Posts for Ticker ‘NOVL’

Media Digest (3/4/2010) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

Reuters:   The Senate rejected a plan to send $250 to the elderly.

Reuters:   Obama is still pushing the Volcker rule.

Reuters:   The Facebook CEO is in no rush for an IPO.

Reuters:   Toyota (TM) was sued over deaths in a California crash. Read More »

Posted on: March 4, 2010 – 3:59 am in Press Digest, , , , , , , , , ,

Novell’s Only Hope: The Long-Awaited Buyout (NOVL)

If you have followed software companies for more than a decade, you have probably grown accustomed to seeing Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) act as a dead money stock.  The company has gone from having its programs in every computer to data center to Linux.  Yet nothing has ever really gotten the stock off the ground in recent years.  Today the company received a go-private buyout offer from a private equity firm called Elliott Associates.  The value, net of cash, is roughly $1 billion in enterprise value.

Read More »

Posted on: March 2, 2010 – 4:41 pm in Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, Software,

Top Analyst Downgrades (AMT, AXA, NILE, CA, FDS, IBM, IBKR, ICE, NOVL, SBAC, VIA)

These are the top analyst downgrades and cautious calls we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Monday morning:

American Tower (AMT) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
AXA (AXA) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Blue Nile (NILE) Cut to Hold at Citigroup.
CA Inc. (CA) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
FactSet (FDS) Started as Sell at Auriga.
IBM (IBM) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Adams.
Interactive Brokers (IBKR) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Cut to Underperform at KBW.
Novell (NOVL) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
SBA Communications (SBAC) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
Viacom (VIA) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: April 6, 2009 – 7:33 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Microsoft Expanding Linux Efforts With Novell (MSFT, NOVL)

Novell_logoMicrosoft_logo_2Novell Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) got some decent news after Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) expanded its Linux support relationship for interoperability.  If it seems that Microsoft is warming up to Linux and open source, it is at least evidence that the company realizes it has to expand its interoperability in today’s world.  Novell will receive $100 million to provide additional resources, training, and support for companies and organizations using mixed-source IT operations.

Read More »

Posted on: August 20, 2008 – 6:16 am in Software, ,

Early-Bird Technology Upgrades & Downgrades (ARMH, FFIV, MFE, MOT, NOK, NOVL, QCOM, TIBX)

These are the earl-bird upgrades and downgrades we are seeing in Telecom, Tech, and I.T. on this Friday morning with about two and a half hours to open:

  • ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMH) raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • McAfee (NYSE: MFE) Started as Outperform at R.W.Baird.
  • Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) Raised to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
  • Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Tibco Software (NASDAQ: TIBX) Raised to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies.

Full Med-Bio Analyst Upgrade/Downgrade summary from BioHealthInvestor.com: BMY, EHTH, IMCL, BABY, NUVA, ONXX, OSIP, ZMH

Jon C. Ogg
June 27, 2008

Posted on: June 27, 2008 – 6:08 am in Analyst Calls, Technology Companies, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (MO, AMZN, GS, IP, NCC, NOVL, RMG, SAP, URI, GMR, OSG, TK)

Below are the top analyst upgrades and downgrades we are looking at this Tuesday morning:

  • Altria Group (NYSE: MO) Started as Buy at UBS.
  • Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) started as Buy at Canaccord Adams.
  • Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • International Paper (NYSE: IP) downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan.
  • National City (NYSE: NCC) raised to Market Perform at KBW.
  • Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) started as Buy at Broadpoint Capital.
  • RiskMetrics (NYSE: RMG) raised to Buy at Banc of America.
  • SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • United Rentals (NYSE: URI) downgraded to Underweight at JP Morgan.

Citigroup raised overseas ship tankers to Buy from Hold: General Maritime (NYSE: GMR), Overseas Shipholding (NYSE: OSG), and Teekay Shipping (NYSE: TK).

