1. 1. 3 Tech Stocks That Soared This Week
2. 2. These 3 tech stocks beat the market, July 27 July 31 2015
3. 3. Vonage soared 20% higher overnight on a fine earnings report.
4. 4. The network-based telephony veteran reported earnings of $0.09 per share on sales of $222 million. That amounts to 28% year-over-year earnings growth on 1.4% higher revenues. Higher margins made this sales-to-profit split possible, as Vonage refocuses on cash-churning corporate clients. Analysts would have settled for earnings of $0.08 per share on $219 million in sales, by the way. Tale of the tape
5. 5. Did you know that Vonage has beaten earnings estimates six quarters in a row? It's becoming a habit. The stock has gained a market-beating 68% in 2015. It trades at eight-year highs right now. The idea of Internet-powered communications has gone mainstream, and Vonage is poised to exploit that trend. Big time rush
6. 6. The company is quietly shifting its marketing budget away from consumer products and deeper into business-grade services. In the second quarter, consumer sales fell 12%. Business sales, on the other hand, soared 38% higher. This profit-seeking move helped Vonage grow free cash flows 64% year over year. Call me crazy, but I believe these results justify Vonage's rising share prices. The stock still trades at just 22 times forward earnings. Behind the scenes
7. 7. Immersion shares fell slightly in anticipation of weak earnings. Then they jumped 19% higher when the results were unveiled.
8. 8. Like Vonage, Immersion beat analyst targets in the second quarter. The haptic feedback technologist reported earnings of $0.10 per share on $16.2 million in sales. That's up from $0.05 per share and $11.8 million a year ago, respectively. Analysts were only looking for earnings of $0.03 per share and $13.6 million in sales. The big beat
9. 9. Unlike Vonage, earnings surprises are kind of unusual for Immersion. The company has missed more bottom-line estimates than it exceeded during the last two years. The spotty results have led to equally bumpy stock charts. Sure, Immersion shares are up 45% in 2015, but have only gained 4% during 52 weeks. There are no multi-year highs to talk about here, only a strong bounce back from a deep trough. Management hopes to have become consistently profitable now. The company hasn't reported a quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 2012. This could be the end of Immersion's roller coaster. Maybe. Perhaps. Just don't bet the house on it. Where is this train going?
10. 10. AMD started rising on no news at all.
11. 11. The biggest news for AMD investors all week did come on Tuesday. That's when credit rating service Moody's lowered the company's credit ratings deeper into "speculative" territory -- with a negative outlook. Moody's pinned the downgrades on persistently weak PC demand and a dangerously thin balance sheet. That's not good news, folks. But AMD shares rose 9% that day anyhow, only pausing when the credit ratings arrived. Rising despite the news
12. 12. Once the rally started, it kept going. AMD shares rose another 10% on Wednesday, arguably powered by short sellers covering their bets. At the last count, 15% of AMD's shares were sold short -- up from 12% in March. That ratio is likely to shrink drastically in the next short-sales report. The sweetness of this week's 16% share price gains fades when you look at the big picture. The next chart is kind of scary for AMD investors. Send the kids to bed. Hide the cat. Have a seat. Short, not sweet
13. 13. AMD shares bounced off an all-time low.
14. 14. These days, AMD is for speculative investors only. If the company can make a graceful exit from the PC market and make a new home in semi-custom processors, the stock could rebound in a big way. But that's a huge "if." And even in the new target market, AMD is only trading the enemy it knows for a handful of less familiar, but just as brutal, rivals. Is this stock for you?
15. 15. A little-known tech company responsible for finally putting an end to credit cards could hand its investors life-changing profits. And a revealing investor alert from The Motley Fool has the full story!