symantec
NASDAQ symbol SYMC, makes software that helps protect computers from viruses and electronic attacks. Its best-known product is the top-selling Norton Anti-Virus program.
ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES, $9.24, symbol AF on Toronto, has moved up over 23% since the start of this year, and continues to hit all-time highs. AlarmForce reports that it earned $4.8 million, or $0.39 a share, in the year ended October 31, 2010. That’s up 26.5% from $3.8 million, or $0.31 a share, in the previous year. The home-security firm’s revenue rose 8.9%, to $37.2 million from $34.1 million....
SYMANTEC CORP. $17.15 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; SI Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 789.3 million; Market cap: $13.5 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that protects computers from viruses and intruders. The popular Norton anti-virus program is its best-known consumer product. It also sells a range of products and services to businesses, including software and services for data backup and protection, as well as data-archiving to meet increasingly strict regulatory and compliance regulations. In the three months ended October 1, 2010, Symantec earned $266 million, or $0.34 a share. That’s down 10.1% from $296 million, or $0.36 a share, a year earlier. These figures exclude one-time items, such as the cost of integrating companies Symantec bought. Revenue was flat at $1.5 billion. Corporate customers account for two-thirds of Symantec’s revenue. The uncertain economy is prompting some of its clients to hold off on buying new software....
SYMANTEC CORP. $14.99 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; SI Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 789.3 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; No dividends paid) jumped 10%, to $13.80, on August 20 in response to Intel Corp.’s $7.7-billion purchase of McAfee Inc. (New York symbol MFE). Symantec’s shares have since moved even higher. Like McAfee, Symantec is a leading maker of computer-security software. Symantec could also become a takeover target, as its shares are well off their high. The possibility of a takeover adds to Symantec’s appeal, but it’s not enough reason to buy the stock right now....
BHP BILLITON LTD. ADRs, $67.44, New York symbol BHP, is the world’s largest mining company, with major operations in Australia, South Africa, Chile and the U.K. BHP produces iron ore, coal, oil, aluminum, manganese, diamonds and titanium. The company now wants to expand its potash fertilizer business. This week, it offered to buy Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (Toronto symbol POT), the world’s largest fertilizer producer. Potash Corp. has six potash mines in Saskatchewan, and one in New Brunswick. Five of its mines have reserves of between 60 and 97 years. (Potash Corp. is a recommendation of our Successful Investor newsletter.) BHP is offering $130.00 a share in cash, for a total of $38.6 billion. That’s equal to 21% of BHP’s $187.7-billion market cap. BHP has secured $45 billion in loans to finance the deal. On December 31, 2009, BHP had $14.9 billion of long-term debt, and held cash of $9.0 billion....
LOJACK CORP., $3.55, symbol LOJN on Nasdaq, sells systems that help track and recover vehicles after they’ve been stolen. Lojack sells its products in the U.S. and 30 other countries. The company’s Canadian subsidiary is Boomerang Tracking. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, LoJack’s revenue rose 5.6%, to $37.4 million from $35.4 million a year earlier. The company lost $1.03 a share in the latest quarter, compared to a loss of $0.73 a share. However, the latest quarter included a one-time charge of $0.87 a share for an accounting adjustment. Cash flow was positive in the latest quarter, at $1.1 million, or $0.06 a share. LoJack’s $7.9 million of debt is just 12% of its market cap, and less than half of its cash holdings of $33 million....
SYMANTEC CORP., $12.97, Nasdaq symbol SYMC, reported earnings that matched the consensus estimate this week. However, weaker-than-expected revenue caused the stock to fall 14%. In its first quarter, which ended July 2, 2010, the software firm earned $284 million. That’s up 2.5% from $277 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 6.1%, to $0.35 from $0.33, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude non-recurring items, such as costs to integrate acquisitions and writedowns of buildings Symantec plans to sell. Revenue was flat, at $1.43 billion. The company gets half of its revenue from international customers, so the higher U.S. dollar hurt the contribution of its overseas businesses. Without the negative impact of foreign-exchange rates, revenue would have risen 2%....
ACI WORLDWIDE INC. $19.40, symbol ACIW on Nasdaq, makes software and provides services that help its clients process transactions that involve credit cards, debit cards, automated-teller machines, smart cards, point-of-sale terminals and inter-bank payments. The company serves more than 800 clients in 88 countries, including many of the world’s largest financial institutions. ACI’s shares rose over 5% yesterday after the company reported improved results in the latest quarter....
SYMANTEC CORP. $14.59 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; SI Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 798.9 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; No dividends paid) has signed a multi-year extension of its agreement with Hewlett-Packard to distribute its Norton Internet Security software. Norton Internet Security is a set of programs that fight hackers, viruses and other online threats. Under the deal, Hewlett-Packard will continue to preinstall a 60-day free trial subscription to Norton Internet Security on all of its personal computers, laptops and netbooks. Users can then buy a subscription to Norton Internet Security for $54.99 a year. Deals like this are very important for software sellers like Symantec. That’s because many consumers like the convenience of buying preinstalled programs right from their computers....
MAJOR DRILLING, $24.94, symbol MDI on Toronto, reports that its revenue rose 46.6% in the three months ended April 30, 2010, to $97.4 million from $66.4 million a year earlier. The company earned $3.2 million, or $0.14 a share. A year earlier, it lost $4.6 million, or $0.19 a share. Cash flow was $9.4 million, or $0.40 a share, in the latest quarter. Major expects to see a continued rebound during the rest of 2010. Gold prices are near all-time highs, base-metal prices are strengthening, and many mining companies have raised new funds for exploration....
SYMANTEC CORP. $15.07 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; SI Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 798.9 million; Market cap: $12.0 billion; No dividends paid) is buying the identity and authentication operations of VeriSign Inc. for $1.3 billion. This business makes Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software certificates, which web site operators use to cut down on fraud and identity theft. Over 2.3 million web sites use VeriSign’s certificates, which makes it the leader in this market. Symantec sees VeriSign’s technology as a good fit with its existing data-security products. As well, demand for these products should continue to rise as more businesses shift to a cloud-computing model. That’s where data and software are kept on one or more centralized computer networks....