Jon C. Ogg
March 18, 2008

Posted on: March 18, 2008 – 6:24 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (BKS, BBY, CMO, COP, DBD, DDS, LLNW, NOVL, SFLY, VG)

Below are the top analyst calls that 247WallSt.com is looking at this morning in early trading:

  • Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) downgraded to Underweight at JP Morgan.
  • Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) downgraded to Neutral at Banc of America.
  • Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO) started as Outperform at Bear Stearns; started as Outperform at RBC Capital.
  • ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) downgraded to Equal-weight at Lehman Brothers.
  • Diebold (NYSE: DBD) raised to Outperform at Robert W. Baird; downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Dillards (NYSE: DDS) raised to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) raised to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies.
  • Shutterfly (NASDAQ: SFLY) started as Outperform at William Blair.
  • Vonage (NYSE: VG) raised to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.

Jon C. Ogg
March 4, 2008

Posted on: March 4, 2008 – 7:32 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADCT, ARRS, EL, FLML, GERN, HD, LOW, MCD, MEDX, NOVL, NMX, DIS)

These are not the only pre-market analyst calls that are moving stocks, but these are the calls that 247WallSt.com is focusing on:

  • ADC Telecom (NASDAQ: ADCT) and Arris (NASDAQ: ARRS) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Flamel (NASDAQ: FLML) raised to But at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Geron (NASDAQ: GERN) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) started as Market Perform at Morgan Keegan.
  • McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) downgraded to Peer Perform at Bear Stearns.
  • Medarex (NASDAQ: MEDX) started as Buy at UBS.
  • Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) raised to Buy at Jefferies.
  • NYMEX (NYSE: NMX) downgraded to Hold at Citigroup.
  • Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) downgraded to Sell at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
January 29, 2008

Posted on: January 29, 2008 – 7:54 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (BHI, HAL, FNM, FRE, INTC, MAT, MSFT, ORCL, MIR, NOVL, FTO, TSO, VLO)

These are not the only impacting analyst calls in the land of upgrades & downgrades, but these are the top ten analyst calls 24/7 Wall St. is looking at today:

  • Baker Hughes (BHI) & Halliburton (HAL) raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Fannie Mae (FNM) & Freddie Mac (FRE) cut to Equal Weight at Lehman.
  • Frontier Oil (FTO), Tesoro (TSO) & Valero (VLO) estimates lowered at Goldman Sachs.
  • Intel (INTC) added to Goldman Sachs conviction Buy List, to replace the Long SNDK, Short AMAT pairs trade.
  • Mattel (MAT) raised to Overweight at J.P.Morgan.
  • Microsoft (MSFT) cut to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.
  • Mirant (MIR) raised to Overweight at Lehman.
  • Novell (NOVL) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Oracle (ORCL) cut to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch.

Jon C. Ogg
November 12, 2007

Posted on: November 12, 2007 – 8:08 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nasdaq Short Interest (LVLT)(MSFT)(SIRI)(INTC)

Below is the short interest for selected stocks traded on the Nasdaq. The figures are as of September 28 and compare to numbers as of September 14, 2007.

Largest Short Positions

Company                                         Shares Short

Level 3 (LVLT)                                  128.0 million shares short

Charter Comm (CHTR)                        91.0 million

Microsoft (MSFT)                                82.9 million

Sirius (SIRI)                                        82.4 million

Intel (INTC)                                         72.3 million

Sun (JAVA)                                        64.9 million

Yahoo! (YHOO)                                   51.8 million

Comcast (CMCSA)                              50.5 million

Cisco (CSCO)                                     46.0 million

Oracle (ORCL)                                    41.6 million

Amazon (AMZN)                                 36.8 million

Largest Increases In Short Position

Company                                           Increase In Shares Short

BEA Systems (BEAS)                        8.5 million increase

Level 3                                               6.0 million

Dell (DELL)                                        3.9 million

Amgen (AMGN)                                 3.6 million

Novell (NOVL)                                    2.9 million

Largest Decreases In Short Position

Company                                          Decrease In Shares Short

Comcast                                           52.0 million share decrease

Take-Two (TTWO)                               8.1 million

Sun                                                   4.6 million

Charter                                              4.4 million

Data from Nasdaq and WSJ

Douglas A. McIntyre            

Posted on: October 13, 2007 – 7:55 am in Short Interest, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

