Tag Archives: ffiv

Apple Chip Suppliers Touted; Intel Seen As A Laggard

CLSA started coverage on a host of chip stocks, including some Apple ( AAPL ) suppliers, trying to separate the wheat from the chaff among Microchip Technology ( MCHP ), NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Intel ( INTC ) and others. CLSA gave a buy rating to NXP, a supplier to Apple and the automotive market, with a 105 target. NXP rose intraday but closed down 0.3% at 84.75 on the stock market today . Broadcom, another Apple supplier, gets an outperform rating from CLSA, with a 165 target. Broadcom fell 1% to 141.17. CLSA gave a buy rating to Microchip with a 58 target. Microchip fell 0.35%. Intel is seen underperforming the market with a 30 target. Intel shares fell 1.35% to 29.98 after closing Monday at 30.39. One analyst thinks Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) is looking tasty, while another is curbing enthusiasm for F5 Networks ( FFIV ). Piper Jaffray raised Darden to an outperform with a 78 target. Darden rose 1% to 63.90. F5 Networks got a downgrade to sector weight from overweight at Pacific Crest as shares neared its prior 109 price target. Shares fell 3.3% to 103.83 FBR Capital thinks now is a good time to wade back into the oil patch, upgrading Halliburton ( HAL ) to outperform from market perform and raising its target to 49 from 44. Halliburton rose 2.5% to 41.17, also helped by rising oil prices.

F5 Networks A Buyer, Not Seller? Security Acquisition May Be Plan

F5 Networks ( FFIV ) could be a buyer, not a seller, and might use its sizable cash-on-hand to acquire a data center security  provider, says Pacific Crest Securities. Some analysts have speculated F5 Networks itself could be sold, amid its  slowing revenue growth . F5 Network stock has clawed back 7% in 2016 after falling 25% in 2015. But F5 Networks stock was down 1.5%, near 106, in early trading in the stock market today . Brent Bracelin, an analyst at Pacific Crest,  downgraded F5 Networks stock on Tuesday to sector weight. “Going forward, we see an increasing probability that M&A will have a greater role in defining (F5 Network’s) ‘third act,’ particularly given that F5 has excess cash reserves of $1 billion and robust operating cash flows that exceed $600 million annually,” he wrote in a research report. Seattle-based F5 is the leading maker of application delivery controllers (ADCs) — electronic boxes that direct data traffic to computer servers. ADCs optimize server workloads in corporate and telecom data centers, helping speed up websites and communication networks. F5 Networks has made some small security-related acquisitions , including Defense.Net, a provider of cloud-based security services that help protect websites from large-scale distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, as well as Israel-based Versafe, a maker of software that protects Web applications from malware, fraud and phishing attacks. F5 Network’s closest rival in application-based data center security is Imperva ( IMPV ), analysts say. The so-called perimeter firewall market — the main type of firewall — is a crowded field, with  Check Point Software Technologies ( CHKP ),  Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) and Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) among the vendors. Another concern is that F5’s revenue growth might not rebound in 2016, Bracelin said. “The Shasta appliance refresh cycle will not drive a return to double-digit product growth, at least not for any quarter this year, and that there is increasing execution risk with a higher probability of M&A within cloud security,” he added. F5 competes with  Citrix Systems ( CTXS ), as well as  Radware ( RDWR ) and  A10 Networks ( ATEN ).

Apple Suppliers Are Among Touted Chips, While Intel Seen A Laggard

CLSA started coverage on a host of chip stocks, including some Apple ( AAPL ) suppliers, trying to separate the wheat from the chaff among Microchip Technology ( MCHP ), NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ), Broadcom ( AVGO ), Intel ( INTC ) and others. CLSA gave a buy rating to NXP, a supplier to Apple and the automotive market, with a 105 target. NXP rose 0.7% in pre-market trading on the stock market today . . Broadcom, another Apple supplier, gets an outperform rating from CLSA, with a 165 target. Broadcom rose fractionally before the open. CLSA gave a buy rating to Microchip with a 58 target. Microchip rose slightly. Intel is seen underperforming the market with a 30 target. Intel shares were little changed after closing Monday at 30.39. One analyst thinks Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) is looking tasty, while another is curbing enthusiasm for F5 Networks ( FFIV ). Piper Jaffray raised Darden to an outperform with a 78 target. Darden was little changed. F5 Networks got a downgrade to sector weight from overweight at Pacific Crest as shares neared its prior 109 price target. Shares fell a fraction. FBR Capital thinks now is a good time to wade back into the oil patch, upgrading Halliburton ( HAL ) to outperform from market perform and raising its target to 49 from 44. Halliburton rose slightly.