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Earnings Previews: Dell, Marvell, Pinduoduo, VMware, Workday

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The three major U.S. equity indexes closed mixed on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial blue-chippers added about 0.2%, while the S&P 500 closed down 0.8% and the Nasdaq retreated nearly 2.4%. The Federal Reserve releases the minutes of its April meeting Wednesday afternoon, an event that is watched closely for hints about what the U.S. central bank may do next. Equities traded higher in the late morning Wednesday.

After markets closed Tuesday afternoon, Intuit reported results, beating estimates for both the top and bottom lines. Shares traded up about 7.5% just before noon Wednesday.

Nordstrom missed earnings per share (EPS) expectations but beat the revenue estimate and issued upside guidance for the 2023 fiscal year. The stock was up more than 12% Wednesday morning.

Toll Brothers also beat top-line and bottom-line estimates but noted that, while demand is solid for now, it is not equal to the runup of the past two years because home buyers are reacting to higher interest rates and macroeconomic conditions. The stock traded up almost 8%.

Grindrod Shipping reported better than expected results on both the top and bottom lines. Shares traded down about 10% Wednesday morning.

Star Bulk Carriers also reported beats to earnings and revenue estimates. Shares traded lower by about 2.8% Wednesday morning.

Dick’s Sporting Goods beat top-line and bottom-line estimates but gave downside guidance well below analysts’ estimates for full-year EPS. Shares traded up more than 11%.

After Wednesday’s closing bell, results are due from Nvidia, Snowflake and Splunk. Thursday morning has earnings on tap from Alibaba, Baidu, Dollar Tree and Macy’s., while reports from Big Lots, Canopy Growth, Costco, Farfetch and Gap follow late on Thursday or first thing Friday.

Here is a look at five more firms set to report earnings late Thursday or early Friday.

Dell

Over the past 12 months, Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE: DELL) has shed more than 17% from its share price. The hardware maker bounced back from an early January dip but could not withstand the sell-off of tech stocks that has been the hallmark of 2022 so far. The Nasdaq 100 index is down nearly 28% for the year to date. Dell, at least, is doing better than that. And it should be: cash flow from operations over the past four quarters is more than $10.3 billion and free cash flow totals $7.5 billion (or $9.92 per share). The company reports results late on Thursday.
Sentiment among analysts tends toward bullish, with 11 of 20 brokerages having a Buy or Strong Buy rating on Dell and the rest rating the stock at Hold. At a recent share price of around $40.90, the upside potential based on a median price target of $60.00 is 46.7%. At the high price target of $72.00, the upside potential is about 76%.

The consensus revenue estimate for Dell’s first quarter of fiscal 2023 is $25.26 billion, which would be down 9.8% sequentially but up 3.1% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $1.39, down 19.1% sequentially and 34.7% lower year over year. For the full fiscal year ending in January, analysts expect EPS of $6.70, up 7.7%, on sales of $104.38 billion, up 3.1%.

The stock trades at 6.2 times expected 2023 EPS, 5.8 times estimated 2024 earnings of $7.24 and 5.5 times estimated 2025 earnings of $7.58 per share. The stock’s 52-week trading range is $38.33 to $115.00. Dell does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return for the past year was negative 16.5%.

Marvell

Chipmaker Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL) has seen its shares appreciate by slightly more than 11% over the past 12 months. The stock peaked in early December and has sunk about 42.4% since then. Earlier this month, Marvell acquired privately held Tanzanite Silicon Solutions for an undisclosed price. The acquisition beefs up Marvell’s position in what is known as the CXL (compute express link) market, specifically with cutting-edge memory technologies. Marvell will share results after markets close on Thursday.

Analysts remain solidly bullish on Marvell stock. Of 32 brokerages covering the shares, 28 have a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and the rest rate the stock at Hold. At a share price of around $53.00, the upside potential to a median price target of $90.40 is 70.6%. At the high price target of $125.00, the upside potential is nearly 136%.

For its first quarter of fiscal 2023, Marvell’s revenue is forecast to come in at $1.42 billion, up 6.2% sequentially and nearly 72% higher year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.51, up 2.6% sequentially and 75.9% year over year. For the full fiscal year ending in January, EPS are forecast at $2.29, up 46%, on sales of $6.1 billion, up 36.7%.