More Bad News For Linux: Redhat And Novell

It used to be that the corporate IT crowd could not get enough of Linux. It was inexpensive. It did not come from Microsoft. It was open-source and could be improved without permission from Redmond.

A new study shows that IT types are beginning to turn on Linux. According to Barron’s, UBS did a survey of chief information officers and in the process found out that "of the the 47% of CIOs in the survey who said they were not Linux users, just over 90% indicated that they would not deploy the open source operating system in 2007."

In other words, if they hated Linux before, they hate it even more now.

What happy news for Microsoft (MSFT). But, it makes for a bad day for enterprise Linux firms Redhat (RHAT) and Novell (NOVL). Redhat’s shares are down over 20% during the last three months. Maybe investors saw this coming.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: September 4, 2007 – 6:50 pm in Software, , ,

What To Expect Ahead of VMware’s VMWORLD Conference

Even if VMware (NYSE:VMW) sees its stock go sideways or even if it gets soft from here, it has a long way to go before many would be able to say this was not a successful IPO.  The valuations are now just too high for the sector to longer have a focus in I.T.  This is also true regardless of the VMware stock conundrum we noted recently. If you haven’t read up on and learned much about virtualization, as an investor you should read up on it as the next ‘next thing’ in software and IT. If you look at the competitors that some existing partners (and owners) are invested in, you’ll really understand.

One week from today, and possible over the coming weekend, we should start seeing many more companies announce "Partnering with VMware" or "Supplying VMware" or "Strikes key partners for virtualization" and the like.  Next week from September 11 to September 13 is the VMWORLD 2007 Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and the roster is a Who’s Who in Techland.  There is also a Technology Day symposium ahead of it. 

Keynote speakers here will be from such tech heavyweights as John Chambers of Cisco Systems (CSCO), Patrick Gelsinger of Intel Corp. (INTC), and Hector Ruiz of Advanced Micro (AMD).  Other sponsors are major tech giants like Dell (DELL), H-P (HPQ), NEC, IBM (IBM), and of course the parent EMC (EMC).

Network Appliances (NTAP) is also a sponsor, and it already issued its press release to signal its involvement.

Some of the gold sponsors that are not quite as prominent are BEA Systems (BEAS), Brocade (BRCD), EDS (EDS), Emulex (ELX), Sun Microsystems (JAVA).  Further down the list of sponsors and exhibitors are BMC Software (BMC), Avocent (AVCT), CA (CA), Citrix Systems (CTXS) (which also recently made a virtualization buyout of XenSource), Novell (NOVL), Patni Computer Systems Ltd. (PTI), QLogic (QLGC), Microsoft (MSFT), Symantec (SYMC), and more.

What is interesting is that this virtualization conference includes almost all of VMware’s key competitors.  So they are not blocking out competitors, at least not this year.  For whatever it is worth, there are many overlaps out there in what would be deemed partners and competitors.  It has XenSource, Microsoft, Symantec, and others. 

It also sold out of sponsor and exhibitor opportunities some time ago.  Here is a full list of exhibitors.  It is probably safe to assume that many more virtualization partnerships will be coming ahead of, out of, and after this key industry event.

