailout in any form," said billionaire investor Bill Ackman. The US government is protecting depositors and not the management or shareholders, he said. In his tweet, Ackman even applauded US authorities' intervention, saying the government "did the right thing for the country" by protecting depositors. The legendary investor has been quite vocal about the wild ride in the US banking industry amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank's collapse means startups and VCs face billions in losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

SVB's startup and VC customers are staring down huge losses after its failure. A buyer is being sought for the failed bank by Monday to avoid more calamity for startups. SVB customers stare down big lossesIn a report on Friday, the ratings agency Moody's said it expected a recovery rate of 80% to 90% for uninsured depositors. While there were likely billions in deposits withdrawn prior to SVB's closure, there's still likely to be many billions left at risk. SVB's deposits soared in recent years as it became the go-to lender in the VC ecosystem.

☆ Paul Krugman says Silicon Valley Bank could've been called the 'Schmoozing and Vibes Bank,' but it's probably not another 'Lehman moment'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Paul Krugman said SVB maybe should have been called the "Schmoozing and Vibes Bank." As far as I can tell, it was just unusually good at cultivating relationships with, um, Silicon Valley, specifically VC," Krugman said. "Maybe it should have been called Schmoozing and Vibes Bank." While this created huge problems for SVB, Krugman believed there was little chance of contagion to other banks. The Nobel Prize-winning economist said he did worry about the effects of SVB's collapse on the broader VC ecosystem.

☆ Mark Cuban called on the Federal Reserve to step in and buy Silicon Valley Bank's debt 'to end the run'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Cuban pleaded with the Federal Reserve to buy the debt of SVB Financial Group. In a Twitter thread, "Shark Tank" star Cuban called on the Fed to step in and buy any debt belonging to SVB to prevent a run on deposits. "The Fed should IMMEDIATELY buy all the securities/debt the bank owns at near par, which should be enough to cover most deposits. Cuban added that if the Fed didn't act, trust in the banking system would become an issue. Cuban said a Fed purchase of SVB debt wouldn't constitute a bailout.

☆ Billionaire investor Bill Ackman calls on the US government to consider a bailout of Silicon Valley Bank if private investors won't step up
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ackman called on the government for a "highly dilutive" Silicon Valley Bank bailout if the private sector doesn't step up. SVB is a go-to bank and lender to startups in the tech sector and a crucial part of the ecosystem. Greg Becker, the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, told clients to "stay calm" at a conference call on Thursday, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The events spurred concerns among tech VCs and founders about Silicon Valley Bank's financial stability. Silicon Valley Bank did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Silicon Valley Bank crisis: Everything you need to know about SVB Financial as its share collapse rattles major stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

SVB Financial's share plunge is dragging on major bank stocks like JPMorgan and Bank of America. Here's everything you need to know about Silicon Valley Bank and its parent company SVB Financial. SVB is a Santa Clara-based bank that lends money to and takes deposits from Silicon Valley tech startups. Why has SVB's stock price crashed? "The failure of SVB Financial could destroy an important long-term driver of the economy as VC-backed companies rely on SVB for loans and holding their operating cash," he said on Twitter Thursday evening.

☆ European banking stocks sink as Silicon Valley Bank jitters spread
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European banking stocks sold off sharply in early trade Friday as jitters surrounding U.S. bank SVB Financial — which plunged 60% Thursday — spread around the world. It followed an announcement by the tech-focused lender of a capital raise to help offset bond sale losses. The Euro Stoxx Banks index was on pace for its worst day since June, led by a decline of more-than 8% for Deutsche Bank . Silicon Valley Bank caters heavily to startup firms, particularly venture-backed tech and life sciences companies in the U.S. "If private capital can't provide a solution, a highly dilutive gov't preferred bailout should be considered."

☆ Benioff more than delivers with Salesforce's fourth-quarter beat and sky-high guidance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Club holding Salesforce (CRM)'s fiscal fourth-quarter results crushed expectations across the board Wednesday, while its forward guidance made clear CEO Mark Benioff is uniquely positioned to deliver profitability at the enterprise software pioneer. Operating cash flow surged nearly 41% from the previous year, to $2.79 billion, beating estimates of $2.5 billion. Benioff said management is "reigniting [Salesforce's] performance culture" and doubling down on the accountable management of its sales organization, while reducing headcount and consolidating the company's real estate footprint. The company is trying to better integrate acquisitions and prioritizing those "core innovations that are driving customer success," Benioff said. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ Elon Musk presents Tesla 'Master Plan 3' with emphasis on sustainable energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Electric vehicle maker Tesla laid out its long-term vision at a 2023 Investor Day presentation in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday. CEO Elon Musk took the stage to share his "Master Plan 3," and to discuss how Tesla plans to scale up in the face of increasing competition. Musk said, "Earth can and will move to a sustainable energy economy, and will do so in your lifetime." To start, Musk was joined on stage by Senior Vice President of Powertrain and Energy Engineering at Tesla, Drew Baglino. Tesla shares have rebounded from declines during 2022, and are up more than 60% for the year so far.

☆ Analysis: Bed Bath's novel deal is no universal dodge-bankruptcy card
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Shankar Ramakrishnan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

It's unclear whether Bed Bath can capitalize on the breathing room to turn around its business, which has been battered by competition from other online and brick-and-mortar retailers. A spokesperson for Hudson's Bay declined to comment, while Bed Bath & Beyond did not respond to requests for comment. To secure the Hudson's Bay investment, Bed Bath offered a deal that guarantees the hedge fund a lucrative return in most circumstances. It is not clear how much of the stock Hudson's Bay has converted and sold since it inked the deal with Bed Bath on Feb. 6. The deal is very dilutive for other Bed Bath investors, who will end up owning 80% less if the company survives.

Search resuls for: "dilutive"

25 mentions found