Archives for April 24, 2019

Ford invests $500 million in Rivian to create an ‘all-new’ EV

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It’ll use Rivian’s platform for the new electric model.

It’s now patently clear why Rivian turned down GM’s exclusive investment — it wanted to remain open to other juicy deals. Ford has announced that it’s investing $500 million in Rivian, and is forming a “strategic partnership” to produce an “all-new” Ford-branded electric vehicle using the startup’s skateboard platform. This is on top of Ford’s existing EV plans, the companies said. Details of the machine weren’t mentioned.

Rivian stressed that it would remain an independent company, but acknowledged that Ford’s automotive president Joe Hinrichs was joining its board of directors.

It’s easy to see the potential benefits for both companies. Rivian, of course, gets another huge injection of cash at a time when its first self-branded vehicles still haven’t reached the road — this helps it fulfill that vision. With Ford, meanwhile, it’s a fast track to becoming a truly EV-oriented company. It doesn’t have to design multiple platforms (or heavily modify an existing platform) to create zero-emissions vehicles for a wider audience. What Ford spends now could pay dividends by giving it an advantage over rival automakers, even if it eventually turns Rivian into one of those competitors.

Verizon will offer YouTube TV to 5G and broadband customers

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The partnership will give Verizon subscribers ‘simple and seamless’ access to YouTube TV.

Verizon has turned to Google to provide its internet subscribers with streamable shows and other content. The carrier has announced that it’s going to offer YouTube TV, the platform’s premium service, to both wireless 5G home and Fios broadband customers. That confirms a report from 2018 that the company was seeking a partnership with Mountain View — and Apple — to give customers more streaming options.

YouTube TV gives subscribers access to live TV programming from networks like CBS and Fox, as well as from cable stations like the Food Network, CNN and ESPN. The partnership will allow them to add the service to their internet bundles, though it’s not clear at the moment if Verizon will be able to offer the option at a lower price. A YouTube TV subscription typically costs $50 a month for over 70 channels, six accounts, three simultaneous streams and a personal DVR with no storage space limits. Verizon did say, however, that the team-up will give it a way to offer “unique, high-value YouTube TV promotions to customers across platforms.”

Heather Rivera, Global Head of Product Partnerships at YouTube, said in a statement:

“YouTube TV has become known for its best-in-class user experience that enhances the way users watch live TV today. With this partnership, we’re making it simple and seamless for Verizon’s customers to sign up to enjoy YouTube TV on-the-go on their mobile phones or tablets or at home on their big screen devices.”

Chrome update stops websites from tracking you in Incognito Mode

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But you’ll have to enable the feature yourself.

Google has launched Chrome 74 for Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS, bringing with it a bunch of handy new features, although some — such as Incognito detection blocking — require a bit of tinkering to access.

Straight out of the box, though, is motion reduction designed to limit motion sickness when viewing parallax scrolling, zooming and other motion effects. There’s also enhanced functionality for PiP (picture-in-picture) video and the usual security and bug updates.

And then there are Chrome 74’s hotly-anticipated Dark Mode and Incognito features, although neither have rolled out completely yet. Incognito detection blocking is live, but you’ll need to enable it yourself. Enter chrome://flags/ in a new Chrome window, search for Incognito and then enable the Filesystem API in Incognito. Doing this will close the loophole that lets websites identify whether a user is browsing in disguise or not, meaning that private browsing really will be private browsing.

Similarly, Dark Mode, which arrived last month on macOS with Chrome 73. While today’s update includes support for Windows 10, not everyone will have it yet, but there is a trick to get it early. First, navigate to the shortcut you use to launch Chrome and open properties, then at the end of the target location add “–force-dark-mode” (without quotations). Dark Mode will then be enabled when you launch Chrome, although if you usually open it from a pinned taskbar you’ll need to unpin then pin it again for the trick to stick.

iFixit: Samsung’s Galaxy Fold is ‘alarmingly fragile’

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This might explain at least one of the review unit failures.

There’s been another teardown of the Galaxy Fold, and this one might help explain why Samsung decided to delay the phone’s launch. iFixit has conducted a part-by-part dissection that suggests the design is “alarmingly fragile,” particularly around the hinge. While the actual folding mechanism appears sturdy (if possibly vulnerable to wearing down in the long run), there’s no ingress protection — dirt can easily slip inside, potentially getting stuck between the hinge and the plastic OLED screen.

