The heat of earnings season is now in the rearview mirror, but there are still some notable stragglers reporting earnings. Two of them made for interesting stories worth highlighting in this week’s look at the biggest stories in tech. Those two companies are chipmaker NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and China-based social-media company Weibo (NASDAQ:WB).
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) also made headlines this week, even though the tech giant’s earnings report was a few weeks ago. This week’s Apple news was a wave of analysts rushing to increase their price targets on the stock as shares continued to soar.
Here’s a closer look at these stories.
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NVIDIA
NVIDIA reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $3.01 billion, down from $3.18 billion in the year-ago quarter but up sequentially. Non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share (EPS) for the period came in at $1.78, down from $1.82 in the year-ago quarter but up from $1.24 in the second quarter of fiscal 2020.
NVIDIA’s top and bottom lines for the quarter beat analysts’ estimates. On average, analysts were expecting revenue and non-GAAP EPS of $2.91 billion and $1.58, respectively.
Also worth noting was a significant expansion in the company’s gross margin. For the period, it was 63.6%, up from 60.4% in the year-ago period and 59.8% in the prior quarter.
“Our gaming business and demand from hyperscale customers powered Q3’s results,” said NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang.
Chinese social-media company Weibo saw its stock plummet on Thursday, declining about 18%. Bearishness toward the stock came as the company’s revenue guidance for its fourth quarter was below what analysts were expecting.
Weibo reported third-quarter revenue of $467.8 million, up 2% year over year, or 6% in constant currency. This top-line growth was driven by a 1% year-over-year increase in advertising revenue, to $412.5 million, and a 9% increase in value-added service revenue, to $55.3 million.
While Weibo’s third-quarter revenue was about in line with what analysts were expecting, the company’s outlook for flat to 3% year-over-year constant-currency revenue growth signaled a meaningful deceleration in the company’s constant-currency year-over-year revenue growth rate.
Apple
Meanwhile, analysts are still adjusting 12-month price targets for Apple stock following the tech giant’s better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results. JPMorgan‘s Samik Chatterjee upped his target on the stock from $280 to $290, citing opportunities in advertising. Piper Jaffray‘s Michael Olson raised his price target from $270 to $290, noting that surveys suggest upgrade rates for the company’s newest iPhones are higher than they were last year. Finally, Wedbush’s Daniel Ives boosted his target from $300 to $325, citing optimism for Apple’s iPhone business.
But not all Apple analysts are bullish. Maxim Group analyst Nehal Chokshi initiated a $190 price target on the stock. Chokshi thinks iPhone sales in Apple’s second quarter of fiscal 2020 will be weaker than expected.