DocuSign Inc (DOCU) Options

It's a very weird Fall.

So, even this is breaking out

Nahhhh, well here, but not HERE! I got out of this one a while back. Had been still watching for eastunder. It was great at one time during Covid.

Hey Fung, still here. It's been like 3-4 years since I been here. What a run that was...

Well look at that! They may not be a complete screwup company afterall.

DOCU

close 3/7/24

$53.56 (pre earnings)
Up in AH on reporting curr 61.16 +7.60

DocuSign Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results
DocuSign, Inc. (PRNewsFoto/DocuSign, Inc.)
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/docusign-announces-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-year-2024-financial-results-302083317.html

DocuSign, Inc.
07 Mar, 2024, 16:05 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: DOCU), which offers the world's #1 e-signature product as part of its industry leading lineup, today announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31, 2024.

"DocuSign ended Fiscal 2024 with momentum in product innovation, customer growth, and financial performance, including more than doubling free cash flow year-over-year," said Allan Thygesen, CEO of DocuSign. "The agreement management opportunity is massive, and we're excited to deliver category-defining innovation to our 1.5 million customers in Fiscal 2025 and beyond."

Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights

Total revenue was $712.4 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Subscription revenue was $695.7 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Professional services and other revenue was $16.7 million, an increase of 5% year-over-year.
Billings were $833.1 million, an increase of 13% year-over-year.
GAAP gross margin was 79% for both periods. Non-GAAP gross margin was 82% compared to 83% in the same period last year.
GAAP net income per basic share was $0.13 on 206 million shares outstanding compared to $0.02 on 202 million shares outstanding in the same period last year.
GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.13 on 210 million shares outstanding compared to $0.02 on 206 million shares outstanding in the same period last year.
Non-GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.76 on 210 million shares outstanding compared to $0.65 on 206 million shares outstanding in the same period last year.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $270.7 million compared to $137.1 million in the same period last year.
Free cash flow was $248.6 million compared to $113.0 million in the same period last year.
Cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments were $1.2 billion at the end of the quarter. During the quarter, the company repaid $689.9 million principal amount of our 2024 convertible senior notes.
Fiscal 2024 Financial Highlights

Total revenue was $2.8 billion, an increase of 10% over the prior year. Subscription revenue was $2.7 billion, an increase of 10% over the prior year. Professional services and other revenue was $75.2 million, an increase of 2% year-over-year.
Billings were $2.9 billion, an increase of 9% over the prior year.
GAAP gross margin was 79% for both years. Non-GAAP gross margin was 83% compared to 82% in the prior year.
GAAP net income per basic share was $0.36 on 204 million shares outstanding compared to a loss of $0.49 on 201 million shares outstanding in fiscal 2023.
GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.36 on 209 million shares outstanding compared to a loss of $0.49 on 201 million shares outstanding in fiscal 2023.
Non-GAAP net income per diluted share was $2.98 on 209 million shares outstanding compared to $2.03 on 206 million shares outstanding in fiscal 2023.

DOCU 10Q due March 7

DocuSign Announces Restructuring Plan to Support Multi-Year Growth as Independent Public Company

PR Newswire

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2024


Provides Update on Q4 and FY 2024 Guidance

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- DocuSign (Nasdaq: DOCU) today announced a restructuring plan (the "Restructuring Plan") designed to strengthen and support the Company's financial and operational efficiency while continuing to invest in product and related initiatives that will provide the foundation to realize its multi-year growth aspirations as an independent public company.




DocuSign also announced that it expects to meet or exceed the Company's Q4 and FY 2024 financial guidance as described in the earnings release on December 7, 2023.

As part of the Restructuring Plan, the Company expects it will restructure and reduce its current workforce by approximately 6%, with the majority of impacted positions in the Company's Sales & Marketing organizations. The Company currently estimates that it will incur approximately $28 to $32 million in non-recurring restructuring charges in connection with the Restructuring Plan, consisting primarily of cash expenditures for employee transition, notice period and severance payments, employee benefits, and related costs as well as non-cash expenses related to vesting of share-based awards.

The Company expects that the majority of the restructuring charges will be incurred in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, and that the execution of the Restructuring Plan will be substantially complete by the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025.

