After Hours Summary: MDB +19%, DOMO +13%, TLRD -18%, CLDR -13% among the notable earnings/guidance moversAfter Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: MDB +18.9%, DOMO +13%, IIPR +7%, FLNT +6.8%
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: IDSY +15.1% / PNTR +10.7% (both thinly traded; I.D. Systems to acquire Pointer Telocation for $140 mln in cash and stock), MUX +3.4% (announces voluntary termination of equity distribution agreement), SIEN +1.5% (modestly rebounding from today's 30% decline), ACB +1.4% (after closing near highs - up 14% on the day), CRM +0.4% (initiated with Buy at Mizuho), DAL +0.3% (ticking higher after Warren Buffett/Berkshire Hathaway disclosed the purchase of 6.5K shares)
After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: TLRD -18.4%, CLDR -12.8%, KINS -8.1%, SMTC -6.4%, SFS -5.6%, GDS -4.7% (also announces a $150 mln equity investment by China Ping An), VKTX -2.8% (also additional VK2809 Phase 2 data to be presented - results demonstrate promising efficacy at doses as low as 5 mg daily)
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: LGCY -24.5% (announces review of strategic alternatives; continues to work with the administrative agent/lenders extend the maturity of its credit facility), AXGT -9.7% (commenced underwritten public offering of its common shares), GMRE -8.5% (commences public offering of common stock; size not disclosed), EGAN -7.3% (announces proposed public offering of common stock), LXRX -2.5% (light volume; downgraded to Sell from Hold at Gabelli), ROKU -1.9% (continued weakness)
Asia Market Update: China Industrial Production misses ests, jobless rate rises: GBP declines ahead of yet another parliament vote, BoJ decision seen on Friday
General Trend:
- Asian indices trade mixed
- IT and Telecom Services shares weigh on Shanghai Composite
- Chinese airlines rise in Hong Kong following recent earnings form Cathay Pacific
- China Unicom rises over 3% in Hong Kong post earnings
- Hyundai Motor declines over 4%, adviser of South Korea National Pension said to reject proposals from Elliott
- Brokerage and Iron/Steel companies rise in Japan
- Softbank rises over 3%, speculated to be considering investment in Uber unit
- Longer dated JGB yields hit lows not seen since 2016 amid focus on BOJ policy meeting, China data
- China Stats Official: Lunar New Year timing impacted data and may also impact March data
- China NPC expected to vote on foreign investment law on Friday (March 15th)
- British Pound (GBP) weakens during Asian trading,
- On Thursday, UK parliament is expected to vote on whether to extend Article 50 and push back the March 29th departure date from the EU.
***Headlines/Economic Data***
Australia/New Zealand
-ASX 200 opened +0.2%
- CBA.AU Has suspended demerger plan for wealth management and broking unit
- (AU) Australia Mar Consumer Inflation Expectation: 4.1% v 3.7% prior
- (NZ) New Zealand sells NZ$250M v NZ$250M indicated in 3.00% 2029 bonds: avg yield 2.030%, bid to cover 2.56x
Japan
-Nikkei 225 opened +0.9%
- (JP) Japan Fin Min Aso: Japan may ban South Korean new visa issuances and money transfers if South Korea seizes assets of Japanese firms - Japanese Press
- (JP) Japan Investors Weekly Net Buying of Foreign Bonds: ¥245.7B v ¥456.1B prior; Foreign Buying of Japan Stocks: -¥1.16T v -¥340.5B prior
-(JP) Japan mulls slight downgrade to economic view in March – Nikkei
- (JP) Japan PM Abe: Want to put my energy into final term as LDP President - speaking in parliament
Korea
-Kospi opened +0.2%
- 005380.KR Main advisor of South Korea's national pension service, Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS), sided with Hyundai Motor Co. and Hyundai Mobis Co against Elliott over dividend payments and appointments to the board
- 003490.KR Will not operate 737 Max until safety is guaranteed, not canceling order for 8 737 Max planes
- 005930.KR American marketing head Marc Mathieu said to have left
China/Hong Kong
-Hang Seng opened +0.3%; Shanghai Composite opened -0.4%
- (CN) CHINA FEB INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION YTD Y/Y: 5.3% V 5.6%E (17-yr low)
- (CN) CHINA FEB FIXED ASSETS INVESTMENT (EX-RURAL) YTD Y/Y: 6.1% V 6.1%E
- (CN) CHINA FEB RETAIL SALES YTD Y/Y: 8.2% V 8.2%E
- (CN) CHINA FEB PROPERTY INVESTMENT Y/Y: 11.6% V 9.5% PRIOR
- (CN) CHINA FEB SURVEYED JOBLESS RATE: 5.3% V 4.9% PRIOR
- (CN) China National Bureau of Stats (NBS): China economy still faces downward pressure; faces many external uncertainties; Lunar New year weighed on data, may also do so in March
- (CN) China PBoC Sets Yuan Reference Rate: 6.7009 v 6.7114 prior
- (CN) China PBoC Open Market Operation (OMO): Skips OMO (11th consecutive skip); Net: nil v nil prior
- (CN) S&P: Expect that China will fall well short of its target of cutting taxes and fees by CNY2.0T in 2019, expect only CNY1.5T
- (CN) China Feb YTD Off Balance Sheet Financing (CNY): decline of 21.7B v avg monthly decline of CNY209.2B in Q4 - Xinhua
- (CN) Pres Trump: We're in no rush to complete China trade deal; talks are going along 'very nicely'
- (EU) European Commission official released a paper labeling China as an “economic competitor” and “a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance”
