Symantec Corp

Salesforce continued its spree in December 2016 with its acquisition of Twin Prime, a startup focused on machine learning.

On November 6, 2017, Symantec (SYMC) announced that it had acquired SurfEasy. In this series, we’ll look at that deal and other factors driving Symantec’s performance.

SMAC has led to increased security concerns and more global spending on cyber security, which is expected to reach $71.1 billion in 2014.

A comparative lack of security for Android shows that BlackBerry could do more harm than good to its image as a secure player by adopting Android as its operating system.

Symantec (SYMC) reported fiscal 3Q18 revenues of ~$1.2 billion, missing the Wall Street estimate by $40.0 million.

We know the nation is politically divided, and now the market is showing us its split personality as well.

Soros Fund Management’s top five buys in the second quarter were Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), Alphabet, eBay, Symantec, and Red Hat.

Cash-to-debt ratio measures the financial strength of a company. EMC’s cash-to-debt ratio in 2Q15 is 1x, which is lower than the industry median of 1.4x.

ValueAct Capital initiated a new position in Symantec Corp. (SYMC) that accounts for 1.14% of the fund’s first quarter portfolio.

FireEye’s email security offerings—EX and ETP—provide protection against cyberattacks by reporting and examining suspicious email attachments and embedded URLs.

The 13F filing showed that George Soros bought almost 500,000 Slack (WORK) shares at an average price of $37.5 per share during the second quarter.

Continued sluggishness in computer market  In the previous part, we discussed Symantec’s (SYMC) latest acquisition of LifeLock. PC (personal computer) shipments fell for the eighth consecutive quarter in 3Q16. Gartner said that this was “the longest duration of decline in the history of the PC industry.” Let’s discuss how this acquisition is going to enhance its […]

Believed to be the world’s largest cyberattack, WannaCry ransomware infected more than 230,000 computers in almost 150 countries.

The softness in the PC market is rumored to continue in 2015. This will dampen any prospects of a revival in Symantec’s Consumer Security Software business.

In accordance with its minimum tender condition, the majority of NetSuite stakeholders must vote in favor of the deal to make it happen.

Symantec reportedly blocked more than 1 billion attempted WannaCry ransomware attacks.

Cybersecurity firm FireEye saw the value of its shares rise 14.5% last week after investment bank Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a “buy.”

In September 2017, Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced that it would acquire software security company Cyphort for an undisclosed sum.

In its fiscal 1Q15 earnings release, EMC lowered its expectations. Now, it expects its revenue and EPS to be $25.7 billion and $1.91, respectively.

ValueAct Capital initiated a new position in Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (EXPD) that accounts for 0.65% of the fund’s first quarter portfolio.

In fiscal 2Q18, Cisco’s (CSCO) Security segment posted revenues of $558.0 million, a 6.0% increase compared to $526.0 million in fiscal 2Q17.

Sophisticated cyberattacks and ransomware problems have become a real part of our day-to-day lives—and in the businesses of FireEye and Symantec.

Amazon, through its cloud computing division, AWS, recently announced the launch of a new collaboration and education program, Amazon ML Solutions Lab.

In fiscal 1Q16, Symantec’s Information Management—Veritas—posted revenue of $587 million. This was a fall of 10% on YoY (year-over-year) basis.

Fortinet (FTNT) fell 13.3% on November 2 to close at $72.56.

Intel has agreed to sell a 51% stake in its security business to private investment company TPG in a $4.2 billion cash-stock deal.

Bridgewater Associates increased its position in Juniper Networks from 0.07% in the 1Q portfolio to 0.21% in the fund’s 2Q portfolio.

Cybersecurity (HACK) stock FireEye (FEYE) has taken investors on a volatile ride over the last few years.

Analysts call Symantec (SYMC) a value stock. The average EV-to-sales for the System Software subsector is 3.93x. Symantec is trading at an EV multiple of 2.34x.

The average target price for Symantec provided by 29 analysts came in at $21.10 on August 27.

On October 26, 2016, Symantec said that it had integrated “Blue Coat Threat Intelligence into its Global Intelligence Network.”

Symantec exited unprofitable deals with OEMs, which led to the expansion of operating profit margins to 53% in the Consumer Security segment.

Semiconductor giant Broadcom is reportedly arranging funds for the acquisition of cybersecurity company Symantec, though the terms are undisclosed.

Bridgewater Associates decreased its position in Cisco from 0.20% in the 1Q portfolio to 0.09% in the fund’s 2Q portfolio.

On November 19, Morgan Stanley upgraded Broadcom (AVGO) stock, increasing its price target and recommendations. AVGO rose 2.13% and closed at $317.70.

Chip maker Broadcom (AVGO) stock jumped over 2% on November 19 after Morgan Stanley raised its price target and recommendations.

Ping Identity shares have gained 20% after it announced its quarterly results on Wednesday. The company reported sales of $61.8 million.

