Most Sold By Activist Hedge Funds

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Yahoo Finance
Procter & Gamble, Intel earnings: What to know in markets Thursday
Earnings season is in full swing and several heavyweights are gearing up to report results Thursday including consumer staples giant Procter & Gamble and chipmaker Intel.
Zacks
Will Occidental (OXY) Gain on Rising Earnings Estimates?
Occidental (OXY) shares have started gaining and might continue moving higher in the near term, as indicated by solid earnings estimate revisions.
Zacks
Has Occidental Petroleum (OXY) Outpaced Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?
Is (OXY) Outperforming Other Oils-Energy Stocks This Year?
Zacks
After a Stellar 2019, What Awaits Global IPO ETFs in 2020?
Global IPO activity had a pretty decent year in 2019 and is expected to remain busy in 2020.
Zacks
Stock Market News for Jan 23, 2020
IBM's upbeat quarterly earnings results helped the tech-laden Nasdaq as well as the broader S&P 500 end in the green.
Bloomberg
Xerox Escalates HP Takeover Fight With Push to Replace Board
(Bloomberg) -- Xerox Holdings Corp. said it intends to nominate 11 directors to replace the board of HP Inc. after the personal-computer maker refused to engage in takeover talks, according to a statement Thursday.The iconic printer maker hasn’t increased its $22-a-share takeover offer after HP rejected its proposal, which it argues undervalues the company. Instead, Xerox will seek to replace HP’s entire board through a proxy fight to push the merger through.The nominees include former senior executives from dozens of companies including Aetna Inc., United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Novartis AG.“HP shareholders have told us they believe our acquisition proposal will bring tremendous value, which is why we lined up $24 billion in binding financing commitments and a slate of highly qualified director candidates,” said John Visentin, vice chairman and chief executive officer of Xerox.Xerox filed its slate ahead of a Friday deadline for board nominations. The move could potentially be a precursor to Xerox taking its offer directly to shareholders through a tender offer at the current offer price or a premium if HP continues to rebuff its efforts, according to people familiar with the matter. No decision has been made on whether to pursue a tender offer, the price it would be put forth at, or when it would do so, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.The push to replace the board marks an escalation of the simmering tensions between the two hardware giants that have withered in a world increasingly driven by software. Xerox has argued the tie-up would revive both companies and unlock about $2 billion in synergies.“These nominations are a self-serving tactic by Xerox to advance its proposal, which significantly undervalues HP and creates meaningful risk to the detriment of HP shareholders,” HP said in an emailed statement.HP’s board currently has 12 members. Dion Weisler, the former chief executive officer of the company, has said he would step down at the next annual general meeting, which the company said would reduce the board size to 11. Its last annual meeting was on April 23.HP in November rebuffed an unsolicited, cash-and-stock offer from Xerox, citing concerns about the financial health of its smaller rival, which has experienced declining annual revenue since 2012.HP’s board said it was open to exploring a merger, but believed the offer undervalued the company. Activist shareholder Carl Icahn, who owns about 11% of Xerox and has a 4.3% stake in HP, has pushed for the tie-up.Xerox announced Jan. 6 that it had arranged a $24 billion loan with a group of banks to finance the takeover. HP and its advisers had questioned Xerox’s ability to raise the money for the deal.Following the financing announcement, HP said it believed the offer still undervalued the company.Xerox’s director nominees are:Betsy Atkins, CEO of Baja Corp.George Bickerstaff, co-founder and managing director of M.M. Dillon & Co.Carolyn Byrd, CEO of GlobalTech Financial.Jeannie Diefenderfer, who spent 28 years at Verizon.Kim Fennebresque, who was CEO of Cowen Group for nine years.Carol Flaton, who has served as a managing director at AlixPartners.Matthew Hart, who most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Hilton Hotels until the buyout of Hilton by Blackstone in 2007.Fred Hochberg, who was most recently the chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States during the Obama administration.Jacob Katz, who was chairman of Grant Thornton.Nichelle Maynard-Elliott, who most recently served as executive director of mergers & acquisitions for Praxair Inc.Thomas Sabatino, Jr. who most recently served as executive vice president and general counsel of Aetna Inc.Citigroup Inc. is acting as Xerox’s financial advisor, and King & Spalding LLP is providing legal counsel to Xerox. Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is providing legal counsel to Xerox’s independent directors.(Updates with additional information in paragraph five, HP comment in paragraph seven)To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Deveau in New York at sdeveau2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Matthew Monks, Molly SchuetzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
Comcast's Bad Omen for AT&T
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Cord-cutting isn’t stopping. As it turns out, that’s not such bad news for cable giants like Comcast Corp. It is, however, for AT&T Inc. The streaming wars intensified in the fourth quarter amid Walt Disney Co.’s advertising blitz for its new Disney+ service that overtook billboards, shopping malls, public transit and Twitter feeds. At the same time, Apple Inc. began giving away Apple TV+ free to anyone buying a new iDevice of some sort. Comcast is the first of the traditional media giants to report results for this period, giving a glimpse on Thursday morning at how the pay-TV industry fared as consumers were given more reasons than ever before to ditch cable, skip the box office and start streaming from their couches.Comcast itself reported a generally strong quarter: It signed up 442,000 net new internet customers, one of its biggest boosts ever, while the NBCUniversal media networks took in higher ad revenue and guests also spent more money at its theme parks. Film was a weak spot, with adjusted Ebitda in that business dropping nearly 50%, as its musical “Cats” bombed in theaters. Even more telling, though, was that Comcast’s cable unit lost more video subscribers than expected — 149,000, mostly residential — a sour indicator for AT&T, which is scheduled to report its own results on Jan. 29. “We expect higher video subscriber losses this year,” Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of Comcast, said on Thursday’s earnings call. (Even Netflix Inc. is forecasting higher churn in the U.S., after subscriber gains slowed.)Although Comcast may be best known (or hated) by consumers for its cable-TV service, that’s actually its least relevant business. Internet users at Comcast have outnumbered video subscribers since at least 2015, and Comcast management has done a good job of shifting attention to the growth coming from broadband. In unveiling its Peacock app last week, Comcast also gave investors confidence that it’s taking a different tack in streaming than its rivals, choosing to go the free, ad-supported route, which will help Peacock garner eyeballs and not have to compete on price like the others are. AT&T is another story. The wireless carrier is carrying a boatload of debt from its 2018 acquisition of Time Warner, a deal that tied AT&T’s fortunes to the more volatile and uncertain future of pay TV. Its DirecTV/Entertainment Group — about 25% of total company revenue — has lost customers more rapidly than the rest of the industry on account of price hikes aimed at lifting profit and reducing debt. So if video customers were abandoning Comcast last quarter, they were most certainly dumping DirecTV, a technologically inferior product.Even AT&T TV Now, a virtual skinny-bundle service (formerly known as DirecTV Now), has been shrinking as customers look to cheaper options. AT&T’s WarnerMedia division will introduce HBO Max in May for a monthly subscription price of $15, the same rate as regular HBO but with the added bonus of a library of Warner Bros. films, content from its Turner networks, old episodes of “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory” and a slate of original content. But HBO is still the main reason to get HBO Max, and so the question becomes, does everyone who wants HBO already have it? AT&T is investing $2 billion in the product this year, an expense that will ramp up to $4 billion by 2024. It’s not expected to start making money until the following year.Between the debt and streaming foray, the new AT&T still has a lot to prove — and a lot to spend. It won’t help matters if its media networks take a big hit from cord-cutting and if a chunk of those cord-cutters are fleeing DirecTV specifically.To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Zacks
Freeport's (FCX) Q4 Earnings & Sales Top Estimates
Freeport (FCX) reported adjusted earnings of 2 cents per share for Q4, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1 cent.
Zacks
Record-Setting Push Loses Momentum
Record-Setting Push Loses Momentum
Zacks
What's in Store for Varian Medical (VAR) in Q1 Earnings?
Demand for Eclipse and TrueBeam is expected to have driven Varian's (VAR) Oncology revenues in fiscal Q1.
Zacks
5 Potential Winners in the Retail Space This Earnings Season
Retailers are making prudent investments to strengthen digital ecosystem and delivery capabilities. While these drive sales, they entail high costs. Margins remain a key area to watch this reporting cycle.
Zacks
Hyatt Expands Hyatt Centric Brand, Opens Hotel in Virginia
Hyatt Hotels (H) announces the opening of second branded hotel in Virginia, Hyatt Centric Old Town Alexandria. Its efforts to expand presence worldwide are noteworthy.
Investing.com
Netflix Stock Rises 3%
Investing.com - Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) Stock rose by 3.08% to trade at $336.04 by 10:25 (15:25 GMT) on Thursday on the NASDAQ exchange.
Motley Fool
Is this ASX 200 company a growth stock?
The Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) share price has increased by 23% in the past year. Does it have more growth ahead in 2020?The post Is this ASX 200 company a growth stock? appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.
Zacks
Buy Apple Stock Before Q1 Earnings on Services, AirPods & iPhone Growth?
Apple stock has skyrocketed nearly 110% in the last year. Now the question is should investors think about buying the iPhone giant's stock before Apple reports its Q1 2020 earnings results on Tuesday, January 28?
Zacks
Tesla, NIO and the Electric Boogie
Planes and cars are the main topics today and EVs are a big deal no matter what Erique thinks. Airbus takes advantage of a limping Boeing and we get into the Battleground.
