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Changing Model May Mean Temporary Headwinds By TipRanks

© Reuters. CyberArk: Changing Model May Mean Temporary Headwinds CyberArk Software (NASDAQ:) develops, markets, and sells cybersecurity solutions around the world. It operates in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. CyberArk’s major focus is on access management and identity security solutions. I am neutral on CYBR stock. (See Analysts’ Top Stocks on TipRanks) Macro Conditions…

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Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: TKMR) is a biopharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, Canada. Tekmira prides itself on creating drugs to combat cancers, viral infections, and metabolic diseases in orphan markets. Their most well-known developing drug is TKM-Ebola, which is in Phase 1 of FDA testing to treat the rapidly spreading Ebola virus in West Africa. The pharmaceutical company released its third quarter earnings on November 6th, falling short of earnings estimates.

Tekmira’s Q3 report posted net losses of -$0.39 per share, a 5% year-over-year increase from -$0.41 per share. This fell short of the consensus estimate of -$0.32 per share. Revenue for the third quarter was $4.4 million, an 18.5% year-over-year increase from $3.0 million, and beating the consensus estimate of $3.71 million.

President and CEO Dr. Mark Murray remained altruistic, noting “Our goal this quarter was to continue the advancement of our product development programs, reflecting the Company’s focus on developing novel RNAi-based therapeutics.” In regards to the Ebola outbreak, Dr. Murray continued, “We have designed and initiated production of a modified RNAi therapeutic directed against the Guinea variant of the Ebola virus” Dr. Murray announced that Tekmira is being reimbursed by the Department of Defense for all costs incurred for the development of TKM-Ebola, which “shows a commitment to the continued development of anti-Ebola therapeutics”

Tekmira, in collaboration with the U.S. Army, has been working on an Ebola drug therapy, called TKM-Ebola, to combat the devastating virus is West Africa. In March 2014, the drug was granted “Fast Track” access to the FDA as the need for a widespread Ebola drug became urgent. Currently, the drug is on a partial clinical hold. This status allows the drug to be used in people who have Ebola but requires Tekmira to continue collecting and providing more information about the mechanism of the drug.

As CEO Dr. Murray mentioned, Tekmira is working on a modified version of the Ebola drug. Because Ebola mutates as it spreads, Tekmira has created a variant of TKM. A press release dated October 21st, 2014 confirms that Tekmira “has completed the design of a modified RNAi therapeutic specifically targeting this viral variant, now termed ‘Ebola-Guinea.” This drug variant targets the strain of Ebola most prevalent in West Africa.  Doses of the experimental drug will be available in early December.

Shares of Tekmira opened at $16.70 on Monday, November 10th. The company has a 1-year high of $31.48 and a 1-year low of $7.17. The daily moving average is $16.36 and the 50-day moving average is $23.14. The market cap for Tekmira is $410.27 million and its P/E ratio is not applicable.

On November 10th, Glaucus Research Group rated Tekmira a Strong Sell on Seeking Alpha with a price target of $7-$10. The research group cited many concerns, including safety trepidations for TKM-Ebola. Glaucus believes the drug is going to fail FDA approval because the “technology in unproven.” Additionally, doctors are reluctant to administer the drug because they believe it is unsafe and prefer ZMapp; another experimental drug. Glaucus concluded, “Tekmira is hugely overvalued and its share price is poised to collapse.” Glaucus Research Group has rated two stocks, earning them a 50% success rate with an average return of +10.5% per recommendation.

Separately, Jason Kolbert of Maxin Group maintained a Buy rating for Tekmira with a $31 price target on November 10th.Kolbert cited the Department of Defense’s $7 million reimbursement for TKM-Ebola, “which should be available in December 2014.” He added, “Several Ebola-infected patients (primarily in the US) have been treated as part of emergency use granted by the FDA, though success or failure was not disclosed, and any success would not constitute a clinical trial. We expect TKM-EBOLA to be in clinical trials in 2015.” Kolbert has an average success rate of 39% recommending stocks with an average return of +5.2%.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Tekmira is Moderate Buy.

CVS Pharmacy (NYSE: CVS) is the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States. Based in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, CVS has over 7,900 pharmacies and medical clinics in 47 states. On Tuesday, November 4th, CVS released their Q3 report reflecting a strong quarterly performance. 

Highlights from the Q3 report include adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.15, a 9% year-over-year increase and beating the analyst estimate by two cents. During the same quarter of last year, CVS posted adjusted EPS of $1.05. The pharmacy and health care provider chain earned net revenue of $35.02 billion, beating the analyst consensus of $34.74 billion. 3Q net revenue illustrated a 9.7% year-over-year increase from $31.93 billion. Analysts expect that CVS will post $4.47-$4.50 for the current fiscal year.

President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Merlo was pleased with the report, noting “the better-than-expected revenue growth across the enterprise and expanding retail gross margins.” Merlo continued, “We also continued to deliver substantial free cash flow, enabling us to return more than $3.7 billion to our shareholders year to date. We are well on track to return more than $5 billion to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases for the full year 2014.”

In addition, the end of the third quarter marked the last day CVS sold cigarettes in stores. In February of 2014, CVS announced that they would stop selling cigarettes in all locations by October of 2014 to remain consistent with their mission of providing health care. Instead, CVS pledged to undertake a “robust national smoking cessation program.” CVS is rebranding to reflect their primary intention of being a health care provider. In addition to forgoing the estimated $2 billion annual profit made from cigarettes, CVS has changed its name from CVS Caremark to CVS Health.

CVS, November 5th, 2014

Open $86.33 1 Year High $87.88 1 Year Low $63.29 Daily Moving Avg $86.78 50 Day Moving Avg $82.11 Market Cap $101.50 billion P/E Ratio 21.45

  On Wednesday, November 5th, Frank Morgan from RBC Capital reiterated a Buy rating on CVS with a price target of $96. Morgan has an overall success rate of 64% recommending stocks with an average return of +9.2% per recommendation. He has rated CVS five times with an 80% success rate and an average return of +20.1% per CVS recommendation.

Separately on November 5th, Chris Graja of Argus Research also reiterated a Buy rating on CVS with a price target of $95. Graja has a 61% overall success rate recommending stocks with a +0.3% return per investment. However, Graja has a strong track record recommending CVS with a 75% success rate over 4 ratings, earning an average of +14.7% average return per recommendation.

On average, the top analyst consensus for CVS is Moderate Buy.

CVS is reporting strong revenue and growth, but will they be able to sustain profits after dropping cigarettes from all stores and as it continues to embrace an image as a health care provider?

RetailMeNot, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALE) is the world’s largest website that consolidates online coupons for different retailers and brands. The website is based in Austin, Texas, but operates subsidiary websites throughout Europe. RetailMeNot released a disappointing Q3 report on Monday, November 3rd just as the current CFO announced his departure from the coupon website to return to his home on the west coast at the end of the month.

Here are the highlights from the Q3 report:

Earnings per share: $0.05 on a GAAP, compared to $0.06 in the same quarter of last year

Quarterly revenue: $56.47 million, beating analyst estimates by approximately $0.47 million and posting a 19% year-over-year increase

Analysts expect that RetailMeNot will post $0.85 EPS for the current fiscal year

Following the release of the substandard report and the CFO’s resignation, share prices plummeted and ultimately reached a 1-year low of $13.65 during trading hours. To make matters worse, RetailMeNot reduced revenue estimates for the fourth quarter.

Although visits to RetailMeNot increased 22% to 161.5 million, some speculate that the site was adversely affected by changes in Google search algorithms. The alteration placed RetailMeNot lower down on the search engine for relevant searches. However, RetailMeNot does not seem too concerned with the impact.

Founder and CEO Cotter Cunningham maintained a positive attitude while commenting on the report. Cunningham is “pleased with the strong user engagement levels” and “especially proud of the release of the redesigned RetailMeNot mobile app.” Revenue from mobile apps was $11.7 million, constituting 21% of overall revenue for the quarter. Cunningham kept his sights on the upcoming holiday season, noting “we look forward to offering retailers new opportunities to help build their brand, increase store traffic and grow sales.”

Shares of RetailMeNot opened at $15.44 on Tuesday, November 4th. The digital coupon site has a 1-year high of $48.73 and a 1-year low of $13.65. The stocks daily moving average is $14.94 and it has a 50-day moving average of $17.32. The market cap for RetailMeNot is $774.54 million and its P/E ratio is 45.85.

On November 4th, Mark Mahaney of RBC Capital reiterated a Sector Perform rating for RetailMeNot and lowered his price target to $19.00 from $24.00. Mahaney noted several negative factors, including, “FX headwinds, weakish International traffic, Mobile monetization challenges, ongoing Google SEO risks, and commission pressures.” Mahaney has a 65% success rate recommending stocks with an average return of +24.9% per recommendation.

Separately on November 4th, Blake Harper from Wunderlich Securities assigned a Buy rating to RetailMeNot but did not provide a price target. Harper has a 40% success rate recommending stocks with a -6.9% average return per recommendation.

Overall, the top analyst consensus for RetailMeNot is Hold.

By Carly Forster

Who?

Tesla Motors, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is an American automobile company that designs, manufactures, and sells electric powered cars.

When?

