Sciencast Management LP Makes New $1.15 Million Investment in F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in shares of F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,009 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000. F5 makes up about 0.9% of Sciencast Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in F5 by 234.6% during the 1st quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of F5 in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of F5 in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in F5 during the 1st quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in F5 by 75.9% during the 1st quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 445 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.89% of the company’s stock.

F5 Price Performance

FFIV opened at $160.81 on Tuesday. F5, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.05 and a 1 year high of $167.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.66. The firm has a market cap of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.06.

F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 24th. The network technology company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $702.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.93 million. F5 had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 17.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that F5, Inc. will post 8.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Chad Michael Whalen sold 279 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.84, for a total transaction of $45,990.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,573,811.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other F5 news, EVP Chad Michael Whalen sold 279 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.84, for a total transaction of $45,990.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,573,811.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Francois Locoh-Donou sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.84, for a total value of $362,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,448,643.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,139 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,198. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FFIV. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of F5 from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Friday, June 9th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on F5 from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Barclays raised their price target on F5 from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of F5 from $146.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of F5 in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $168.23.

F5 Profile

F5, Inc provides multi-cloud application security and delivery solutions in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region. The company's multi-cloud application security and delivery solutions enable its customers to develop, deploy, operate, secure, and govern applications in any architecture, from on-premises to the public cloud.