F5 (FFIV) Competitors

F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) and Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, dividends, community ranking, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FFIV or JNPR?

F5 received 214 more outperform votes than Juniper Networks when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.63% of users gave F5 an outperform vote while only 59.08% of users gave Juniper Networks an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
F5	Outperform Votes 1294 66.63%	Underperform Votes 648 33.37%
Juniper Networks	Outperform Votes 1080 59.08%	Underperform Votes 748 40.92%

Does the media prefer FFIV or JNPR?

In the previous week, F5 had 2 more articles in the media than Juniper Networks. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for F5 and 16 mentions for Juniper Networks. F5's average media sentiment score of 1.54 beat Juniper Networks' score of 1.09 indicating that F5 is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
F5	15 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Juniper Networks	13 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, FFIV or JNPR?

F5 has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its stock price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Juniper Networks has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer FFIV or JNPR?

F5 presently has a consensus price target of $295.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.25%. Juniper Networks has a consensus price target of $39.80, suggesting a potential upside of 10.22%. Given Juniper Networks' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Juniper Networks is more favorable than F5.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
F5	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Juniper Networks	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.17

Is FFIV or JNPR more profitable?

F5 has a net margin of 20.58% compared to Juniper Networks' net margin of 5.67%. F5's return on equity of 20.98% beat Juniper Networks' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
F5	20.58%	20.98%	11.57%
Juniper Networks	5.67%	7.57%	3.62%

Which has better earnings & valuation, FFIV or JNPR?

F5 has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Juniper Networks. F5 is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Juniper Networks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
F5	$2.89B	5.49	$566.78M	$10.06	27.34
Juniper Networks	$5.07B	2.37	$287.90M	$0.86	41.99

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of FFIV or JNPR?

90.7% of F5 shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of Juniper Networks shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of F5 shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Juniper Networks shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

F5 beats Juniper Networks on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.