MKM Partners Raises Price Target on F5 Networks (FFIV) to $133 Following 3Q
MKM Partners reiterated a Neutral rating on F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV), and raised the price target to $133.00 (from $118.00), following the company's 3Q report and conference call. Management directed September quarter revenues/EPS to $515mn-$525mn/$1.92-$1.95, compared to consensus at $518mn/$1.92.
Analyst Michael Genovese commented, "F5 surprised positively by reporting in-line 3QFY16 revenues of $496.5mn (+3% y/y, +3% q/q) and EPS of $1.81, slightly ahead of expectations. More importantly, the 4QFY16 guidance came in a little above consensus and meaningfully above our more cautious estimates. The company appears to be gaining confidence in some of its new products, including the 100Gb VIPRION blade and the stand-alone DDoS Hybrid Defender security solution. To be clear, it was not a great quarter. Product sales came in down 7% y/y (vs. down 8% in the prior quarter,) and sales bookings declined y/y in the Americas and the EMEA regions. However, despite these weaknesses, there was unforeseen strength from the APAC and Japan regions in 3QFY16, and the overall 4QFY16 guidance was more confident than expected."
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Shares of F5 Networks closed at $121.47 yesterday.