Telemark Asset Management LLC Decreases Position in F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV)

Key Points

• Telemark Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in F5, Inc. by 25.0%, now holding approximately 60,000 shares valued at around $15.98 million.
• Institutional investors now own 90.66% of F5's stock, with several firms, including Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management, boosting their positions during the first quarter.
• F5's most recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $4.16, exceeding expectations and reflecting a 12.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

Telemark Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV - Free Report) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,000 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. F5 accounts for 2.1% of Telemark Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Telemark Asset Management LLC owned 0.10% of F5 worth $15,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FFIV. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in F5 by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,383 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,108,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in F5 by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,179 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,765,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in F5 by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,470 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in F5 by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 235,436 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $59,205,000 after purchasing an additional 28,400 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in F5 by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 9,635 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at F5

In related news, Director Alan Higginson sold 1,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.69, for a total transaction of $364,669.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,843,678.11. This represents a 11.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,347 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.73, for a total value of $417,206.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,699 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,411,101.27. The trade was a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,519 shares of company stock valued at $2,520,097 in the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

F5 Stock Up 1.4%

F5 stock traded up $4.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $321.77. 403,237 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 571,922. The stock's fifty day moving average is $298.24 and its 200-day moving average is $284.40. F5, Inc. has a 12 month low of $188.31 and a 12 month high of $334.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.03.

F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The network technology company reported $4.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.67. F5 had a return on equity of 21.77% and a net margin of 22.06%. The company had revenue of $780.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that F5, Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FFIV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on F5 from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price target on F5 from $274.00 to $321.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered F5 from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of F5 in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on F5 from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $309.89.

F5 Company 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 distributed cloud services enable its customers to deploy, secure, and operate applications in any architecture, from on-premises to the public cloud.