Mizuho Securities USA LLC Decreases Position in F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in F5, Inc. by 16.2%, selling 890 shares and holding a total of 4,616 shares worth approximately $1.23 million.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about F5, with price targets being raised by multiple firms; the average target price is now around $309.89.
• In recent insider trading, both the EVP and CEO of F5 sold shares, indicating a 6.11% and 1.17% decrease in their respective positions.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its stake in F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,616 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 890 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in F5 were worth $1,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FFIV. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of F5 by 134.1% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 103 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in F5 by 275.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 105 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in F5 during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in F5 during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in F5 by 31.4% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 90.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

F5 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FFIV traded down $3.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $315.34. The company had a trading volume of 327,752 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,240. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $301.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $285.97. F5, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.45 and a fifty-two week high of $334.00.

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

Insider Transactions at F5

In related news, Director Elizabeth Buse sold 1,500 shares of F5 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $293.53, for a total value of $440,295.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,013 shares in the company, valued at $1,471,465.89. The trade was a 23.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,347 shares of F5 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,411,101.27. This trade represents a 6.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,816 shares of company stock valued at $4,227,002. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on F5 from $305.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut F5 from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on F5 from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on F5 in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on F5 from $304.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.