Juniper Networks Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:JNPR)

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 11,107 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 101% compared to the typical volume of 5,530 put options.

Juniper Networks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JNPR traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 585,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,199,958. The company has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.49. Juniper Networks has a 12-month low of $33.42 and a 12-month high of $39.79. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $35.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.31.

Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The network equipment provider reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. Juniper Networks had a net margin of 6.78% and a return on equity of 8.71%. The company's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Juniper Networks will post 1.33 EPS for the current year.

Juniper Networks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Juniper Networks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNPR. DLD Asset Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Juniper Networks by 524.6% in the first quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 67,596 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $2,446,000 after purchasing an additional 56,773 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Juniper Networks in the first quarter worth approximately $1,593,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Juniper Networks in the 1st quarter valued at $120,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Juniper Networks by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,176,582 shares of the network equipment provider's stock valued at $151,150,000 after buying an additional 235,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Juniper Networks by 951.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 243,848 shares of the network equipment provider's stock worth $8,825,000 after buying an additional 220,661 shares during the last quarter. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Juniper Networks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Juniper Networks from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.

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