The findings might help explain at least one of the review unit failures. The Verge’s Dieter Bohn noted that his Galaxy Fold developed a bulge that ultimately broke a conspicuous number of pixels. If debris was at fault, that wouldn’t bode well for everyday users whose phones might break relatively easily. This also isn’t including the inherent fragility of a plastic display, which is more prone to nicks and scratches than glass.

It’s not completely surprising that the Fold would be vulnerable when it’s not rated for dust or water resistance. Still, this latest teardown isn’t confidence-inspiring. If iFixit is on the mark, Samsung may need to make significant design changes for the device to stand up to real-world use.

Stocks to Watch: Eyes on Petmed Express, Inc. (PETS), Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (CCI)

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The price of PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS) went up by $0.34 now trading at $21.95. Their shares witnessed a 8.4% increase from the 52-week low price of $20.25 they recorded on 2019-01-22. Even though it is still -113.35% behind the $46.83 high touched on 2018-06-27. The last few days have been rough for the stock, as its price has decreased by -2.14% during the week. It has also performed better over the past three months, as it added around 4.87% while it has so far retreated around -38.52% during the course of a year. The stock of PETS recorded -5.63% downtrend from the beginning of this year till date. The 12-month potential price target for PetMed Express, Inc. is set at $23.33. This target means that the stock has an upside potential to increase by 6.29% from the current trading price.

42 institutions entered new PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS) positions, 106 added to their existing positions in these shares, 97 lowered their positions, and 40 exited their positions entirely.

PetMed Express, Inc. (PETS) trade volume has increased by 34.78% as around 674,970 shares were sold when compared with its 50-day average volume of traded shares which is 500,782. At the moment, PETS is witnessing a downtrend, as it is trading -3.03% below its 20-day SMA, -1.94% below its 50-day SMA, and -22.51% below its 200-day SMA. The company runs an ROE of roughly 32.9%, with financial analysts predicting that their earnings per share growth will be around 7.39% per annum for the next five year. This will be compared to the 14.7% increase witnessed over the past five years.

The first technical resistance point for PetMed Express, Inc. (NASDAQ:PETS) will likely come at $22.23, marking a 1.26% premium to the current level. The second resistance point is at $22.52, about 2.53% premium to its current market price. On the other hand, inability to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $21.23, the lower end of the range. PETS’s 14-day MACD is -0.77 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) score is 44.93, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the stock stands at 26.79 percent, which is low when compared to that of the 50-day’s 31.08 percent.

The shares of Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (NYSE:CCI) has increased by 0.69%, and now trading at $123.43 on the Wall Street in the intra-day deal, with their shares traded now around 1,830,100. This is a decline of -20,974 shares over the average 1,851,074 shares that were traded daily over the last three months. The stock that is trading at $123.43 went higher by 24.87% from its 52-week low of $98.85 that it attained back on 2018-04-30. The stock recorded a 52-week high of $130.6 nearly 13 days ago on 2019-04-11.

CCI stock hasn’t performed well over the past 30 days, as it lost -1.65% while its price climbed by 13.62% year-to-date (YTD). Looking at the last few days, it has been tough for the stock, as it tumbled -3.12% over the last week. The stock’s 12-month potential target price is now at $125.57. This means that the stock price might likely increase by 1.73% from its current trading price. 6 out of 18 Wall Street analysts which represents 33.33% rated the stock as a buy while the remaining 66.67% rated it as a hold, with 0% of analysts rating it as a sell.

Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (NYSE:CCI) has been utilizing an ROE that is roughly 3.6%, with stock analysts predicting that the company’s EPS for the next five years will go up by 19.67% per year, following the 55.1% raise that was witnessed during the past five years. The stock at the moment is on a downtrend, trading -2.84% below its 20-day SMA, -0.03% below its 50-day SMA, and 8.35% above its 200-day SMA. In percentage terms, the aggregate Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) shares held by institutional investors is 94.6%. 119 institutions jumped in to acquire Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (CCI) fresh stake, 465 added to their current holdings in these shares, 359 lowered their positions, and 69 left no stake in the company.

