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Technology Stocks : F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Moonray who wrote (1513)	7/19/2007 8:34:32 PM
From: Moonray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1801

F5 Rises After Analyst Ups Price Target AP - Thursday July 19, 3:19 pm ET F5 Gains After Analyst Increases Price Target on Expectations for Strong June Quarter NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of F5 Networks Inc. rose to a new seven-year high in trading Wednesday after an analyst hiked his price target on shares, saying he expects the software maker to meet or beat his profit expectations for its June quarter. Shares of the Seattle-based company, which makes hardware and software for managing online traffic, gained $4.58, or 5.4 percent, to $89.85 in afternoon trading. Earlier, the stock rose as much as $5.03, or 5.9 percent, to $90.30. In a note to clients Thursday, Jefferies & Co. analyst Bill Choi reiterated his "Buy" rating for F5 stock and increased his target price to $100 from $85. He wrote that checks show the company had strong performance in the U.S. federal market and also did well in the provider and enterprise segments. It looks like the company did well in Europe during the period as well, he said. Checks also show that F5 is taking back some large Internet customer market share from competitor Citrix Systems Inc. and other companies, Choi said. "F5's fundamentals remain compelling, with continued market dominance, superior execution, strong end-market demand and solid product roadmap," the analyst wrote. On Wednesday, ThinkEquity analyst Jonathan Ruykhaver wrote he kept his $95 price target for the company's stock but lowered his rating to "Accumulate" from "Buy." The former rating indicates the analyst's view that the stock could gain something less than 20 percent in the next 12 months; the latter rating indicates the analyst's view that the stock could gain more than 20 percent in the next 12 months. In a note, Ruykhaver said the rating change was due to the fact that shares are trading so close to his target. The analyst said he is positive on the company, as recent customer checks "indicate F5's continued product superiority and leadership in the application traffic management ... market, despite aggressive moves by the competition, especially Citrix." o~~~ O