Baidu (BIDU) may spin off its online video streaming unit iQiyi

Chinese search engine Baidu (BIDU) may be looking to spin off and list its online video streaming unit iQiyi, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Ticker: IQ 

According to the WSJ, Baidu is looking to raises $1 billion through a Hong Kong or U.S. listing of iQiyi in 2017, which would value the online video platform at roughly $5 billion.

iQiyi is the number one online video platform in China in terms of both market share and the number of paying subscribers.

Spinning off iQiyi would be good news for Baidu’s shareholders as it would to unlock the value of the internet giant’s non-core assets.

InvenSense (INVN ) to be acquired TDK Corporation for $13.00/share in cash

• InvenSense is an Apple supplier

  

 

TDK Corporation to acquire INVN for $13.00/share in cash :

• Co entered into a definitive agreement today wherein TDK agrees to acquire all of the outstanding InvenSense shares for cash at an acquisition price of $13.00 per InvenSense share, for a total acquisition price of $1.3 bln. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. Completion of the transaction is expected in second quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, and is subject to approvals by InvenSense shareholders and the relevant regulatory authorities.
• Transaction brings together more complete portfolio of sensor and software solutions spanning inertial, pressure, microphone and ultrasonic wave sensor products and technologies from InvenSense, with TDK's pressure, temperature, electric current and various other sensors.
• Transaction will be financed with cash-on-hand.
• In January 2016, TDK established a joint venture with Qualcomm (QCOM), called RF360 Holdings Singapore PTE, Ltd., and has also entered into agreements to expand technical cooperation in a wide range of fields including passive components, batteries, wireless power transfer, sensors.

TWLO — is it a buy?

• Dec 20:  #20;  Is TWLO a buy?

Next day, Dec. 21:

Dec. 22:

 

Trivago NV (TRVG) began trading on Nasdaq on 16 Dec 2016

• Trivago NV is a German hotel search and booking site
• Rivals: TripAdvisor Inc. and Priceline Group Inc.
• Spinoff from Expedia 

Trivago founder and CEO Rolf Schromgens

Smart Sand (SND) reported earnings on Thur 15 Dec 2016 (a/h)

** charts after earnings **

Smart Sand beats by $0.03, beats on revs :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) net of breakeven, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.03); revenues rose 21.1% year/year to $10.9 mln vs the $9.99 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Adj EBITDA was $4.5 million for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016 compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $3.5 million during same period last year, an increase of 29% on a year-over-year basis and an increase of 173% sequentially compared to second quarter of 2016 Adjusted EBITDA of $1.7 million.
• "We continue to see signs of recovery in the raw frac sand market as growth in activity in oil and gas drilling and completions continues to improve. We are confident that the scale of our operations, gradation of our sand reserves, and our dual-serve rail capabilities positions us well to be a strong competitor in the frac sand marketplace. We look forward to the future of Smart Sand."

Inphi (IPHI) completes acquisition of ClariPhy Communications

SANTA CLARA, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/12/16 -- Inphi Corporation (NYSE: IPHI), a leading provider of high-speed data movement interconnects, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of ClariPhy Communications, Inc., as announced on November 1, 2016, in a transaction valued at $277 million plus the assumption of certain liabilities.

'By finalizing the ClariPhy acquisition we achieve an important milestone in offering a platform for optical networking customers,' said Ford Tamer, President and CEO of Inphi Corporation. 'The ClariPhy coherent DSP complements Inphi TiA, driver, optical PHY and silicon photonics components to provide system OEM and module customers high-performance and low-power platform solutions. We believe this will provide customers with faster time-to-market, proven quality, and competitive cost.'

IHS estimates the total available market for 100G & 200G coherent optical network hardware will grow at 18% CAGR, from $3.2 billion to $7.4 billion, between 2015 and 2020. This growth will be driven by several concurrent, powerful tailwinds: the current optical super cycle, a growing and expanding SAM (serviceable available market), opportunities in regions such as China and with new markets such as Cloud. Inphi believes that this acquisition will position the Company to be one of the most comprehensive component and platform suppliers across all three optical market segments inside/outside data centers, metro and long haul.

About Inphi
Inphi Corporation is a leader in high-speed data movement. We move big data fast, throughout the globe, between data centers, and inside data centers. Inphi's expertise in signal integrity results in reliable data delivery, at high speeds, over a variety of distances. As data volumes ramp exponentially due to video streaming, social media, cloud-based services, and wireless infrastructure, the need for speed has never been greater. That's where we come in. Customers rely on Inphi's solutions to develop and build out the Service Provider and Cloud infrastructures, and data centers of tomorrow. To learn more about Inphi, visit www.inphi.com.

Dave & Busters (PLAY) reported earnings Tue 6 Dec 2016 (a/h)

** charts after earnings **

 

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment PLAY released its third quarter fiscal 2016 financial results after the bell, posting earnings of 25 cents per share and revenues of $228.7 million. 

Beat earnings estimates. The company reported earnings of 25 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 cents per share and growing a whopping 108% year-over-year. Net income was $10.8 million.

Beat revenue estimates. The company saw revenue figures of $228.7 million, also beating our consensus estimate of $213 million and growing 18.6% year-over-year.

Dave & Buster’s saw comparable store sales increase 5.9% during the quarter, compared to an increase of 8.8% in the year-ago period.

Looking ahead, the company has raised its full-year fiscal 2016 financial outlook. Total revenues are expected to be in the range of $998 million to $1.003 billion. Q4 comps should fall between an increase of 2.5% and 4.5%, while net income is expected to be in the range of $86.5 million to $88.5 million.

"Dave & Buster's delivered exceptional quarterly results and we are pleased to be increasing our annual guidance. Our strength was broad-based as we experienced momentum across the country and throughout the quarter. Guests responded well to the conclusion of our 'Summer of Games' promotion, along with our subsequent football-related promotions," said Steve King, Chief Executive Officer.

Coupa Software (COUP) reported earnings Mon 5 Dec 2016 (a/h)

• COUP was previously used by Coupons.com (COUP)

** charts before earnings **

** charts after earnings **

Coupa Software beats by $0.25, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS, revs above consensus :

• Reports Q3 (Oct) loss of $0.22 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.25 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.47); revenues rose 55.4% year/year to $35.44 mln vs the $31.1 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues upside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of ($0.19-0.16), excluding non-recurring items, vs. ($0.23) Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $35.5-36 mln vs. $32.40 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.