Zebra Technologies, Bon-Ton Stores, Google, Microsoft and Amazon highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day

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Dec 10, 2014, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq:ZBRA-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Bon-Ton Stores (Nasdaq:BONT-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report), Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT-Free Report) and Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report).

Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:

Bull of the Day:

Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq:ZBRA-Free Report) is a leading global manufacturer of specialty printers, scanners, RFID and location & motion tracking services that are used by businesses for identifying, tacking and managing important assets. The company has the largest installed base of thermal printers in the industry. Their portfolio of marking and printing technologies including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Real Time Location solutions that help business improve their processes.

Founded in 1969 and headquarter in Lincolnshire, IL, the company now has approximately 7,100 employees in more than 122 offices across 81 countries.

In 2013, 44% of the sales were in North America, followed by 34% in Europe, Middle East & Africa and 15% in Asia Pacific. Retail, Travel & Leisure, Manufacturing and Healthcare are the top industries, the company supplies its products and services to.

The company reported its Q3 2014 results on November 4. Sales jumped to $303 million, up 15.1% from Q3 of 2013, with growth across all regions and multiple product lines. High pipeline activity generated many large deals in key industries. Three out of four geographic reporting regions recorded double digit growth, with 16% growth in North America, where they had a surge in shipments ahead of the holiday season.

Gross margin expanded by 1.2% to 50.0%. Margin expansion was thanks mainly to the higher product volume and lower inbound freight cost. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $0.93 per share, ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.85 per share and also above the management's guidance range.

Bear of the Day:

Even though gas prices have declined more than 40% in the past few months, it is not yet clear whether consumers are ready to spend the money saved from cheaper gas on other items. The landscape continues to be challenging for many retailers despite improving economy and healing labor markets.

Bon-Ton Stores (Nasdaq:BONT-Free Report) is one of the largest regional department store operators in the country, offering a broad assortment of fashion apparel and accessories, as well as cosmetics, fine jewelry and home furnishings.

Founded in 1898, the company currently operates 270 stores, including furniture galleries.

On November 20, the company reported operating results for Q3 of fiscal 2014. Total sales for the quarter declined 1.3% to $642.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA was down to $28.4 million from $38.4 million in Q3 2013. Slower traffic and warmer weather in October impacted sales.

Gross margin decreased 29 basis points to 36.3% of net sales, thanks mainly to higher distribution and delivery costs. Net loss for the quarter was $11.0 million or $0.57 per share, compared with a net loss of $0.9 million or $0.05 per share, in the prior-year quarter. This was much worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.08 per share.

The bright spot in the report was 27% growth over the prior year quarter in e-commerce sales as the partnership with ShopRunner continues to drive incremental sales.

Based on Q3 results, the management also downgraded their guidance for FY 2014. They now expect adjusted EBITDA in a range of $150 million to $160 million and earnings in a range of a loss of $0.20 per share to income of $0.10,

Additional content:

Microsoft License Availability for Google Cloud

Search giant Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) is now offering Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT-Free Report) License Mobility for its Cloud Platform, which will enable Windows users to move their workloads to the Google Cloud Platform. The solution allows Microsoft users with support contracts to run Windows apps on third-party cloud services for free.

As a result of the license mobility arrangement, Google will now be able to support users wanting to migrate their Microsoft server Relevant Products/Services application software licenses, such as SQL Server, SharePoint and Exchange Server to its cloud platform without paying additional fees to Microsoft. The feature is also applicable for customers holding a perpetual license.

Along with this, Google has also expanded Windows support on the Google Cloud Platform, providing support for Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition and making the Chrome RDP app available for free.

Amazon (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report) already allows its customers to run a number of Windows Server variants (including Server 2012 R2), and various Microsoft enterprise software applications on its cloud platform through Microsoft License Mobility.

Google needs to buck up as competition in the cloud computing market is intense, particularly with players like Amazon already ruling and Microsoft determined to build a position in the fast-growing segment.

This move is in line with Google's efforts to make its cloud platform a viable alternative especially for corporate Relevant Products/Services users. It is particularly important to encourage companies that have thus far largely relied on Windows software to shift their workloads to Google's cloud platform. Whether this will also encourage them to use Google productivity tools will depend on the cost and convenience of using these tools.

For Microsoft, this gives its licensees more latitude in choosing the services they want thus increasing their appeal. It is right in line with CEO Nadella's cloud-first mobile-first strategy.

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