Oracle Done with Sun, Now What?

After almost a year of announcing the Sun acquisition, Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) finally closed the deal on January 26, 2010. And in the first quarter including Sun’s results, it reported a 17% increase in revenue and earnings in-line with estimates. However, the decline in profit and the company’s dull guidance hasn’t gone down well with investors, and the stock dipped to take its valuation to a five-year low. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

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ERI Enters Osmotic Power, A $70 Billion TAM

Reports estimate that nearly 1.1 billion people, or a full 20% of the world’s population, lack access to safe drinking water, and the situation is not getting any better. By 2025, that number will increase to 1.8 billion people, or two-thirds of the world’s population. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) is a cost-effective desalination solution to address the problem. The SWRO industry is estimated to have grown 55% annually over the five-year period since 2002, and growth is expected to remain strong.

The global desalination capacity pipeline is pegged to be over 22 million cubic meters per day by 2012. Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) is a leader in the field. But its recently reported Q4 results missed analyst expectations owing to delays in project financing due to the tight credit markets. As the economy picks up, the stock is sure to rise. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Adobe Looks Precarious

Adobe has two significant threats developing: Apple and Google.

Adobe’s (NASDAQ:ADBE) relationship with Apple has changed drastically, first from a symbiotic relationship to a competitive one and now to a bitter one. The iPhone doesn’t have Flash, and even the iPad doesn’t seem likely to have it. Adobe is now betting on Google’s Android to fuel its mobile strategy. At the recent Mobile World Congress, it demonstrated Flash on Google’s Nexus One. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

Optical Networking Getting Hot

Everyone is using the Internet now, and not just on their computers and laptops but also on their iPhones, BlackBerries, netbooks, and tablets. But online video, social networking, and multimedia applications on smartphones hog a lot of bandwidth. This huge appetite for bandwidth has stressed the current infrastructure, calling for an upgrade. And who is the beneficiary? The optical networking sector. >>>

Blue Nile Expanding, WebMD Going Mobile

News from the National Retail Federation was no doubt a pleasant surprise: for the 2009 holiday season, retail sales grew 1.1% to $446.8 million over the previous year’s November and December sales, compared with the 1% decline that the federation had projected earlier. Holiday sales were driven by the apparel segment, in which December sales grew 7% over the year. The health and personal care segment saw sales grow 5% over the year, and sporting goods, hobby, book & music store sales grew 4% over the year. >>>

What Went Wrong With Palm?

Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) seems to be floundering. It recently reported mixed results – earnings were better than expected but smartphone sell-through was highly disappointing. Let’s take a closer look at what went wrong. >>>

Nokia In The United States

According to a recent IDC report, Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is the world’s biggest converged mobile phone maker with about 38% share in Q4 2009. However, it has a poor presence in the U.S. market, which is dominated by RIM and Apple. >>>

Synopsys Likely To Roll-Up The EDA Sector

Analysts are projecting positive trends for the electronics industry in the current year, with estimates ranging from 7% to 9% annual growth. Also, investment in R&D is expected to return after slowing last year. The increased demand is expected to drive growth in the semiconductor industry.

Conservative estimates predict 2010 to be a year of stabilization for the EDA space followed by growth in 2011, and 2010 is expected to be a year of industry consolidation. The largest player, Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS), is already acquiring smaller players in the market and will continue to do so. Cadence is trading at half of Synopsys’ market cap, which makes their acquisition currency weaker. Let’s take a look at the last quarter’s happenings. >>>

Dolby Eyeing 3D Market

Dolby Laboratories Inc (NYSE: DLB) has been taking a keen interest in the 3D market. And thanks to it, we now have a new generation of 3D films. 2009 ended with “Avatar,” and “Alice in Wonderland” was recently released. The 3D market is dominated by RealD, but with Dolby’s 3D technology, even regular theaters can screen 3D movies. Let’s take a closer look. >>>

A Strong Autodesk Looks Toward China, 3D

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) recently announced Q4 numbers that were up sequentially with less of a year-on-year decline. Revenues of $456 million fell 7% over the year but grew 9% over the quarter. EPS of $0.30 was a penny lower than the previous year’s earnings and grew 10% over the previous quarter’s EPS of $0.27. Analysts were projecting revenues of $432 million with earnings of $0.23 per share. >>>