In 2Q14, SAP reported that its revenues and operating profits grew by 2% and 4% compared to 2Q13. In the half year ending 2014 and in 2Q14, SAP reported revenues that grew over 6% and 5% to reach 7.85 billion Euros and 4.15 billion Euros, respectively. It missed the analysts’ estimates by 70 million Euros.

On October 25, George Soros weighed in on the 2020 election. He told the New York Times that Elizabeth Warren is the “most qualified to be president.”

IBM (IBM) stock fell around 1.13% on Monday and closed the trading session at $132.58. The shares fell after one analyst downgraded the stock.

IBM (IBM) stock fell more than 5% in after-hours trading. The company reported mixed third-quarter results on Wednesday and beat the earnings estimates.

Microsoft (MSFT) stock fell 1.06% on October 8 and closed at $135.67. At this closing price, its market cap was about $1.04 trillion.

Broadcom stock closed the trading day at $274.85 and fell 0.44% on October 1. The stock was trading 14.9% below its 52-week high of $323.20.

Yesterday, Broadcom (AVGO) stock fell 2.70% in after-hours trading after the chipmaker announced a convertible stock offering.

Broadcom’s CEO is known for his mergers and acquisitions. He targets companies that are market leaders with high cash flows and distressed growth.

Broadcom stock hasn’t been a great performer compared to its semiconductor peers this year. So far, the stock has fallen more than 4% today.

As the trade war eases, Broadcom stock has soared 5.4% through September 10. Broadcom plans to release its Q3 earnings after the market closes.

Oracle (ORCL) unexpectedly released its earnings results for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 on Wednesday after the market bell.

Given its positive estimate revision, Oracle (ORCL) is likely to report upbeat fiscal 2020 first-quarter earnings on September 12.

After Friday’s buyout offer for Symantec’s Consumer Cyber Safety segment, its stock soared 4.5% to $24.52. This pushed its market cap to $15.2 billion.

Symantec (SYMC) stock spiked as much as 7% on Friday and closed 4.5% higher to $24.52 on a buyout offer from Permira and Advent International.

Investors seem to have forgotten about Oracle, despite its strong gains this year. The enterprise software giant’s stock has risen 19.4% year-to-date.

On August 8, leading semiconductor company Broadcom (AVGO) agreed to acquire Symantec’s Enterprise Security Business for $10.7 billion.

Symantec (SYMC) stock soared and closed 12.3% higher yesterday after the cybersecurity company announced it was selling assets to Broadcom (AVGO).

Yesterday, Symantec (SYMC) inked an all-cash deal with Broadcom (AVGO) to sell its Enterprise Security unit for $10.7 billion.

Symantec stock is gaining momentum and is up over 10% in premarket trading on the news of its acquisition deal with Broadcom.

Symantec (SYMC) stock plunged as much as 15% on Monday after the company halted deal negotiations with semiconductor giant Broadcom (AVGO).

Yesterday, after it was reported that Broadcom was in late-stage talks to acquire Symantec, its stock fell 3.5%. Here’s why.

Yesterday, Broadcom (AVGO) stock plunged 3.5% and closed at $284.89 after it announced its intention to purchase Symantec (SYMC).

Symantec (SYMC) reported adjusted earnings of $0.39 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, which declined ~11.4% from both the prior-year quarter and the sequential quarter due to higher investments in the enterprise security segment.

Symantec’s near-term sales and profits are projected to see increased growth.

Cloud services provider Oracle (ORCL) posted adjusted EPS of $1.16 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019, which exceeded analysts’ expectation of $1.07 and marked a rise over the previous year’s $0.95. Oracle has beaten earnings estimates for the last ten consecutive quarters.

The stock of software giant Symantec (SYMC) has fallen nearly 20% since the beginning of May 2019, which has made it attractive on the valuation front. The stock has gained 2.8% year-to-date as of June 14, compared to the S&P 500, which has risen more than 15% in the same period.

Symantec (SYMC) lost investors’ confidence when it announced on May 9 that its CEO, Greg Clark, would be leaving the company effective immediately.

Symantec’s (SYMC) revenue of $1.195 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019 missed analysts’ estimate of $1.21 billion.

Fortinet managed to increase sales by 17.7% in the fourth quarter

Analysts expect Fortinet’s sales to rise 16% in fiscal 2019 to $2.09 billion, 13.2% in 2020 to $2.37 billion, and 11% to $2.62 billion in 2021.

FireEye (FEYE) is not yet GAAP-profitable. Though the company has managed to improve its net margin from -104% in 2014 to -29.3% in 2018, it’s likely to improve to -12.5% by 2021.

Cybersecurity (HACK) stock Fortinet (FTNT) has generated returns of 68% in the last 12 months.

Alphabet’s (GOOGL) little-known subsidiary called Chronicle is going for a huge prize: the $300 billion cybersecurity market.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) recently announced a plan to invest around $11 million to grow its business in Canada.