Stock Tickers: VMW, EMC, CSCO, INTC, AMD, DELL, HPQ, NTAP, IBM, BEAS, BRCD, EDS, ELX, JAVA, SUNW, BMC, AVCT, PTI, CA, CTXS, NOVL, QLGC, MSFT, SYMC

Jon C. Ogg
September 4, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he produces the 24/7 Wall St. Special Situation Investing Newsletter and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: September 4, 2007 – 12:24 pm in Software, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sun Microsystems Goes After Linux

Sun (JAVA) claims that it open Solaris software will beat Linux to a pulp. According to ComputerWorld: "Sun intends to take the operating system into markets where it hasn’t traditionally been a force, such as desktop and embedded systems, according to Marc Hamilton, vice president of Solaris marketing at Sun."

If any of these predictions come true, Redhat (RHT) and Novell (NOVL), the largest of the Linux enterprise companies need to watch out.

But, Sun makes a habit of over-promising and under-delivering. It recently announced that its new server chips would find a customer base among companies that compete with it in the enterprise server market. The company also continues to indicate that it is a growth company. Actually, it is very good at cutting costs and keeping revenue flat.

Linux has little to worry about beyond Microsoft (MSFT) Windows.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: September 4, 2007 – 8:22 am in Software, , , ,

Novell: Why Linux Is The Next Netscape

Novell (NOVL) reported next to no reveue growth in its last quarter. The number was $243 million, up less than 3% from a year ago. According to TheStreet.com, cash flow dropped from $36 million to $26 million. That is about what Microsoft (MSFT) spends to operate its corporate jet each month.

The other "big" company in the open-source enterprise Linux software business is Redhat (RHT). In the last reported quarter, revenue there was $119 million.

A recent study from Gartner actually shows Microsoft (MSFT) taking back market share in the server OS business. That means that one of the largest markets for Linux may not be a growth busienss any more.

Novell and Redhat live in the shadow of the ogre in Redmond. Microsoft recently said that Linux violates a number of its patents.Could be.

But, Linux is not big, and it is not growing much as an alternative for enterprise application software.

Linux has become the next Netscape.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: August 30, 2007 – 5:08 am in Software, , ,

Microsoft And Cisco: Friends Forever

Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco (CSCO) want to make it clear that, although they compete, they are friends. According to Reuters, even though the two companies both make "unified communications" systems that tie together e-mail, phones and other tools over Internet networks, the systems from the two companies will inter-operate. Customers should not worry that incompatible features will ruin their IT efforts.

MSFT has had these press conferences before. There was one with AAPL a number of years ago when Redmond put money into the Mac company and said it would build Windows versions for the AAPL machine. The has been one with Sun Microsystems (SUNW) to bury an old hatchet between the two firms. And, one with Novell (NOVL) to announced a venture that would market Linux and Windows together as products that can both be used together efficiently on PCs and servers.

The MSFT press conferences usually do not amount to much. Reuters writes that "CSCO CEO John Chambers said he and MSFT CEO Steve Ballmer would visit customers together late yesterday, and that the they would try to clarify how the two companies compete and work together at the same time."

The word "try" is important in that report. "Try" is all either company will get. They are mortal enemies competing for billions of dollars being spent by the same customers. All they want to do is cut each other’s throats.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: August 21, 2007 – 4:55 am in Software, , , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club

Thornburg Mortgage Asset (TMA) Mortgage company and real estate investment trust gets downgraded by S&P. Falls to $13.81 from 52-week high of $28.40.

Pope & Talbot (POP) Forest products company has big Q2 loss and freezes hiring. Down to $.45 from 52-week high of $8.44.

Tribune Company (TRB) Tough time to do a newspaper LBO. Share price shows it. Down ot $25.57 from 52-week high of $33.99.

SCO Group (SCOX) Lost copyright battle over key Unix operating system to Novell (NOVL). Drops to $.35 from 52-week high of $3.11.

Movie Gallery (MOVI) No. 2 movie rental chain has too much debt. May not make it. Shares off to $.26 from 52-week high of $5.29.