The Company will share further financial details about the restructuring during its fourth quarter fiscal 2024 results publication.

About DocuSign

DocuSign redefines how the world comes together and agrees, making agreements smarter, easier and more trusted. As part of its industry leading product lineup, DocuSign offers eSignature, the world's #1 way to sign electronically on practically any device, from almost anywhere, at any time. Today, over 1 million customers and more than a billion users in over 180 countries use DocuSign products and solutions to accelerate the process of doing business and simplify people's lives. For more information visit http://www.docusign.....

Copyright 2024. DocuSign, Inc. is the owner of DOCUSIGN® and all its other marks (www.docusign.com/IP).

Investor Relations:
Investor Relations

investors@docusign.com

Media Relations:
Corporate Communications

media@docusign. com

SOURCE DocuSign, Inc.

Sometimes it is. You actually called it a wee bit ago. Give yourself credit where its due.

"Time is death to a deal"....the longer it takes, the more likely it won't end well. - That was January 19th a few days after the second peak.

Sounds like the premium got baked in and DOCU wanted more? 65 when it was 45 was a nice concept. 65 when it was 65 doesn't seem like much of an offer. LOL

I am very curious what, if anything, will take place now.

Sometimes, it's not fun being right.

DocuSign price target cut to $45 amid report takeover talks stalled - analyst

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/docusign-price-target-cut-to-45-amid-report-takeover-talks-stalled-analyst/ar-BB1hOLaw

DocuSign's (NASDAQ:DOCU) price target was reduced at Wells Fargo following a report that its takeover talks with private equity firms have stalled. DocuSign slumped 7.2%.

The price target for the electronic signature firm was cut to $45 from $55 at Wells Fargo, analyst Michael Turrin, who has an underweight rating on DocuSign (DOCU), wrote in a note on Monday.

Talks between private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman and DocuSign (DOCU) have stalled as the parties have been unable to agree to a price after weeks of discussions, according to a Reuters report on Monday, which cited people familiar with the matter.

"We see challenges acquiring DOCU given current scale ($11B mcap) alongside our view the co is facing a tough fundamental backdrop (inc comp headwinds, pricing pressure), leaving mgmt w/ limited options for organic improvement (+ more limited negotiating power)," Turrin wrote. "We believe these issues are likely contributors to Reuter's suggestions interested parties are now cooling & note elevated risk for DOCU standalone given FQ4 just closed."

The latest update comes after Bloomberg last week reported that some banks were in talks to provide financing for a $13 billion purchase of the electronic signature firm.

DocuSign (DOCU) shares first surged 12.5% on Dec. 15 when the Wall Street Journal reported the company could go private via a leveraged buyout. The stock had risen 3.5% from the day before the WSJ news was released until Monday.

My take is, it's not going to be good for the shareholders.....just guessing.

Don't mention it.......on second thought.....mention it.

Thank you!

JPMorgan, BofA In Talks to Finance $13 Billion DocuSign Buyout
Banks, private credit firms mull $8 billion financing package
Preferred equity needed in either bank or private credit deal





In this Article
JPMORGAN CHASE
173.73USD
–0.36%
BANK OF AMERICA
33.55USD
–1.35%
DOCUSIGN INC
58.93USD
–3.27%

Have a confidential tip for our reporters? Get in Touch
Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal
LEARN MORE
By John Sage and Ryan Gould
February 1, 2024 at 1:59 PM CST
Updated on February 1, 2024 at 2:25 PM CST

Listen

2:35

Wall Street banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. are in talks to provide as much as $8 billion in financing for a buyout of DocuSign Inc. that values the company at around $13 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG are also among the lenders considering a role in funding what would be the largest leveraged buyout of the year so far, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the transaction.

Private equity firms Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman are jockeying to buy the electronic signature platform, but the discussions are still ongoing and could change, the people added. Direct lenders have also been eyeing ways to support the acquisition, Bloomberg previously reported.

Representatives for JPMorgan, Bank of America, DocuSign, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, Bain and Hellman & Friedman declined to comment.

Given the purchase price and expected leverage of the buyout, both financing routes would need preferred equity to close the deal, the people said. The amount of debt banks can provide is typically lower than direct lenders, so the preferred equity amount would stand to be higher should they win.


