In the latest trading session, F5 Networks (FFIV) closed at $246.71, marking a +1.39% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500’s 0.1% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.26%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.1%.
Coming into today, shares of the computer networking company had gained 5.3% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector gained 3.66%, while the S&P 500 gained 4.4%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from F5 Networks as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.78, up 7.34% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $677.54 million, up 8.47% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $11.72 per share and revenue of $2.82 billion, which would represent changes of +8.42% and +8.4%, respectively, from the prior year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for F5 Networks should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. F5 Networks is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, F5 Networks currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.76. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 65.03, so we one might conclude that F5 Networks is trading at a discount comparatively.
Also, we should mention that FFIV has a PEG ratio of 1.76. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company’s expected earnings growth rate. The Internet – Software industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 3.61 as of yesterday’s close.
The Internet – Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 187, putting it in the bottom 27% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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