fwiw
(Dow Jones 10/03 13:10:09)
FFIV
McAdam, the F5 chief executive, said he was "concerned" about speculation
that the company would miss earnings estimates for the fourth quarter, which
he said was wrong. "We're really confident in the company's short- and
longer-term prospects," he said.
McAdam also said he's comfortable with estimates that F5 will report
fourth-quarter revenue between $32.5 million and $33.5 million.
F5 Chief Financial Officer Robert Chamberlain said the company has invested
in sales and marketing efforts for its recent launch of new products in the
Internet caching market. Caching involves the storage of Web content on the
outer edges of the Internet, so that it is more accessible to users.
In his research note, Suppiger, the Chase H&Q analyst, said F5 has made
several moves in recent months that lead him to believe investments in
operations are on the rise. He said the company has added senior management,
moved its headquarters to a larger facility and increased hiring. "The
company is hiring across all operational areas, and aggressively focusing on
expanding sales and marketing," Suppiger wrote.
Overall, Suppiger views the investments "favorably," he said. He noted that
F5 rivals Alteon Websystems Inc. (ATON) and CacheFlow Inc. (CFLO) have
historically invested in sales and marketing more aggressively than F5.
Suppiger reiterated his buy rating and said the stock's recent decline
especially presents a buying opportunity.
But the increased investments should cut into F5's profits, Suppiger said.
In an interview, he said earnings could fall short of his projections of 17
cents a share for the first quarter ending Dec. 31 and 19 cents a share for
the second quarter ending March 31, 2001.
F5 shares recently traded at $31.63, up $1.38, on volume of 3.5 million,
compared with the daily average of 1 million.
-By Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5267;
peter.loftus@dowjones.com
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 10-03-00
02:10 PM |