- (CN) China Credit insurer Coface report says 62% of Chinese firms survey saw payment delays in 2018 - HK Press
- 1055.HK China Southern Airlines: Reports Feb load factor 85.2% +1.7ppts y/y
- 762.HK China Unicom: Reports FY18 (CNY) Net 10.2B v 8.1Be, EBITDA 84.9B v 86.3Be, Rev 290.9B v 287.1Be
Other Asia
- SEMI: Sees 2019 Global fab spending -14% y/y; 2020 global fab spending +27% y/y
North America
- FB Federal prosecutors in the US said to launch criminal probe into the company's data-sharing agreements – NYT
- (IA) US said to seek to reduce Iran oil sales by about 20% to less than 1M bpd from May - financial press
Europe
- (UK) UK PARLIAMENT REJECTS NO-DEAL BREXIT IN ANY SCENARIO IN 312-308 VOTE, in a defeat for PM May
- (UK) PARLIAMENT VOTES IN FAVOR OF AMENDED MOTION ON 'NO DEAL'; VOTES TO RULE OUT 'NO-DEAL' BREXIT IN 321-278 TALLY
- (UK) PM's office: PM May is NOT considering resigning
- (UK) FEB RICS HOUSE PRICE BALANCE: -28% V -24%E (lowest since May 2011)
***Levels as of 1:20 ET***
- Nikkei 225, +0.2%, ASX 200 +0.3%, Hang Seng -0.1%; Shanghai Composite -1%; Kospi -0.2%
- Equity Futures: S&P500 -0.1%; Nasdaq100 -0.2%, Dax -0.3%; FTSE100 -1.1%
- EUR 1.1342-1.1318 ; JPY 111.63-111.13 ; AUD 0.7099-0.7061 ;NZD 0.6866-0.6836
- Gold -0.5% at $1,302/oz; Crude Oil +0.3% at $58.42/brl; Copper -0.4% at $2.920/lb
AT&T confirms drastic changes to DirecTV Now and raises cheapest plan to $50
Is HBO enough to make up for losing AMC, Viacom, and Discovery?
AT&T has confirmed that it is dramatically reshaping its DirecTV Now streaming TV service beginning today by getting rid of the previously offered channel bundles, slimming down programming for new plans, and raising prices. In hopes of making up the difference, AT&T is adding HBO to DirecTV Now’s latest, smaller channel packages that now start at $50 per month. That’s the most expensive base plan of the big five (DirecTV Now, Hulu with Live TV, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, YouTube TV), but none of the others include HBO. The step-up $70 Max package adds Cinemax and a few more sports channels from ESPN and Fox.
Getting your Game of Thrones fix is nice and all, but the new plans slash many channels that potential customers might value. Some of those include:
A&E
AMC
Animal Planet
BBC America
BET
CMT
Comedy Central
Discovery
HGTV
History
MTV
Nickelodeon
TLC
VH1
Those are all channels that were part of DirecTV Now’s previous plans but have gone away entirely with today’s changes. At least for right now, AT&T is saying that existing customers will maintain access to their current channel bundles for as long as they remain with the service.
But if you cancel your subscription, there’s no getting the older plans (Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, and Gotta Have It) back again. Holding onto those bundles — no longer offered to new customers as of today — is also going to get more expensive: AT&T will hike monthly rates by $10 across the entire line as of April 12th. And if you were paying the $5 extra for HBO, that’s going to jump up to $15 with this month’s bill. This is yet another instance of AT&T increasing rates after it argued that its acquisition of Time Warner would result in reduced prices for consumers. This is actually the second hike for those DirecTV Now subscriptions. But AT&T would likely argue that if you were already paying $50 for Live a Little and HBO before, that price effectively continues on with these revamped packages.
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?
Like some of its competitors, AT&T has opted to completely remove Viacom’s lineup of cable networks in an effort to keep its own costs down. Only Sling TV continues to offer those channels among the big five. DirecTV Now is also shedding Discovery’s channels.
Instead, it largely now focuses on the company’s own WarnerMedia networks and those from Fox and Comcast / NBCUniversal. Crucially, the base $50 Plus plan still includes all four major broadcasters: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. But there’s no denying that the new DirecTV Now is vastly different from what it was before. AT&T previously boasted that it offered over 125 channels in the biggest bundle. Now, that number tops out at a bit over 50.
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson has regularly stated that DirecTV Now’s prior pricing and cable-like channel bundles were unsustainable if the company wanted the service to turn a profit. “We’re talking $50 to $60,” he said back in December. “We’ve learned this product, we think we know this market really, really well. We built a 2 million subscriber base. But we were asking this DirecTV Now product to do too much work. So we’re thinning out the content and getting the price point right; getting it to where it’s profitable.”
WHAT ELSE IS CHANGING?
Looking beyond the major changes to DirecTV Now’s channel lineup and pricing, other aspects of the service remain the same. It still allows for three concurrent streams, and it still offers a cloud DVR with up to 20 hours of storage. (Your shows are saved for a maximum of 30 days.) Add-on Spanish channel packs are still available, as are optional Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz subscriptions.