Read More: Private Credit Duels With Banks for $8 Billion DocuSign LBO Debt

Shares in DocuSign fell as much as 4.7% after the Bloomberg report on Thursday, the most in intraday trading since early December.

Private Peers
Some of the largest lenders in the $1.7 trillion private credit market are hesitant to participate, according to the people. If provided by direct lenders, the financing would rank as one of the largest private loans on record, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

DocuSign faces a significant increase in leverage due to the potential buyout, as the company has never had more than $1 billion of debt since going public in 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For private lenders, that potential ramp-up in leverage adds a risk — especially as DocuSign competes for users against less-levered companies like Adobe Inc.

Direct lenders have also been jousting with broadly-syndicated loan and junk-bond markets that have roared back to life. That’s allowed banks to offer more attractive pricing compared to private credit firms.

Competition between banks and direct lenders is reaching a fever pitch in other deals, too. KKR & Co. has been leaning toward a financing package provided by banks for its potential buyout of Cotiviti Inc. Investment banks are also ahead of their private credit rivals to provide a €3 billion ($3.25 billion) debt package backing a potential buyout of Techem GmbH.

MEDIA-JPMorgan, BofA in talks to finance $13 bln DocuSign buyout- Bloomberg News
3:15 PM ET, 02/01/2024 - Reuters
-- Source link: http://tinyurl.com/yhnbru4r

-- Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy

DOCU buyout news from bloomberg-

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-01/jpmorgan-bofa-in-talks-to-finance-13-billion-docusign-buyout

Behind a paywall

If anyone can print it - great. Toss it out here

It may mean absolutely nothing, but today's trading reversed the chart and not in a good way.

I'd do the same.

I don't believe Docusign has a dying business plan. I do think they needed time. But all that has changed anyway.

I could leave right now with a gain on the average, and I could make that decision at any time, but at this moment I don't feel that's responsible while knowing an offer might be on the table for DOCU. I feel I should wait and see what that might be.

So yes, I am holding for now.

Do you hold onto stocks with a dying business plan? Credit them for recognizing their business was a fad. Something GPRO should have recognized sooner.

Beats me.

I personally think they are cowards to sell it down here! What happened to hard work and getting their crappola together? ;)

What is your guess on a buyout price?

Private Credit Duels With Banks for $8 Billion DocuSign LBO Debt
John Sage, Silas Brown and Lisa Lee
Mon, January 22, 2024 at 8:29 AM MST·1 min read

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/private-credit-duels-banks-8-152938833.html

(Bloomberg) -- Direct lenders are vying with banks to finance a potential buyout of DocuSign Inc. with a debt package totaling as much as $8 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman are jockeying to acquire the electronic signature platform, though the discussions are ongoing and details may change, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing a private transaction.

Representatives for DocuSign, Bain and Hellman & Friedman declined to comment. Details about the potential take-private deal were reported earlier by Reuters.

The proposed loan would be the largest ever direct-lending deal by roughly $3 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, and comes at a time when the competition between banks and direct lenders is reaching a fever pitch.

Conditions in the broadly-syndicated loan and junk-bond markets — where private equity firms have traditionally looked to finance multi billion-dollar buyouts — have improved in recent months, in part due to mounting speculation the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest-rate hiking cycle is over. That could make a debt package arranged by banks more attractive compared to private credit and increase the rivalry between the two sets of lenders.

The revival means more competition in the $1.6 trillion private credit market, which boomed over the past 18 months as soaring rates and hung debt made banks cautious about underwriting fresh leveraged buyouts.

DocuSign has a market capitalization of nearly $13 billion and went public in 2018.

It's gonna be all or nuttin.....FWIW, it's not a terrible gamble.

I agree with you, Derf. Time is death to a deal.

I'm looking for the exit door, and should one appear...

I will be out that door quicker than a shirt on an Alaskan airline flight. ;)

You almost have me convinced to buy some of this. I remember long ago a similar play that I jumped all over....only to get bought out about a buck and a half below what I paid for it.
And of course the debacle that was RAD, trading at $6 and was set to get bought out at $9 next quarter.....never happened and I'm still waiting on my class action settlement.
Point is, an expression I learned long ago has served me well...."Time is death to a deal"....the longer it takes, the more likely it won't end well.

