CHICAGO, Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Apple (AAPL), Tech Data Corp. (TECD), Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Ingram Micro Inc. (IM) and SYNNEX Corp. (SNX).
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Here are highlights from the Analyst Blog:
Apple's iPhone 5 Released
Everyone's favorite company, Apple (AAPL), was in focus today as the Cupertino-based giant revealed its latest smartphone, the iPhone 5. The new product looks to be made entirely of glass and aluminum and will be roughly 20% lighter than the iPhone 4S, according to TechCrunch. Some other details about the new phone from the highly anticipated release include:
- 7.6mm thickness
- 4 inch screen that has a 1136x640 pixel ratio
- A6 Chip; two times faster CPU and graphics
- 8 megapixel camera
- 225 hours of standby time, 8 hours of 3G talk time
Immediately preceding the event, Apple's stock price retreated a tad from its level above $664/share back into the red for the day, and at roughly 12:23 CT, was at $659/share. This does represent a bit of a bounceback for AAPL, as the stock was under $657 at the low point of the session.
Currently, Apple receives a Zacks Rank of 3 or 'hold', although EPS growth is expected to come in at an impressive 18.6% for the current quarter…
What do you think? Are you impressed by the new iPhone? Will the product allow the company to maintain its incredible lead in the smartphone market?
Tech Data Buys Out BEL
Tech Data Corp. (TECD) has now gained complete control over Brightstar Europe Limited ("BEL"), the joint venture between Tech Data and Brightstar Corp. Tech Data has paid Brightstar $165 million to take over its 50% stake in the joint venture.
Tech Data will also be repaying all loans provided by Brightstar. This financial transaction will reduce Tech Data's additional paid-in capital within shareholders' equity by $86 million to $90 million, according to the company.
BEL provides distribution and supply chain solutions across Europe and has a distinguished vendor list that comprises companies like Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), Samsung and LG Electronics, to name a few. With the present consolidation, Tech Data's fiscal 2013 net income and earnings per share are expected to improve.
Tech Data is focused on diversifying its operations in Europe, as it faces stiff competition in the domestic market from Ingram Micro Inc. (IM) and SYNNEX Corp. (SNX). Tech Data generates the majority of its sales from European countries (approximately 60% of total sales). Research firm Gartner expects IT spending in Central and Eastern Europe to be positive, which is expected to generate revenues of roughly $158 billion in 2012.
Thus, to grab a share of this billion-dollar opportunity, Tech Data has been expanding its operations in Europe. Recently it acquired some distribution companies of Specialist Distribution Group ("SDG") for $350 million. Tech Data will be acquiring shares of SDG, IQ Sys and ISI Distribution in the UK, ETC and Best'Ware in France and ETC in the Netherlands.
However, sales from the European region dropped 5% year over year in the recently concluded quarter where economic concerns continue to weigh on IT investments. Other than the volatile European market, there is also a lack of visibility in government spending in the U.S. Sluggish PC shipments are also expected to hurt Tech Data's top-line.
Moreover, we believe that Tech Data is well positioned to achieve strong top-line and bottom-line growth over the long term, as information technology (IT) spending picks up and its new technologies start contributing.
Thus, we maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on the stock. Currently, the stock has a Zacks #3 Rank, implying a short-term Hold rating.
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