Zacks
Twilio Inc. (TWLO) Stock Moves 0.03%: What You Should Know
Twilio Inc. (TWLO) closed at $119.12 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.03% move from the prior day.
Bloomberg
PayPal Moves Further Into China With UnionPay Partnership
(Bloomberg) -- PayPal Holdings Inc. is taking another step into the giant Chinese payments market, partnering with state-backed China UnionPay Co. in a move that could expand PayPal’s network in the country. The partnership will allow some UnionPay cardholders access to PayPal’s network, and eventually, could pave the way for PayPal to be accepted at Chinese locations that take UnionPay.Users of Shanghai-based UnionPay, the world’s largest card company by payment volume, will be able to add their UnionPay cards to PayPal accounts and use them in a number of countries where PayPal is accepted outside of China. “There is a lot of room for us to help people visiting from China find a way to pay while traveling,” Jim Magats, senior vice president of global payments at PayPal, said in an interview.The companies also said that the tie-up would allow PayPal and UnionPay’s global subsidiary, UnionPay International, to “explore opportunities” to expand PayPal’s reach in China. In a statement, Magats said the new partnership would give the company the option to “expand PayPal’s digital wallet to physical retail locations where UnionPay is accepted in China, or internationally.”The UnionPay partnership is part of a string of moves by PayPal to grow its Chinese presence. In September, China’s central bank granted PayPal approval to buy a 70% stake in a Chinese payment company Gopay Information Technology Co., allowing PayPal to become the first foreign compapny to operate in China’s payment service market. Gopay has licenses for online, mobile and cross-border yuan payment services.China’s $27 trillion payments industry is dominated by a few companies, with Ant Financial Services Group and Tencent Holdings Ltd. accounting for a majority of digital payments, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. However, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, PayPal Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said that it wasn’t too late for the company to stake a claim there. “It’s an exploding market,” he said. “It’s growing so quickly that there’s room for every player in it.”On Wednesday, UnionPay cards will be available to be added to PayPal wallets in Australia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. The companies said they plan to add the option for more than 30 other markets in 2020.To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Verhage in New York at jverhage2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Mark Milian at mmilian@bloomberg.net, Anne VanderMeyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Zacks
Extended Stay Plans to Expand Presence in San Antonio, Texas
Extended Stay America (STAY) continues to expand its footprint. To this end, the company plans to convert an existing hotel in San Antonio, Texas.
Simply Wall St.
If You Had Bought Centene (NYSE:CNC) Shares Five Years Ago You'd Have Made 139%
When you buy shares in a company, it's worth keeping in mind the possibility that it could fail, and you could lose...
Zacks
Paypal (PYPL) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
Paypal (PYPL) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Zacks
Earnings Preview: Marathon Petroleum (MPC) Q4 Earnings Expected to Decline
Marathon Petroleum (MPC) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Zacks
Automatic Data Processing (ADP) Reports Next Week: Wall Street Expects Earnings Growth
ADP (ADP) doesn't possess the right combination of the two key ingredients for a likely earnings beat in its upcoming report. Get prepared with the key expectations.
Bloomberg
Netflix’s Decline Emphasizes Limited Value of Users Overseas
(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc.’s latest earnings report spurred mixed feelings across Wall Street as growth overseas was offset by a slowdown in the U.S. amid rising competition from Walt Disney Co., Apple Inc. and more forthcoming launches.Needham Co. believes the spike in streaming rivals will increase Netflix’s churn and customer acquisition costs, most likely lowering the lifetime value per subscriber as growth overseas isn’t equivalent to that domestically. Netflix would need to “add four $3-per-month subscriptions in India to offset each U.S. subscriber lost,” Laura Martin, TMT analyst at Needham, wrote in a note.Shares in Netflix fell as much as 3.7% on Wednesday morning, the most in 10 weeks, before trimming some of that decline. The stock has fluctuated since the streaming service reported Tuesday post-market.Analysts remained generally positive about the results and, despite first-quarter guidance missing estimates, believe the forecast appeared to be cautious. Netflix added 8.3 million subscribers internationally in the fourth quarter to surpass 100 million paid memberships outside of the U.S. for the first time.