Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the network equipment provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Juniper Networks from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Juniper Networks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $34.27.

Juniper Networks Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:JNPR opened at $36.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.34, a PEG ratio of 7.51 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Juniper Networks has a 12-month low of $24.87 and a 12-month high of $38.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $37.00 and its 200 day moving average is $32.38.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.01). Juniper Networks had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 5.57%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Juniper Networks will post 1.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $3,645,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.10, for a total value of $206,127.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 829,406 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,770,962.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Manoj Leelanivas sold 98,530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.00, for a total value of $3,645,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 73,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,726,308. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 216,302 shares of company stock worth $8,005,602. 1.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 973 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 92.1% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 974 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Juniper Networks by 74.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,071 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Juniper Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks, Inc designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers.