Shares of solid-state drive maker Stec (STEC) are down $2.72, or almost 14%, at $17.35 after the company this afternoon beat Q1 estimates, but the current-quarter forecast missed by a mile, citing ongoing effects of Japan’s disaster.

Q1 revenue was up 145% at $94.9 million, versus the consensus estimate of $91.6 million. EPS of 32 cents per share was as expected.

CEO Manouch Moshayedi called it “one of the finest first-quarter financial results in Stec’s history.”

For the current quarter, Stec sees $80 million to $90 million in revenue, versus the $93.74 million expected, and EPS of 21 cents to 30 cents, versus 31 cents expected.

Moshayedi said some customers were being affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March, which might cause them to delay orders for Stec’s drives.

We anticipate that some of our customers whose supply chains have significant exposure to the most impacted areas of Japan may postpone or reduce their orders for our products in the second quarter of 2011. Due to these unforeseen factors, we are providing a wider than usual range of revenue and EPS targets for the second quarter of 2011. We expect that the shortage of materials experienced by these customers will be resolved in the coming quarters.”

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

As you may have heard, because he’s said it a bunch of times, were Donald Trump to be elected President of the United States, his first order of business would be to “deal” with this China situation. Specifically, Trump has said he’d tell the Chinese that “If you don’t stop manipulating your currency, we’re going to put a 25 percent tax on your products that come into the US.” The Don has made the case that he’s uniquely qualified to run this country because unlike our pussy diplomats (who “went to school to learn how to be nice”), he’d “deliver to the message” to to China in away that would get them to take the threat seriously. Today during a town hall, Trump workshopped some lines and so far here’s what he’s got: “Listen you motherfuckers, we’re going to tax you 25 percent.”

And when it comes to gas prices, he’d take a similar tack with a simple “You’re not going to raise that fucking price.”

Trump to China: ‘Listen You Motherf—ers, We’re Going to Tax You 25 Percent’ [Daily Intel]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Shares of Verizon Communications (VZ) are down 54 cents, or 1.4%, at $37.25, after the company reported Q1 revenue and earnings per share slightly ahead of analysts’ estimates.

Q1 revenue rose 0.3%, year over year, to $26.99 billion, just a hair above analysts’ average $26.86 billion estimate. EPS of 51 cents per share was a penny better than expected.

Verizon said its wireless business added 1.8 million customers, excluding acquisitions, for a total of 104 million “connections.” Wireless service revenue rose 6.3%, and data revenue was up 22.3%, the company said. Retail postpaid churn was 1.01%, Verizon said, while total retail churn was 1.33%, both improvements from a year earlier, the company said.

Verizon activated 2.2 million of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 4 after the device went on sale at the beginning of February. The company had to deal with some slowing of its ARPU growth, at just 2.2%, as customers held off on purchasing other products in advance of the phone’s introduction, Verizon said. But ARPU growth rose to 2.8% exiting the quarter.

Operating cash flow of $5 billion was lower than the $7 billion booked a year earlier as promotions for the iPhone 4 ate up cash, Verizon said.

CEO Ivan Seidenberg remarked that Verizon, “are executing on our business plans and building momentum, and we are on track to meet both our revenue and earnings objectives for the year.”

Verizon will hold a conference call with analysts at 8:30 am, Eastern this morning, which you can listen to here.

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

For years, there has been a Google (GOOG)-led paid search ecosystem, but now there is a rapidly emerging social media ecosystem led by Facebook, according to analysts at Caris & Co.

Analyst Sandeep Aggarwal attended the 2011 Ad:Tech Conference in San Francisco and called the development of this ecosystem the conference’s most noteworthy trend.

“We interacted with nearly half dozen such companies that are providing products/services for social media ads/strategy, social e-commerce, social media analytics, and other social media user engagements/interactions,” he wrote.

Most of these companies are 12 to 18 months old, Aggarwal wrote, and are seeing “a hockey-stick style adoption of their products and services.”

Other noteworthy trends from the conference included the fact that ad budgets for social media were coming mostly out of resources previously devoted to print and off-line ads, as opposed to search and display.

In addition to social media, Aggarwal wrote, affiliate marketing, email marketing and mobile are other “hot areas.”

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

Shares of Alctel-Lucent (ALU) are up 48 cents, or almost 9%, at $5.82, after Goldman Sachs’s Tim Boddy raised his rating on the stock from Neutral to Buy, with a $7.81 price target, writing that the company’s product portfolio finally has an attractive “mix” for the first time since Alcatel and Lucent merged, especially in IP routing and so-called LTE wireless for 4G services.

For the first time ever, the company’s going to get more pre-tax profit, or “Ebit,” this year from newer types of equipment rather than from old, declining stuff, Boddy estimates. He projects €350 million in Ebit this year from “structurally attractive” equipment, such as IP routing gear, up from just €172 million last year. That would be more than the €279 million the company will probably get from products in the “highly competitive” category, even though that profit is also up from last year, when it was €213 million.

Boddy sees €16.99 billion in revenue this year, down slightly from the prior €17.04 billion estimate, but he sees operating income going up to €878 million from a prior €872 million estimate, and eps of €0.46, double his €0.36 estimate previously.

As for the products, “We expect ongoing market share gains from Cisco Systems (CSCO) in fast-growing IP routing, given ALU’s significant customer wins to date and the disruption created by Cisco’s migration of its customer base onto its new routing platform,” while, “The LTE coverage expansion proposed by AT&T (T) as a condition of its merger with T-Mobile USA is a further long-term tailwind to growth, especially as ALU (as an incumbent at ATT) should gain share from the ATT/T-Mobile network integration, at the expense of NSN.”

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster this morning advises not to worry about potential supply-chain shortages for Apple (AAPL) that may impact the iPad and other products, writing that, “Historically, calls based on supply-side concerns have led investors astray, but demand for Apple’s products continues to rise.”

Munster reiterated an Overweight rating and a $483 price target.

Munster writes that although the circumstances in Japan as a result of last week’s disastrous earthquake are “changing by the hour,” it seems that there will be “component delays for some of Apple’s key products including iPhone 4 and iPad 2 through the June quarter,” including “BT resin,” which is supplied mainly by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., where production has been temporarily suspended as damage is assessed.

FBR Capital’s Craig Berger warned of potential shortages of BT resin, also known as Bismaleimide Triazine Resin, on Tuesday.

Also, Toshiba has halted production of NAND flash, and Toshiba makes 40% of the chips, which are used for storage in Apple’s products.

“But we also note that demand is stronger than ever” for Apple’s products, “Which should move shares higher,” writes Munster.

Apple’s strategy of buying futures contracts on key components, and making large committed orders, should also help by putting the company first in line, he opines.

Shares of Apple are up $6.79, or 2%, at $336.80.

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

Macquarie Equities Research analyst Shawn Webster this morning started coverage of Qualcomm (QCOM) with a Neutral rating, writing that while he appreciates the company’s “leading technology position” in wireless devices, he thinks the stock is discounting much of the enthusiasm over smartphones and tablets.

Webster set a $58.40 price target on the stock, noting that the stock trades below its historical average of 17 times to 23 times earnings, at 19 times, but is above the S&P 500′s multiple.

Qualcomm’s tablet and smartphone market is going to be worth about $25 billion this year, he writes, and is rising faster than overall semiconductor industry growth of 4%, at what may be 12% growth per annum from now through 2015. And thanks to Qualcomm’s exposure to other products, such as e-readers, the company probably has the fastest growth revenue outlook of any chip company he follows, at perhaps 17% per year.

However, he also sees Qualcomm at risk of a potential bubble in tablets and phones:

Due to the many designs in progress in the smart phone arena, we are concerned “noise” in the supply chain could emerge as not every handset or tablet company building systems will gain share. This adds risk, in our opinion, of a slowdown in chip orders for handsets/tablets in 2H CY11 and increases risk of pricing pressure of the handset devices themselves (to which QCOM is sensitive). Our global handset team also estimates average handset selling prices should significantly decelerate after peaking in 4Q CY10. We note QCOM stock has a long history of becoming “tired” around these handset price peaks.

Qualcomm shares today are off 50 cents, o 1%, at $53.10.

Article courtesy of Tech Trader Daily

UBS chip analyst Uche Orji this morning raised his ratings on both Intel (INTC) and Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM) to Buy from Neutral.

For Intel, he boosts his price target to $25, from $20. “We believe the PC component inventory cycle has bottomed, with supportive comments from PC supply chain companies,” [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Multi-Fineline Electronix (MFLX), which makes flexible circuit boards used in smart phones and other products, posted revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30 of $226.7 million, a bit below the Street at $227.7 million. Profits excluding various one-time charges totaled 49 cents a share, ahead of the consensus [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Citigroup analyst Timothy Shaw this morning cut his rating on Logitech (LOGI) to Sell from Hold, reducing his target price and estimates on the maker of remote controls, PC peripherals and other products.
He notes that the stock now trades at a 30% premium to other European tech stocks – a [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily