Tech ETFs To Watch On Oracle's Mixed Bag Q1

Tech bellwether Oracle (ORCL - Analyst Report) reported mixed first-quarter fiscal 2016 results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings but missed on revenues due to negative currency translations and persistent weakness in traditional software sales.

Oracle Q1 Earnings in Focus

Earnings per share came in at 49 cents (accounting for stock-based compensation), a penny ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues declined 2% year over year to $8.45 billion and were below our $8.57 billion estimate.

While the company’s long process of shifting to the Web-based cloud computing business is paying off, the gains are unlikely to make up for the declines in the software business. Additionally, a strong dollar is still posing challenges to the company’s performance. Excluding the impact of unfavorable currency rates, revenues would have grown 7% (read: What Lies Ahead for Dollar ETFs?).

Cloud software platform sales climbed 34% from the year-ago quarter and accounted for 5% of total revenue. Oracle will continue to benefit from the new generation of cloud computing and Big Data and steal market share from Salesforce.com Inc. (CRM - Analyst Report), the only major software company competing in the cloud segment. This is especially true as the company expects the profit margin of cloud-based revenues to likely expand to 80% from the current 40% over the next two years.

For the fiscal second quarter, the world’s largest database software maker expects revenues to be down 2% to up 1% in constant currency and earnings per share between 63 cents and 66 cents. The midpoint of the earnings guidance is well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents. Currency headwind is expected to impact 6% growth in revenues and dilute 5 cents in earnings per share.

Based on the revenue miss, Oracle shares tumbled as much as 2.8% in after-hours trading. The sluggish trading is expected to continue in the days ahead. Given this, ETFs with the highest allocation to this software giant will be in focus in the days ahead. Investors should closely monitor the movement in these funds and avoid these if the stock drags them down:

iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index Fund ((IGV - ETF report))

This ETF provides exposure to the software segment of the broader U.S. technology space by tracking the S&P North American Technology-Software Index. The fund holds a basket of 62 securities with Oracle taking the fourth spot at 7.7% of total assets. It is quite popular with AUM of over $864.5 million while volume is moderate as it exchanges nearly 147,000 shares a day.

The product charges 48 bps in annual fees and has gained about 5% so far this year. IGV has a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 or ‘Hold’ rating with a High risk outlook (read: Is the Nightmare Over for Tech ETFs Post Market Crash?).

PureFunds ISE Big Data ETF ((BDAT - ETF report))

This product targets the niche corner – the big data and analytics industry – in the broad technology space. The fund follows the ISE Big Data Index, holding 32 securities in its basket. Of these, ORCL takes the third position at 5.8% share. The U.S. firms dominate the portfolio with 82% share while Germany, Canada, China, Israel and United Kingdom also make up for a decent exposure.

The fund had made a successful debut, gathering $2.3 million in its asset base within two months. It is costly, charging 75 bps in annual fees and expenses. Average daily volume is paltry at nearly 2,000 shares and BDAT is down 9.2% since its inception.

First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund ((TDIV - ETF report))

This fund provides exposure to the dividend payers within the technology sector by tracking the Nasdaq Technology Dividend Index. The product has amassed about $489.5 million in its asset base while trades in volume of around 144,000 shares per day. The ETF charges 50 bps in annual fees (read: all the Technology ETFs here).

In total, the fund holds about 109 securities in its basket. Of these firms, ORCL takes the sixth position, making up roughly 3.9% of the assets. In terms of industrial exposure, the fund is widely spread out across semiconductor and semiconductor equipment, technology hardware, storage & peripherals, diversified telecommunication services and software. The fund has lost 8.8% so far this year.

iShares Dow Jones US Technology ETF ((IYW - ETF report))

This ETF tracks the Dow Jones US Technology Index, giving investors exposure to the broad technology space. The fund holds 138 stocks in its basket with AUM of $2.5 billion while charging 43 bps in fees and expenses. Volume is moderate as it exchanges nearly 277,000 shares in hand a day.

Oracle takes the ninth spot in the basket with nearly 3.6% of assets. The product is heavily skewed toward the software and services segments, as these make up for half of the portfolio. Tech hardware and equipment, and semiconductors and semiconductor equipment take the remaining portion in the basket. The fund has lost nearly 0.9% in the year-to-date timeframe and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 or ‘Buy’ rating with a Medium risk outlook

Disclosure: None.

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