Beacon Roofing Supply  (BECN) Company hurt by residential building. Down to $11.98 from 52-week high of $23.58.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: August 13, 2007 – 3:21 pm in Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

The Future Of Linux Still Dark (NOVL)(IBM))(MSFT)(RHT)

A federal judge ruled yesterday that Novell (NOVL) is the owner of the critical copyrights for the Unix operating system. Another company SCO Group (SCOX) had claimed these rights. As The New York Times writes: "The ruling could remove the cloud over open-source software like Linux, an operating system loosely modeled on the proprietary Unix." SCO had sued IBM (IBM) over intellectual property rights for Unix, and that suit will now have to be dropped.

Two things will probably happen immediately. SCO shares, which traded at $4.25 in June 2006, and are at $1.50 now, may sell off to under $1. It is fair to ask if the company has any future now. The firm only has about $6 million in revenue each quarter and losses over $1 million on that.

Novell’s shares should strengthen. The big IP issues around Linux seem to be resolved, and the theory is that companies were concerned about using it instead of Microsoft software because of the potential liabilities around the SCO litigation. Microsoft (MSFT) and Novell announced a deal in November 2006 for the companies to jointly market Windows and Linux. Novell’s shares jumped from about $6 to $9. But, as the Linux community has voiced its concern about Microsoft being in bed with Novell, its  stock has moved back to just above $6. The ruling should help drive it back up.  It should also help Redhat (RHT) the largest marketer of enterprise Linux.

The Wall Street Journal offers the opinion that "the ruling is a boon to the "open source" software movement and to Linux, the freely available computer operating system that has become an alternative to Microsoft’s Windows operating system." That may be premature.

In May of this year, Microsoft said that Linux violated 235 Microsoft patents. Redmond has not done anything about those alleged infringements, but, it may have hoped that the SCO/IBM litigation would take care of some of that.

Linux may be a little better off today, but it still lives in Microsoft’s shadow, and 235 is a lot of patents.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: August 11, 2007 – 10:20 am in Technology Companies, , , , ,

Novell Makes A Few Cents, Sort Of (NOVL)

Novell Inc. (NOVL-NASDAQ) has turned in earnings of $0.03 non-GAAP EPS and revenues of $239 million, compared to First Call estimates of $0.01 and $235.1 million.  The company managed to lose $110,000.00 on a GAAP basis, but you really have to wonder why they couldn’t have cut out something that would have allowed them to show a net profit on a GAAP basis if it really boiled down to that small of a difference. 

Its guidance came in at $925 million to $955 million in full 2007 revenues, versus $954 million estimates, but that accounts for a divestiture of the Salmon business consulting group.  On a non-GAAP basis it sees earnings for 2007 at break-even to $10 million with an ‘exit rate operating margin’ of 5% to 7%.  It is also targeting the 2008 ‘exit rate operating margins’ of 12% to 15%.

The company even said that foreign currency exchange rates ‘favorably impacted revenues by $4 million’ and ‘negatively impacted net income by $2 million’ year over year.  Did these guys open open up a forex trading account and get hosed?

During the second fiscal quarter 2007, Novell reported $19 million of revenue from Linux* Platform Products, up 83% year-over-year, and $29 million of invoicing, up 114% year-over-year.  At least the open source revenues are heading the right way.  Cash and equivalents were $1.8 billion at April 30, 2007 and total liabilities were $1.581 Billion. Days sales outstanding in accounts receivable was 64 days at the end of the second fiscal quarter 2007, down from 66 days in the year ago quarter. Total deferred revenue was $700 million at the end of the second fiscal quarter 2007, up $354 million, or 102%, from the prior year. Cash flow from operations was a negative $29 million for the second fiscal quarter 2007.

Novell closed down 1.3% at $7.36, but shares are up 2.3% from the close at $7.53.  This report looks ok, but when companies are this close to net profits it is sort of a head scratcher as to how they manage not to hunker down just a little more.  So far this is being treated as good news, but personally it looks like things could have been managed a tad better.   

Jon C. Ogg
May 30, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: May 30, 2007 – 4:30 pm in Earnings, Software,