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Zoom Video stock slides as much as 15% after analyst joins in backlash on valuation fears – MarketWatch

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Zoom Video Communications Inc. shares stumbled Monday after one analyst downgraded the stock, joining a backlash against the videoconferencing company as it deals with an unprecedented surge of users stuck at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zoom
ZM,
-4.10%

shares fell as much as 15% Monday to an intraday low of $108.53, while the broader market rallied more than 5%. Shares, however, pared losses to finish down 4.1% at $122.94, following a 15% decline last week that tied for the stock’s worst week in its nearly yearlong history.

Read: Zoom Video lurches from boom to backlash amid privacy issues, ‘Zoom bombing’ attacks

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Even with Monday’s fall, Zoom is still up 81% for the year, compared with an 18% drop in the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+7.03%

and a 12% decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+7.32%
.

Credit Suisse analyst Brad Zelnick downgraded Zoom to an underperform rating from neutral Monday and raised his price target to $105 from $95, on the basis that “the current share price embeds significantly greater conversion of free users than our upside model scenario.”

“We commend Zoom for being a superhero of the current health crisis, though our responsibility as equity analysts compels us to distinguish great companies from great stocks,” Zelnick said. In the long term, Zelnick said he believes Microsoft Corp.’s
MSFT,
+7.43%

Teams video service “remains the most significant competitive threat.”

For more: In just one week, Microsoft adds as many users to its Teams software as rival Slack has in total

In a note titled “No good deed goes unpunished,” Bernstein analyst Zane Chrane, who has an outperform rating and a target price of $125, said Zoom’s shortcomings are getting disproportionate attention given the surge with which the company has had to deal.

Chrane said “it’s to be expected that any company that has a 20x increase in demand in 90 days will inevitably have some growing pains, if they can even provide the service at all, so it’s worth considering the full context of Zoom’s oversights and alleged transgressions.”

Zoom shares started dropping from their March 23 record close of $159.56 as the COVID-19-fueled rise in the service’s popularity exposed security concerns. Back in January, Check Point Software Technologies Inc.
CHKP,
+5.36%

identified a flaw in Zoom that let intruders eavesdrop on meetings. While the flaw had been fixed, Check Point recently published guidelines on how Zoom users could better protect themselves while they used the service.

“Zoom’s exponential growth in usage has resulted in additional scrutiny of its technology, leading to a recent spike in security concerns,” Credit Suisse’s Zelnick said. “While many of these issues, especially those stemming from user error, will likely be resolved in short order, we anticipate others may linger for some time.”

On Friday, Zoom Chief Executive Eric Yuan responded to concerns that certain meetings had been allowed to connect to systems in China and that the company had failed to “fully implement our usual geofencing best practices.”

Those security concerns prompted New York City’s Department of Education to tell principal to stop using Zoom, suggesting they use Microsoft Teams or video services through Alphabet Inc.’s
GOOG,
+8.11%

GOOGL,
+8.28%

Google Hangouts, according to a CNBC report.

Of the 25 analysts who cover Zoom, nine have overweight or buy ratings, 12 have hold ratings, and four have sell ratings, with an average price target of $118.90, according to FactSet data.

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Downhill Bikes of Sea Otter – Part 2

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@juanhall: I gotta say, this was the most interesting bike in this post….love that Intense is experimenting with gearboxes…I can see it have a huge effect on DH bikes….thank god there’s still people pushing things. Now, they need to make an Enduro bike with the Pinion MGU!

 

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Important updates regarding the Bob-Birnie Arena

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The City of Pointe-Claire would like to inform you that the Bob-Birnie arena will be closed for its annual maintenance as of Monday, April 29. The Annex rink will reopen to the public on Monday, May 13, and the arena’s Main rink will be accessible as of Monday, June 3.

Public skating will resume on May 13, and the summer public activities programming will begin on June 3 when both rinks have reopened to the public.

In addition to the annual maintenance of the facility, two renovation projects are also scheduled to start at the same time:

Installation of new sound systems

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The City will be replacing its current sound systems in both the Main rink and Annex rink, to offer arena visitors a better overall experience, whether watching from the stands or participating in on-ice activities. This project is expected to be conducted throughout the month of May.

Renovation of locker rooms in the Main Rink

The City will also be renovating the five locker rooms located in the Main rink, to bring up to date the amenities currently available to participants. These renovations are expected to begin in early May and will be completed by mid-August.

For all information about the Bob-Birnie arena, visit the arena’s page on our website.

 

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Surprise Apple Event Hints at First New iPads in Years – CNET

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We haven’t seen a new iPad in years, but Apple seems likely to change that in just a few weeks. All signs point to the release of new iPad models in the first week of May.

Apple CEO Tim Cook posted this GIF for the virtual event to X on Tuesday morning.

Apple/Amy Kim/CNET

This morning, I received an email invite for a virtual Apple event, scheduled for May 7 at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET). The invite, which says “Let Loose,” shows a drawing of a hand holding an Apple Pencil. Considering the iPad is the only device that uses the Pencil — that doesn’t leave much to the imagination.

Apple’s been expected to release new OLED-screened iPad Pros with newly designed Pencils and Magic Keyboard cases. New iPad Airs are also expected, including a larger-screened 12.9-inch model. Apple’s iPad Air lineup tends to be slightly redesigned versions of previous-model iPad Pros, so just look to the M2 iPad Pro lineup for a sense of what the next Airs could be. These would be the first new iPads since the iPad Pro M2 model arrived in late 2022.

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Watch this: What to Expect at Apple’s May 7 iPad Event

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