Markets:
DJIA --173.770.58%
NASDAQ +57.600.48%
S&P --5.750.16%
Featured Stocks:
X +0.91% 14.38
PCEF +0.19% 21.63
MRNA +10.78% 109.18
DHI +2.38% 76.06
Login My Member Benefits Archives Research Your Team About Us FAQ

tech stocks

Growth in Google's Android Pays Off for InvenSense Inc. (NYSE: INVN)

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning • @DavidGZeiler -

The exploding number of Google Android devices has become a cash machine for microchip maker InvenSense Inc. (NYSE: INVN).

InvenSense makes the tiny motion sensors used in 70% of Android phones and 90% of motion-sensing Android tablets.

Mobile device makers have enthusiastically adopted Android, an operating system developed by Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG), because Google licenses it for free.

Growth in Android devices is exploding.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, Google Senior Vice President for Mobile Andy Rubin announced that 850,000 Android devices are activated every single day, for year-over-year growth of 250%.

That kind of growth offers tremendous potential for a company like InvenSense, which only went public last November.

With 512 million mobile devices expected to be sold by 2014, the market for InvenSense promises to be huge.

InvenSense: The Best Performing IPO of 2011

These motion-sensor chips, called Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), are what enable mobile devices to react to tilting or shaking.

Although MEMS technology has existed for decades, it was when InvenSense's motion sensing chips were used in the Nintendo Co. Ltd. (PINK ADR: NTDOY) Wii controller in 2006 that the technology started to go mainstream.

To continue reading, please click here...

iRobot's (Nasdaq: IRBT) Timing Couldn't Be Better For Investors

By , Defense + Tech Specialist, Money Morning • @Robinson_STI -

iRobot Corp. (Nasdaq: IRBT) made the right decision.

And the Pentagon just proved it.

The small-cap robotics leader knows only too well it needs to increase its private sector sales as America works to cut defense spending.

That's why iRobot Corp. has reorganized to target the health care, retail and security industries.

For investors, the timing couldn't be better.

After all, the Defense Department has announced several new robotics breakthroughs in recent days.

This shows the U.S. military is still completely committed to using robots to win the War of the Future.

But now that American troops have left Iraq, the Pentagon's top brass is pinching pennies like never before.

And yet...it has new robots to brag about.

In a moment, I'll tell you all about them. But first...

To continue reading, please click here...

Tech Stocks to Watch: Cisco (CSCO), Apple (AAPL), Demandware (DWRE)

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Tech stocks continued their all-star year yesterday (Thursday) with a Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) deal, a new intraday high for Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), and an explosive first-day performance for Demandware Inc. (NYSE: DWRE) moving markets.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 0.51% to 3,056.37.

Here's why these are the tech stocks to watch today (Friday):

Cisco Systems (CSCO) makes play for video: Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) announced a $4 billion deal with video-software specialist NDS Group Ltd, a small company based outside London.

To continue reading, please click here...

Tech Stocks Soar on "Off the Charts" Demand for Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Products

By , Contributing Writer, Money Morning -

If you're invested in technology stocks, you've had a great ride lately.

With demand for Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) products soaring, tech stocks will continue to do well.

Tech stocks have posted a whopping 16% return in 2012, the top performing sector in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. By comparison, the broader market has notched just a 9% gain year-to-date (YTD).

"Large-cap technology stocks have exceeded our expectations with better revenues, earnings, margins and cash flows," Michael Sansoterra, a sub-adviser for the Ridgeworth Large Cap Growth Fund, told The Wall Street Journal. "You just can't find that elsewhere in the large-cap growth space."

Tech Stocks Offer Bargains

Even as they march higher, prices for tech stocks are a relative bargain.

To continue reading, please click here...

Tech Stocks to Watch: Pandora Media (NYSE: P), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO)

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -


This week's news moving tech stocks includes today's (Tuesday's) Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) earnings report, tomorrow's (Wednesday's) Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad debut, and Yahoo Inc.'s (Nasdaq: YHOO) rumored layoffs.

Pandora Media (NYSE: P) Earnings: Internet radio site Pandora, which went public June 15 last year, released fourth-quarter earnings after the bell today.

Pandora lost $8.18 million, or five cents a share, due to higher costs for advertising, marketing and content acquisition. Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $81.3 million from $47.6 million, a 71% year-over-year increase. Advertising revenue was $72.1 million, up 74% from the year before, and subscription and other revenue was up 51% to $9.2 million.

To continue reading, please click here...

Technology Stocks: Five Tech Stocks to Avoid This Year

By , Defense + Tech Specialist, Money Morning • @Robinson_STI -

After a rocky 2011, tech stocks have gotten a nice bounce this year.

The Nasdaq 100 index is up well above the rise in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

Strong earnings from Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM) have drawn attention to tech stocks.

And Apple, Inc (Nasdaq: AAPL) blew past all expectations, making a record $13.06 billion in profits for the quarter.

But while tech stocks may look tempting right now, knowing which tech stocks to avoid will prevent a lot of pain to your portfolio in 2012.

.

So here are five tech stocks you should avoid, at least for now

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) Earnings Disappoint, Still a Tech Stock to Avoid in 2012

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) delivered disappointing earnings today (Wednesday), showing new CEO Meg Whitman is still working on nursing the tech giant back to health.

Hewlett-Packard's adjusted earnings per share were 92 cents on revenue of $30 billion in the first quarter, while Wall Street was expecting H-P to earn 87 cents on sales of $30.67 billion.

Earnings fell 32% from the same period a year ago, and revenue slipped 7%.

Hewlett-Packard Co. Stock Price History
(NYSE: HPQ


H-P is the world's largest PC maker, but its glory days are long gone. Over the past year, H-P stock has fallen about 40%.

Its financials for the November - January fiscal quarter illustrate the steep climb H-P faces to regain its profitable leading spot.

"All [its] segments are going to have headwinds," Abhey Lamba, an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA Inc., told BusinessWeek. "It's not going to be a one-year turnaround."

To continue reading, please click here...

Tech Stocks: NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) Earnings Must Show Move to Mobile

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

NVIDIA Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) will join tech stocks reporting earnings this week when it releases fourth-quarter results after the bell today (Wednesday) - and attempts to attract investors with a plan to profit from mobile computing growth.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters forecast quarterly earnings of 19 cents per share on $950.5 million in revenue.

The graphics chipmaker already cut its revenue outlook in January from $1.066 billion to $950 million. It said flooding in Thailand had slowed the global hard-drive market, lowering PC shipments.

NVIDIA invented the graphics processing unit (GPU) in 1999, and its graphics cards are used in many desktop computers and notebooks. Graphics card sales account for 30% of the company's revenue.

But the industry is changing in a way that will render NVIDIA'S core business obsolete. Competitors are releasing new processors more advanced than NVIDIA's.

What investors should look for in Wednesday's report are NVIDIA's plans to expand beyond its PC focus into the next era of computing, and if those plans can stand up to stiff competition.

To continue reading, please click here...

To continue reading, please click here...

Tech Stocks to Watch: Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Research in Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM), Guidewire Software

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

Research in Motion Ltd. (Nasdaq: RIMM), Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), and a software company's IPO round out the biggest headline-making tech stocks this week - but not all are "Buys."

Major change for RIM: Research in Motion, the struggling Blackberry smartphone maker, has named a new Chief Executive Officer to replace co-CEOS Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie - but could be too little, too late for RIM.

The company announced Monday morning that RIM-insider Thorsten Heins would take over the reins effective immediately. Lazaridis will stay on as vice chairman of the board; Balsillie will stay as a director.

To continue reading, please click here...

To continue reading, please click here...

Investing in Tech Stocks in 2012: New Opportunities Arise from Scrapped AT&T Deal

By , Associate Editor, Money Morning -

The end of the AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) deal with T-Mobile USA isn't just a win for U.S. consumers - it's creating new opportunities for investing in tech stocks in 2012.

Since AT&T Inc. announced Monday it was backing out of the $39 billion deal to avoid a lengthy and costly legal battle, the tech sector has been buzzing with what's next for both companies.

The acquisition of T-Mobile USA, a subsidiary of Germany-based Deutsche Telekom AG (PINK ADR: DTEGY), would have made AT&T the largest U.S. wireless carrier, leapfrogging current No. 1 Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ). It would have also thrown a lifeline to the ailing T-Mobile, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless provider behind Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S).

But AT&T couldn't prove to the U.S. Justice Department, which filed an antitrust suit in August, that the deal wouldn't ruin competition by creating an industry duopoly. Ever since AT&T announced the plan in March, U.S. consumers feared future higher rates and fewer plan and phone options.



Click here to continue reading...