LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,443 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $310,000.
Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of F5 Networks by 2,108.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,404,873 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $628,003,000 after buying an additional 4,205,384 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of F5 Networks by 171.1% in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 829,117 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $118,207,000 after buying an additional 523,250 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. raised its position in shares of F5 Networks by 3,947.5% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management & Equity Research Inc. now owns 366,821 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $52,298,000 after buying an additional 357,758 shares in the last quarter. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. raised its position in shares of F5 Networks by 30.3% in the first quarter. Old Mutual Global Investors UK Ltd. now owns 933,496 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $133,088,000 after buying an additional 216,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of F5 Networks by 2.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,400,279 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $912,487,000 after buying an additional 168,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.59% of the company’s stock.
F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) opened at 116.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $123.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.62. F5 Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.45 and a 52 week high of $149.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42 and a beta of 1.16.
F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The network technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.03. F5 Networks had a return on equity of 33.85% and a net margin of 18.96%. The business had revenue of $517.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that F5 Networks, Inc. will post $8.17 EPS for the current year.
Several equities analysts have recently commented on FFIV shares. Zacks Investment Research lowered F5 Networks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Barclays PLC reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $124.00 price objective on shares of F5 Networks in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Cowen and Company reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective (down previously from $149.00) on shares of F5 Networks in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on F5 Networks from $136.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Drexel Hamilton reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of F5 Networks in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.19.
In other news, CEO Francois Locoh-Donou sold 2,029 shares of F5 Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.61, for a total transaction of $242,688.69. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $315,291.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ryan C. Kearny sold 836 shares of F5 Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.59, for a total value of $100,813.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,148 shares in the company, valued at $259,027.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,050 shares of company stock worth $2,293,138. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.
About F5 Networks
F5 Networks, Inc is a developer and provider of software defined application services. The Company is engaged in the development, marketing and sale of application delivery networking products that optimize the security, performance and availability of network applications, servers and storage systems.
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