Of course on the other hand.......there is greed......it could double.....

DOCU currently trading at 62.01 1/19/24 Low volume

and overall pretty quiet out there.

Activist Investors Are Acting Up
https://finance.yahoo.com/m/29674f15-a255-31d0-82ba-71da70acb08b/activist-investors-are-acting.html

Dylan Lewis: Before we go to break, we've got one more story of corporate intrigue. Shares of DocuSign up 10% after a report that the E Signature company has bids to take it private. Emily, it has been a tough two years to be a DocuSign shareholder. I know because it's sitting in my portfolio, I am a [laughs] shareholder and I know exactly what those declines feel like. It seems like the story for this business has shifted pretty dramatically from being a growth story to being a more of a cash flow story and a profitability story. Is that why we're starting to see some interest in maybe taking it private.

Emily Flippen: I think there's a couple of things that DocuSign shareholders can take from this. The first one being that we don't know. These are still rumors, so we don't know what the price of any potential deal could be. But the fact that the stock is up on this news says to the market, hey, we assume the price is going to be higher than we're DocuSign is trading now. So as you mentioned, if you're a DocuSign shareholder, hopefully you know this is a business that has consistently produced a fair amount of cash. So it's not like Twilio in the sense that it has not been burning hundreds of millions of dollars and is trying to keep itself afloat. But you're right that the growth story has changed and that's not necessarily what every investor signed up for when they bought shares of DocuSign, which have declined pretty substantially from its pandemic peaks. But the other thing you take from this is the fact that there are two private equity firms reportedly fighting over DocuSign, which is really interesting because if you actually look at private equity activity over the course of 2023, it was pretty low in comparison to what it has been in the past. As you can assume, largely result of rising interest rates, higher inflation, more concerned about the economy. But now, people are saying, hey, look, we're having this soft landing. This thing nobody thought possible. Maybe it's happening right now, maybe interest rates to Ron's earlier point, maybe they'll come down at some point over the course of the year. I don't know if I agree with that, but I do think it's telling that there's a ton of private equity cash sitting on the sidelines. It's actually up pretty substantially in comparison to where it was even back in 2018. So there's a lot of money to be had for private equity firms that are looking to make a buck and with a business like Docusign, which does produce a fair amount of cash flow, has a lot of room for improvement. It makes sense that there'd be two companies fighting over it.

It’s going through, 2 weeks. 🤞

Good advice.

The best situation is when you are in a stock before those words are mumbled.

I'm not sure DOCU should sell themselves. It's a little odd that they want to.

Be careful would be my advice. I've twice gotten burnt by buying in ahead of a buyout on stocks.

I'll be darned. Rumor real

(or real interesting, I should say. Fact is this is just another rumor, isn't it? Nothing set in stone yet.)

EXCLUSIVE-Bain, Hellman & Friedman vying to acquire DocuSign-sources
3:32 PM ET, 01/11/2024 - Reuters
By Milana Vinn and Anirban Sen

NEW YORK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Bain Capital and Hellman & Friedman are competing to acquire DocuSign Inc, the provider of online signature services with a market value of about $12 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The two private equity firms are among the final bidders in the auction for DocuSign, which is set to be one of the biggest leveraged buyouts of 2024, the sources said.

While the investment firms have not joined forces, it is possible that they may partner down the line to clinch a deal, the sources added. An outcome is expected in the coming weeks.

Blackstone Inc, another buyout firm, held talks about a potential deal with DocuSign but is no longer in contention, according to two of the sources.

The sources cautioned that no transaction is certain and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Representatives for Bain and Hellman & Friedman declined to comment. DocuSign and Blackstone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported in December that DocuSign was exploring a sale, without identifying any suitors.

DocuSign went public in 2018 at a $6 billion valuation. Its technology allows customers to sign documents online from any electronic device. It counts large corporations such as T-Mobile, United Airlines and Thermo Fisher among its clients.

Last month, DocuSign reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 79 cents?? per share for the quarter that ended in October, higher than the 57 cents it posted a year earlier. Revenue rose 8.5% to $700.4 million from a year ago.

