Here are some things going on this morning in your world of tech:
Shares of chipmaker Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) are down by 35 cents, or roughly 5%, following yesterdays reports that a jury yesterday said the company should pay Carnegie Mellon University At least $1.2 billion in damages for infringing on the university’s patents related to storage technology.
There has been at least one downgrade of the stock today, with JMP Securities’s Alex Gauna cutting his rating from Outperform to Market Perform, writing that there are “Simply too many fundamental and sentimental headwinds” to continue to recommend the stock, with the other issues such as the recent departure of the company’s CFO, and the ongoing pressure in the disk drive business.
The Benchmark Company’s Gary Mobley warns that while Marvell plans to appeal the ruling, nevertheless “this initial jury verdict could alter Marvell�s dividend payout (recently implemented $0.06/Q dividend; 3.2% yield) and/or Marvell�s aggressive buyback program. Additionally, as outlined in CMU�s initial compliant, the trial judge could grant an injunction against Marvell�s HDD SoCs.” He rates Marvell shares Hold with a $9 price target.
Shares of BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing (BCDS) have nearly doubled this morning after Plano, Texas-based chip maker Diodes (DIOD) said after close of market yesterday that it would buy the $142 million (market cap) Shanghai, China-based maker of power management circuitry for $151 million, or $8 per share in cash. Diodes stock is up 98 cents, or 6%, at $17.89 on the deal.
In a report to clients this morning, Stifel Nicolaus’s Tore Svanberg writes that the deal price seems to be “fair,” at 0.8 times projected sales for BCD and 13.7 times projected earnings per share, in light of the fact BCD is not yet cash-flow positive.
Writes Svanberg, “We believe the merger will be beneficial to both companies as BCDS will benefit from DIOD�s larger scale, while DIOD will gain from BCDS� standard linear and power management products (including its AC/DC switched power supply components and DC/DC solutions) as well as its exposures to China/Asia (not only from the company�s participation in local markets, but also from its established manufacturing and R&D operations in China).”
Apple (AAPL) rumor du jour is that the company may move production of its “Mac mini” compact desktop computer back to the U.S. from Asia in 2013, according to a piece by DigiTimes‘s Aaron Lee and Joseph Tsai this morning, citing multiple unnamed sources from the supply chain. The shift in production might happen in conjunction with manufacturing partner Foxconn extending its existing presence here in the U.S., the authors write. Talk of U.S. production has swirled since CEO Tim Cook gave an interview with MSNBC December 6th in which he said some of the company’s manufacturing would come back next year.
Apple appeared to got some good news on the patent front. Charles Arthur with the U.K.’s The Guardian this morning reports that the European Commission is considering fining Samsung Electronics (005930KS) “Billions of pounds” after its head of competition policy, Joaquin Almunia, last week declared that some companies appear to be using their “standards essential patents” in wireless as weapons in courtroom litigation. Motorola Mobility, a unit of Google (GOOG), is also apparently at risk of punishment for its use of such patents in a way that’s not “fair and reasonable,” or FRAND, in court lingo.
Apple shares today are down $2.70, or half a percent, at $510.30.
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