Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,600,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the July 15th total of 11,900,000 shares. Approximately 3.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,250,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on JNPR shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays dropped their target price on Juniper Networks from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Juniper Networks in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Argus raised Juniper Networks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 28,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total value of $1,047,278.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,049,588.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Kenneth Bradley Miller sold 28,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total transaction of $1,047,278.57. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 56,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,049,588.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Rami Rahim sold 5,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.49, for a total value of $197,146.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 970,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,428,813.51. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,779 shares of company stock worth $4,339,795 in the last quarter. 1.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Juniper Networks

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in JNPR. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 745 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks during the second quarter worth about $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Juniper Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Juniper Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Juniper Networks during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. 91.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNPR traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $38.93. 620,615 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,611,792. The stock has a market cap of $12.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.38, a PEG ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 0.95. Juniper Networks has a twelve month low of $24.87 and a twelve month high of $39.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The network equipment provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Juniper Networks had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 8.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Juniper Networks will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.54%.

Juniper Networks Company Profile

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.