Author: fortraders

Medtronic Plc, a medical device maker, reported better-than-expected profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024. The company was helped by a recovery in non-urgent surgical procedures that were delayed during the pandemic as well as strong demand for its heart and diabetes devices. Excluding items, the Dublin-based company reported a profit of $1.57 per share for the quarter, slightly above analysts’ average estimate of $1.56 per share.

However, Medtronic forecast annual profit below Wall Street estimates, as the company expects stronger dollar to continue dragging its sales down in international markets. It also announced the acquisition of Korea-based insulin patch maker EOFlow for a total consideration of about $738 million.

Overall, Medtronic is optimistic about its future prospects and is confident that its restructuring efforts will help it to improve its earnings in the coming year.

Stellantis, the world’s third largest carmaker by sales, has invested in Lyten to help the U.S. startup develop applications for lithium-sulfur EV batteries, lightweight composites and on-board sensing solutions. The investment, through Stellantis’ venture capital arm Stellantis Ventures, aims to simplify the carmaker’s supply chain and pursue greener technology for its battery-electric vehicles (EVs).

Lyten’s lithium-sulfur batteries do not use nickel, cobalt, or manganese, resulting in an estimated 60% lower carbon footprint than current batteries. The materials technology could also help to reduce vehicle weight, further aiding the drive to lower carbon emissions.

Stellantis is targeting 100% of its European passenger car sales and 50% of its U.S. passenger car and light-duty truck sales to be battery EVs by 2030. It expects to have Lyten’s batteries available “definitely within the second half of the decade”. The carmaker is also aiming to be carbon net zero by 2038.

Chinese hacking teams have been blamed by Western intelligence agencies and cybersecurity groups for digital intrusion campaigns across the world. U.S.-based Mandiant has said some Chinese hacking groups are operated by units of China’s army. China’s authorities have consistently denied any form of state-sponsored hacking, saying China itself is a frequent target of cyberattacks.

Some of the biggest Chinese hacking teams identified by intelligence agencies and cybersecurity groups are Volt Typhoon, BackdoorDiplomacy, APT 41 and APT 27. Volt Typhoon was accused of spying on U.S. critical infrastructure organisations, while BackdoorDiplomacy was linked to the Chinese state and was part of the APT15 hacking group. APT 41 has conducted a mix of government-backed cyber intrusions and financially motivated data breaches, while APT 27 has launched multiple attacks on Western and Taiwanese government agencies.

China’s foreign ministry has described the reports as part of a U.S. disinformation campaign, while the Chinese authorities have described such reports as “groundless accusations”.

Shares of European chipmakers surged on Thursday after U.S. semiconductor giant Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue forecast. The firm is experiencing a massive boost to chip demand from growing interest in artificial intelligence. ASM International NV (AS:ASMI), ASML Holdings (AS:ASML) and Siltronic AG (ETR:WAFGn) all climbed close to the top of the pan-European Stoxx 600 in mid-day trading. In Asia, optimism over Nvidia’s results carried into some of its suppliers, as well as other chipmakers in the region. Japan’s Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) and South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc (KS:000660) both gained significantly. Japanese semiconductor players Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:5214) and SUMCO Corp. (TYO:3436) rose nearly 4% each, helping the benchmark Nikkei 225 rise back towards 33-year highs.

Cineworld, the world’s second largest movie theatre chain operator, is set to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July. The British cinema chain operator has received the backing of most of its lenders for its proposed debt restructuring plan.

The company had scrapped plans to sell some or all its businesses after failing to find a buyer and instead opted for a restructuring plan that will wipe out its shareholders. Shares in the company have lost more than 99% of their value since hitting a peak of 310 pence six years ago.

The pandemic shut its cinemas and halted releases of blockbluster movies, and its abandoned plan to take over rival Cineplex has triggered a C$1.23 billion damages claim. Earlier this month, Cineworld received U.S. court approval to raise $2.26 billion as part of its bid to exit bankruptcy.

The restructuring plan has received the support of lenders holding about 99% of its legacy debt facilities and at least 69% of its outstanding indebtedness. Cineworld is scheduled to seek final court approval of its bankruptcy restructuring on June 12.

The Swiss government has taken steps to ensure the financial stability of the nation’s five systemically important banks (SIBs). On Thursday, the government announced a consultation to make a public liquidity backstop available to the SIBs, which includes UBS, Credit Suisse, Raiffeisen Group, Zuercher Kantonalbank and PostFinance.

The backstop was initially provided to Credit Suisse in March under emergency rules, and up to 100 billion Swiss francs was made available. The consultation will start on May 25 and last until June 21, and will seek input from banks, business associations and other affected institutions.

The government said the measures were necessary to improve the resilience of the banks due to their vital roles in taking domestic deposits, lending and carrying out payment transactions. It also noted that other regions such as the European Union, the United Kingdom and the U.S. have already created the conditions to provide liquidity support to systemically important banks in an emergency.

The consultation is part of a broader review of the regulatory framework announced after Credit Suisse’s takeover. The government is aiming to make the public liquidity backstop a permanent part of the regulatory framework, with draft legislation expected by mid-2023.

Warren Buffett continúa mostrando su preferencia por el sector petrolero. La semana pasada, justo después de la presentación de resultados de Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), el conglomerado de Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKa), aumentó su participación en la compañía hasta el 24,4%.

Buffett aprovechó esa presentación de resultados, que fue peor de lo que el mercado esperaba, haciendo que el precio de las acciones bajara. Buffett compró más barato. Pagó alrededor de 201 millones de dólares por 3,46 millones de acciones de Occidental entre el 16 y el 18 de mayo. Las compras de Buffett ayudaron a aumentar el precio de las acciones o al menos a estabilizarlo. Esa semana, subieron casi un 2%.

Ahora posee alrededor de 217,3 millones de acciones de Occidental, que valen alrededor de 12,7 mil millones de dólares.

Buffett comenzó a comprar acciones de Occidental en 2022 y ha ido aumentando gradualmente su participación.

Según la herramienta profesional InvestingPro, Occidental Petroleum tiene un valor justo promedio de 66,70, su riesgo es medio y su salud financiera muestra un desempeño favorable.

La compañía tiene a su favor que la administración ha comprado agresivamente acciones, los fuertes resultados deberían permitir que la administración continúe pagando dividendos y los flujos de efectivo pueden cubrir adecuadamente los pagos de intereses.

Después de los resultados del Q1 2023 peores de lo esperado, todos los ojos están puestos en el próximo informe. La compañía lanzará sus resultados del Q2 2023 el 1 de agosto.

Los analistas han reducido sus expectativas de ganancias por acción (EPS) para este trimestre en un 42,1%, de $1,87 por acción a $1,09 por acción en los últimos 12 meses, según los datos de InvestingPro.

Occidental anunció el 4 de mayo que la junta declaró un dividendo trimestral regular de $0,18 por acción. Las acciones deben comprarse antes de la fecha ex-dividendo del 8 de junio y recibirán el pago el 14 de julio.

¿Quieres saber más sobre la compañía y su potencial de inversión? Solicita tu prueba gratuita de 7 días de InvestingPro ahora.

Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) reported fourth quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates by $0.02. Revenue for the quarter came in at $8.5B, topping the consensus estimate of $8.25B. The company also provided guidance for FY 2024 EPS of $5.00-$5.10, versus the analyst consensus of $5.28. Medtronic’s stock price closed at $87.49, up 4.79% in the last 3 months and down -12.02% in the last 12 months.

InvestingPro’s Financial Health score for Medtronic is “good performance”. Investors can stay up-to-date on all of the upcoming earnings reports by visiting Investing.com’s earnings calendar.