Tesla is scheduled to announce its third quarter 2014 earnings report ended September 30th after market close on Wednesday, November 5th.  Analysts’ expect that Tesla will report -$0.01 EPS on a Non-GAAP basis with $889.3 million in total revenue. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS and $602.6 million in total revenue, considerably coming out ahead of analysts’ expectations.

Where?

Tesla management is set to hold a live question and answer webcast at 2:30pm PST (5:30pm EST) to review the Company’s financial and business results and outlook. The electric automobile company previously forecast the production of 9,000 to 11,000 Model S cars and the delivery of 7,800 Model S cars during the third quarter. In addition, Tesla foresees to deliver 35,000 plus Model S vehicles by the end of 2014. Tesla expects its gross margin to be close to what it was in its second quarter, potentially falling flat or making a slight profit for the quarter.

What?

Aside from Model S deliveries and an update on its full-year guidance, Tesla is expected to update investors on the status of its new Model X. Tesla said earlier this year that the “development efforts remain on track for production of Model X in the spring of 2015.” Specifically, investors and analysts alike are looking for an update on beta versions of the vehicle, timing of production and reservations.

In addition, investors and analysts’ are also expecting Tesla to give an update on its integration into the Chinese market, as well as the status of its Gigafactory being built in Nevada.

Final Thought

Tesla is scheduled to report its Q3 earnings results in a webcast on Wednesday after market close. Will Tesla give investors a reason to be excited or will it disappoint?

LinkedIn (NYSE: LNKD) is a Mountain View, California based social networking website primarily used for business-oriented professional networking. The social media network released its third quarter financial report on Thursday October 30th and its results gave investors reason to celebrate. Correspondingly, LinkedIn’s stock price shot up 12% in trading on Friday.

In Its Q3 results, LinkedIn reported $0.52 earnings per share on a diluted Non-GAAP basis, beating analysts’ consensus of $0.47 by $0.05. During the same quarter of last year, LinkedIn posted $0.39 earnings per share. The company had revenue of $568.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $557.50 million. LinkedIn’s quarterly revenue was up 45% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that LinkedIn will post $1.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LinkedIn’s better than expected quarter is partly due to its strong growth in the Chinese market and the evolution of job ads as a fast-growing business line. In addition, LinkedIn saw a 28% increase in new subscribers totaling to 332 million memberships. 75% of its new members came from outside the United States.  “LinkedIn made significant progress against several long-term strategic investments we began this year,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “During the third quarter, we took meaningful steps in increasing the scale and relevance of job listings, growing the professional publishing platform, and expanding our member network in new geographies and demographics.”

Shares of LinkedIn opened at $224.24on Friday, October 31st. The social media service has a 1-year high of $239.17 and a 1-year low of $136.02. The stock’s daily moving average is $227.48 and it has a 50-day moving average of $205.61. The market cap for LinkedIn is $28.26 billion and its P/E ratio is not applicable.

On October 31st, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali maintained a Buy rating for LinkedIn and raised his price target from $250 t0 $255. He noted, “We’re maintaining a BUY rating on the back of strong 3Q:14 results, with revenue/EBITDA exceeding consensus estimates by 2%/7%, respectively. While 4Q:14 guidance is likely conservative, steady improvement in member metrics, sustainable growth in corporate customers and ARPU, and new products (particularly Sales Navigator) should continue to drive outsized revenue growth/margin expansion over time.” Squali currently has a 76% success rate recommending stocks with a +28.5% average return per recommendation. He has rated LinkedIn 10 times, earning an 83% success rate recommending the stock.

Similarly on October 31st, RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney reiterated an Outperform rating on LinkedIn and raised his price target from $235 to $245. He explained, “1) Consistent Revenue Growth: 45%, 45%, 43% – those were the Q3 Y/Y growth rates for the Talent, Marketing & Subscriptions segments…nice consistency; 2) Strong Corporate Solutions Customer Adds – 2,200 net adds in Q3 vs. 1,700 in Q3:13…so LNKD still in Hunter – not Farmer – part of the S-Curve. And ARPU growth was a solid 5% Y/Y; 3) LNKD Announced Mid-Single-Digit Price Increase For Talent Solutions – will begin in January ’15…first increase since ’13…probable evidence of pricing power; & 4) Solid Overall User & Engagement Growth – Registered Members (28% Y/Y), Visiting Members (16% Y/Y), and Page Views (28% Y/Y)…the platform is becoming more valuable.” Mahaney currently has a 65% success rate recommending stocks with a +25.5% average return per recommendation. He has rated LinkedIn 9 times, earning an 80% success rate recommending the stock.

On average, the top analyst consensus for LinkedIn is Moderate Buy.

To see more recommendations for LinkedIn, visit TipRanks today!