The stock’s 9-day MACD is -2.97 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 9-day RSI score is 34.47, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the shares stand at 13.66 percent, which is more when compared to that of the 50-day’s 12.44 percent. On the daily chart, we see that the stock could reach the first level of resistance at $124.13, sporting a 0.56% premium to the current level. The next resistance point is at $124.84, representing nearly 1.13% premium to the current market price of Crown Castle International Corp. (REIT) (CCI). On the other hand, failure to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $121.44, the lower end of the range.

Stocks to Watch: Eyes on Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (TMHC), Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MRNS)

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The price of Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE:TMHC) went up by $0.34 now trading at $19.41. Their shares witnessed a 31.77% increase from the 52-week low price of $14.73 they recorded on 2018-10-23. Even though it is still -25.66% behind the $24.39 high touched on 2018-04-30. The last few days have been good for the stock, as its price has grew by 1.68% during the week. It has also performed better over the past three months, as it added around 13.11% while it has so far retreated around -15.54% during the course of a year. The stock of TMHC recorded 22.08% uptrend from the beginning of this year till date. The 12-month potential price target for Taylor Morrison Home Corporation is set at $20.13. This target means that the stock has an upside potential to increase by 3.71% from the current trading price.

34 institutions entered new Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE:TMHC) positions, 82 added to their existing positions in these shares, 120 lowered their positions, and 51 exited their positions entirely.

Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (TMHC) trade volume has increased by 74.25% as around 2,140,123 shares were sold when compared with its 50-day average volume of traded shares which is 1,228,186. At the moment, TMHC is witnessing a uptrend, as it is trading 5.16% above its 20-day SMA, 8.19% above its 50-day SMA, and 7.62% above its 200-day SMA. The company runs an ROE of roughly 9%, with financial analysts predicting that their earnings per share growth will be around 7.32% per annum for the next five year. This will be compared to the 14.5% increase witnessed over the past five years.

The first technical resistance point for Taylor Morrison Home Corporation (NYSE:TMHC) will likely come at $19.64, marking a 1.17% premium to the current level. The second resistance point is at $19.87, about 2.32% premium to its current market price. On the other hand, inability to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $18.94, the lower end of the range. TMHC’s 14-day MACD is 0.53 and this positive figure indicates an upward trading trend. The company’s 14-day RSI (relative strength index) score is 63.39, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the stock stands at 26.14 percent, which is low when compared to that of the 50-day’s 32.28 percent.

The shares of Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNS) has increased by 6.97%, and now trading at $4.3 on the Wall Street in the intra-day deal, with their shares traded now around 662,803. This is a decline of -88,205 shares over the average 751,008 shares that were traded daily over the last three months. The stock that is trading at $4.3 went higher by 82.2% from its 52-week low of $2.36 that it attained back on 2018-12-21. The stock recorded a 52-week high of $10.54 nearly 205 days ago on 2018-10-01.

MRNS stock has performed well over the past 30 days, as it added 11.98% while its price climbed by 49.83% year-to-date (YTD). Looking at the last few days, it has been good for the stock, as it rose 3.37% over the last week. The stock’s 12-month potential target price is now at $16.06. This means that the stock price might likely increase by 273.49% from its current trading price. 7 out of 8 Wall Street analysts which represents 87.5% rated the stock as a buy while the remaining 12.5% rated it as a hold, with 0% of analysts rating it as a sell.

Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNS) has been utilizing an ROE that is roughly -72.9%, with stock analysts predicting that the company’s EPS for the next five years will go down by 0% per year, following the -3.9% drop that was witnessed during the past five years. The stock at the moment is on a uptrend, trading 2.8% above its 20-day SMA, 9.46% above its 50-day SMA, and -16.9% below its 200-day SMA. In percentage terms, the aggregate Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. shares held by institutional investors is 72.2%. 24 institutions jumped in to acquire Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MRNS) fresh stake, 51 added to their current holdings in these shares, 51 lowered their positions, and 28 left no stake in the company.

The stock’s 9-day MACD is -0.12 and this negative figure indicates a downward trading trend. The company’s 9-day RSI score is 56.6, which shows that its stock has been neutral. The 20-day historical volatility for the shares stand at 60.64 percent, which is less when compared to that of the 50-day’s 69.16 percent. On the daily chart, we see that the stock could reach the first level of resistance at $4.43, sporting a 2.93% premium to the current level. The next resistance point is at $4.57, representing nearly 5.91% premium to the current market price of Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MRNS). On the other hand, failure to breach the immediate hurdles can drag it down to $3.91, the lower end of the range.