Software giant Oracle (ORCL) topped revenue estimates of nearly $9.62 billion by 0.3% in the third quarter of fiscal 2019.

Symantec (SYMC) topped its revenue estimates in the third quarter of fiscal 2019 and grew slightly from the previous year’s quarter.

On December 11, Symantec announced that it will partner with Fortinet (FTNT) to provide comprehensive security solutions.

Imperva (IMPV) now looks to be firmly on track to be acquired by Thoma Bravo after its go-shop window closed.

On October 11, FireEye (FEYE) was trading at a forward EV-to-EBITDA multiple of ~26.1x as compared to the industry average of 8.1x.

Tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) has been rewarding its shareholders with dividend payments.

To boost its email security service, Symantec (SYMC) launched its integrated Email Threat Isolation service yesterday to protect end users from high-level email threats.

Shares of cybersecurity (HACK) company Symantec (SYMC) fell 25% in May and closed at $20.78.

Mattel, which is an American multinational toy manufacturing company, was the S&P 500’s top gainer on May 15.

Symantec (SYMC) stock bounced back on Monday, rising ~9.6% to $21.40 after falling more than 30% on Friday.

Most companies in the cybersecurity space are relatively new, and so most of them don’t pay dividends—FireEye, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet included.

Cash, debt, and cash flow Previously, we discussed Symantec’s (SYMC) operating segments’ revenue and margin contribution in fiscal 2Q18. In this part, we’ll look at Symantec’s balance sheet strength. In fiscal 2Q18, which ended September 30, 2017, Symantec had ~$2.0 billion in cash and cash equivalents. On September 30, 2017, Symantec had $6.2 billion in long-term […]

Differentiating features of new releases Previously, we discussed Symantec’s (SYMC) Integrated Cyber Defense Platform. It is hoped that newly released SEP (Symantec Endpoint Protection) 14.1, SEP Mobile, and ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) 3.0 will help the company deliver defense across traditional and modern endpoints. Let’s look at what gives these new releases an edge over peer […]

SurfEasy acquisition Previously, we discussed Symantec’s (SYMC) acquisition announcement of SurfEasy. After the acquisition, Symantec aims to integrate SurfEasy into its Consumer Digital Safety segment, which includes Norton and LifeLock. SurfEasy’s VPN (virtual private network) service will add privacy, information, and identity protection to Symantec’s digital safety offerings. Prior to its acquisition, SurfEasy was an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) […]

Symantec’s costs and expenses fell 6.0% and 31.0% in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

In fiscal 2017, Cisco’s Security segment generated revenues of $2.2 billion—a rise of 9% YoY, compared with its revenues of $2 billion in fiscal 2016.

IBM stock versus the S&P 500 versus the Dow Jones Earlier in this series, we discussed the factors that weighed on IBM stock. If IBM’S (IBM) soon-to-be-announced 3Q17 earnings can beat analyst and market expectations, it could provide a significant boost to its stock. IBM’s cloud offerings’ increased traction and their increased contribution to its […]

According to research firm MarketsandMarkets, the global cybersecurity market is expected to surpass $231.9 billion by 2022, compared with an estimated $137.9 billion this year.

FireEye’s improved earnings and transition toward SaaS Improved growth and earnings and a renewed focus on cybersecurity have acted as catalysts for FireEye’s (FEYE) stock rise of ~42% YTD (year-to-date). FireEye’s fiscal 2Q17 results and its guidance for the current quarter exceeded analysts’ expectations. FireEye’s transition to the SaaS (software as a service) model bodes […]

According to the EU’s GDPR, companies are required to make a “good faith effort” to inform regulatory authorities of data breaches within 72 hours.

Of the 28 analyst recommendations for Symantec stock, there was only one “sell” recommendation on August 24, 2017. More than 50% of the recommendations were “hold,” and the rest were “buy.”

HACK follows a replication strategy, which is an indexing strategy that involves investing in securities in the same proportions as the index.

According to MarketsandMarkets, the global SWG market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.5% to $5.6 billion by 2020, up from $2.2 billion in 2015.

In its fiscal 1Q18 earnings release, Symantec highlighted that its Website Security and related PKI solutions are expected to contribute ~$400 million and ~$180 million in overall revenues and operating income, respectively.

Symantec purchased its Website Security business from VeriSign in 2010. In 2012, the company bought the remaining interest in VeriSign Japan.

Symantec announced the acquisition of Fireglass in early July 2017.

In late May 2017, Microsoft (MSFT) acquired Hexadite to strengthen its position in the cybersecurity space.

Recurring revenues made up 31% of Cisco’s total fiscal 3Q17 revenues compared to 29% in fiscal 3Q16.

Cisco’s 14-day MACD of -0.30 shows a downward trading trend because the figure is negative.