“Netflix is taking a conservative tone to start the year, with the assumption of slight headwinds,” wrote Raymond James’s Justin Patterson. “This reflects content timing, a competitive launch in Europe, and working through 2019’s U.S. churn,” he added.Stifel analyst Scott W. Devitt also said Disney+ appeared to have a less meaningful impact in available international markets than in the U.S. Still, the analyst cautioned about potential effects of the broader rollout of Disney+ in the EMEA region toward the end of the first quarter.Here’s what Wall Street is saying:Morgan Stanley, Ben SwinburneOverweight, price target $400Update reinforces bullish long-term view and, going forward, analyst expects 90% of global paid net additions to come from outside the U.S., amid continued elevated domestic churn.Notes that local originals were the most popular titles in 2019 in countries including India, Japan, Turkey, Sweden and the U.K.Guidance for nearly $1 billion in free cash flow improvement begins the path toward positive free cash flow and reinforces confidence in the earnings outlook.Piper Sandler, Michael OlsonOverweight, price target $400Netflix reported a “strong” fourth quarter thanks to international subscriber additions, though its first-quarter outlook was below consensus and “likely conservative.”Domestic streaming net subscriber additions were below the Street, likely due to the combination of elevated churn from pricing changes applied earlier in the year and new competition from Disney and Apple.Loup Ventures, Gene Munster“A mixed bag,” with domestic competition demonstrated by U.S. churn but with outperformance at the international business, leaving Netflix’s underlying growth opportunity intact.Also notes that from next year, consumers will have to make more thoughtful streaming decisions as promotional pricing from Apple TV+ and Disney+ comes to an end.“Including video offerings with other paid products and services creates a temporary perception of value in the minds of consumers and an opportunity for video providers to hook viewers, but, eventually, that perception changes.”BMO Capital Markets, Daniel SalmonOutperform, price target $440While U.S. churn remained slightly elevated after a price increase and competitive launches, “solid” growth in U.S. subscribers pushes back materially on the most bearish views.Combined with better-than-expected results in non-U.S. subscribers, BMO says that story remains “firmly intact” for growth investors, whereas free cash flow guidance for 2020 coming in better-than-expected should support interest from GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investors as Netflix makes the free cash flow turn.Bernstein, Todd JuengerOutperform, raises price target to $423 from $415International net paid adds accelerated in every region to a new fourth-quarter all-time high, beat the guide, and beat Bernstein’s estimate and consensus. Since international is where all the total addressable market and future growth lies, says Juenger, “perhaps we should just end this report right here.”“Imagine how differently this EPS report might have been received if Netflix had found an additional 200,000 U.S. net adds.” Netflix still grew in the U.S., Juenger wrote.Netflix’s U.S. subscribers “responded to the Disney+ launch by watching more Netflix.”“With very little new original Disney+ content over the next several quarters, we think consumers will be reinforced in their appreciation of Netflix’s unique value proposition: ‘always something new to watch.’”Citigroup, Jason BazinetNeutral, price target $325Citigroup expects the stock to trade flattish as the better EPS outlook is offset by the lower-than-expected net add guidance.“All told, while the firm delivered a solid set of 4Q19 results and issued 1Q20 EPS guidance above expectations, we suspect that management’s 1Q20 net add guidance is less robust than the market expected.”Needham, Laura MartinUnderperform rating“U.S. subscribers historically have been 3x more profitable than international subs. This gap is widening, and India highlights this problem.”Going forward, Netflix will aggregate low return on investment (ROI) international subs with U.S. subscribers, which masks Netflix’s true ROI trends. Management must add four $3-per-month subscriptions in India to offset each U.S. subscriber lost.Needham expects rising U.S. competition to increase Netflix’s churn and customer acquisition costs, which should lower the company’s lifetime value per subscriber versus historical levels, and put downward pressure on valuation multiples.RBC Capital Markets, Mark MahaneyOutperform, price target $420“We are incrementally positive. In a year when Netflix had two hands tied behind its back (material price increases and pullback in marketing spend), it managed to add almost as many global paid subs in FY19 as in FY18.”“That said, the ‘churn coast’ is not yet clear in the U.S., with domestic adds slowing, as Netflix felt roughly equal impacts from last year’s price increase and new competitive launches.”Evercore ISI, Vijay JayantIn-line, price target $300“With the service likely having reached ‘peak net adds’ we remain cautious on longer-term ARPU and margin trends and view the risk/reward tradeoff as fair at best at current valuations.”“While bulls will point to a better content slate in the 2Q as a means of making up any 1Q shortfall, we are less convinced given a flurry of competitive launches as a headwinds to consider and believe it likely that 2018 will ultimately represent peak net additions for the company.”Raymond James, Justin PattersonStrong buy, price target $415“Netflix is taking a conservative tone to start the year, with the assumption of slight headwinds on UCAN and international markets.”“This reflects content timing, a competitive launch in Europe, and working through 2019’s U.S. churn.”(Adds share move in third paragraph, Needham and Raymond James comments to second and fifth, and more commentary in analyst section after BMO.)\--With assistance from Lisa Pham and William Canny.To contact the reporters on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.net;Kit Rees in London at krees1@bloomberg.net;Kamaron Leach in New York at kleach6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Celeste Perri, Jeremy R. CookeFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.