Marvell stock trades at 23.0 times expected 2023 EPS, 18.1 times estimated 2024 earnings of $2.91 and 14.5 times estimated 2025 earnings of $3.65 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $46.77 to $93.85, and Marvell pays an annual dividend of $0.24 (yield of 0.46%). Total shareholder return for the past year was 10.2%.

Pinduoduo

Pinduoduo Inc. (NASDAQ: PDD) focuses on an e-commerce marketplace matching China’s farmers and agricultural products wholesalers directly with the country’s consumers. The company reports quarterly results first thing Friday morning.

Like other tech companies, Pinduoduo has taken a beating over the past year, dropping nearly 71% of its share price value as a result of tighter government regulation and a threatened delisting due to an SEC rule requiring U.S.-listed entities to retain a U.S.-registered public accounting for companies that have branches in foreign countries. On top of that, strict lockdowns are likely to have had supply chain and consumer traffic issues.

There are 40 analysts covering the stock, and 31 of those have a Buy or Strong Buy rating. The other eight rate the stock at Hold. At a price of around $38.50 a share, the upside potential based on a median price target of $61.83 is almost 60.6%. At the high price target of $131.26, the upside potential is about 241%.

Analysts are expecting fiscal 2022 first-quarter revenue of $3.1 billion, down 27.6% sequentially and 8.3% year over year. Adjusted EPS are forecast at $0.27, down more than 70% sequentially but up from a year-ago loss per share of $0.23 for the quarter. For the full fiscal year, Pinduoduo is forecast to post EPS of $1.77, up 17.8, on sales of $16.47 billion, up 11.4%.

Pinduoduo shares trade at 21.7 times expected 2022 EPS, 15.2 times estimated 2024 earnings of $2.52 and 11.3 times estimated 2025 earnings of $3.41 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $23.21 to $134.11. The company does not pay a dividend, and the total shareholder return for the past year was a negative 70.7%.

VMware

Cloud storage solutions provider VMware Inc. (NYSE: VMW) has lost about 11.3% of its value over the past 12 months. The loss would have been closer to 30% were it not for an announcement earlier this week that Broadcom may offer around $60 billion to acquire the company. At the rumored price, VMware’s value rose by nearly 50%. Some observers are expecting an announcement as early as Thursday afternoon when VMware reports its quarterly results.
Analysts are bullish on VMware, of course. Of 31 brokerages covering the shares, 16 have given the stock a Buy or Strong Buy rating, and the rest rate the stock a Hold. At a current price of around $118.80, the upside potential to a median price target of $135.00 is 13.6%. At the high price target of $175.00, the upside potential is 47.3%.

For its first fiscal quarter of 2023, VMware’s revenue is forecast to come in at $3.19 billion, down 9.8% sequentially and up 6.7% year over year. Adjusted EPS is forecast at $1.56, down 22.3% sequentially, and down 11.4% year over year. For the full 2023 fiscal year ending in January, EPS is forecast at $7.01, down 3.3%, on sales of $13.75 billion, up 7%.

The company’s stock trades at 16.9 times expected 2023 EPS, 15.3 times estimated 2024 earnings of $7.74 and 13.4 times estimated 2025 earnings of $8.82 per share. The stock’s 52-week range is $91.53 to $167.83, and VMware does not pay a dividend. Total shareholder return for the past year was negative 10.5%.

Workday

Cloud application software maker Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) has seen its share price drop about 30% over the past 12 months. Since posting a 52-week high in mid-November, the shares are down more than 45%. Unless the current inflationary trend continues its reverse and interest rates cool off, Workday will continue to struggle with profitability, and it may even face slower revenue growth. Neither is good news for the company. Workday reports results after Thursday’s closing bell.

Analysts are solidly bullish on the shares. Of 34 brokerages covering the stock, 29 rate the shares at Buy or Strong Buy and five more have Hold ratings. At a share price of around $162.80, the upside potential based on a median price target of $295.50 is 81.5%. At the high target of $360.00, the upside potential is 121%.


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