A spike in financing costs in the last two years made financing leveraged buyouts more expensive and big deals hard to clinch. Yet some large transactions are slowly breaking through, as the financing outlook improves.

Blackstone and Permira unveiled a deal in November to buy European online classifieds company Adevinta ASA for about 14 billion euros ($15.36 billion).

In July, buyout firm GTCR agreed to buy a majority stake in Worldpay, the merchant services business of Fidelity National Information Services, in a deal that valued the unit at $18.5 billion. ($1 = 0.9112 euro) (Reporting by Anirban Sen and Milana Vinn in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis

HAHA! Of course I did.

I watch my stuff like a hawk

I wish that rumor was real - but I'm not holding my breath.

Dang it! You beat me to it.

I think I've found the answer....
DocuSign Inc (DOCU)
DOCU is working with advisers to explore a sale, the WSJ reported, with either strategic buyers or private-equity firms.

DocuSign surges on report that company is exploring a sale

Fri, December 15, 2023 at 11:59 AM MST·1 min read


(Bloomberg) — DocuSign Inc., whose software handles electronic signatures, rallied as much as 12% after the Wall Street Journal reported that it was considering a sale.

The company is working with advisers to explore a leveraged buyout, but the talks are in early stages, the newspaper said, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation. DocuSign’s market value was $12.8 billion as of Friday.

DocuSign’s revenue growth has slowed into the single digits this year after explosive leaps during the pandemic, when companies turned to remote work and needed to handle more documents online.

“DocuSign’s recent bookings data show a hint of stabilization in demand, but economic growth in 2024 could delay any significant improvement in sales,” Anurag Rana, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said earlier this month.

The shares rose as high as $62.77 in New York, marking the biggest intraday jump since December 2022. DocuSign had been up just 1.3% this year through Thursday’s close.

A representative for the San Francisco-based company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Giddy up !!

DOCU

Back in small

DOCU gaps

44.40 12/8/22
40.65 11/9/22

LOLOL

"If you buy them long, you bought them wrong"
Now THAT belongs in a fortune cookie

Is your typical short term a few months. A few weeks? etc

Yes.

Again, it really depends on the chart and how quickly the specific stock is moving. Typically, if I recommend a stock as a short term buy, I will try to give parameters.
I detest penny stocks, but I do tell people, "if you have to buy them, 3 weeks is all you want to own them for"
"If you buy them long, you bought them wrong"
Now THAT belongs in a fortune cookie

No. I was asking Time frame.

Is your typical short term a few months. A few weeks? etc

Very true. Some dividends are really return of principle as well.
Believe me, I've owned HBAN literally all my life and seen that even with reinvesting all dividends, it can still hurt. But it's better than not getting them I think.
Are you asking in general how I define a short term pattern? Because I think it's different in every scenario. Depends on the chart specifically.

Dividends are great if the PPS is going up - but if you are losing equity and it pays a dividend it is meaningless unless you reinvest that dividend and use it as a compounding tool. If you are taking the dividend in cash, and your equity has gone down - does a dividend paying stock really equate?

How short is your short term thought pattern?

Well, as I've pointed out, I'm not a bottom fisher.
I may miss out on $10 upside, but also missing out if it's still going lower. I'm a fan of support levels.
IF this paid a dividend, I might have a bit different take, but don't think so.
My goal on most short term stuff is a 30% upside and move along. If this breaks $60 and has a shot to run to $120, I'd be ecstatic.

Waiting for $60 doesn't interest me. That's not me at all. If you think it's going there and would buy there - a $10 spread has been left on the table due to paralysis by analysis based on current PPS. Not saying that's going to happen just pointing out the obvious in your scenario, which btw...is absolutely the safest idea - so I'm not knocking it one bit. It's very smart. It's just not my style.

Right now, for me...It's crap season. Everything turns to 💩 for the next few months.

Will DOCU be any different? Doubt it - so 46.66 ...recent low - I'll track

39.57 last Nov low... I'll track, and I have yet to stop tracking those gaps. 44.40 and 40.65 and if that 44.40 fills I'll be all over that. That's me. That's what I like.

Shit hitting the fan. ;)