F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $308.32 and last traded at $307.44, with a volume of 617656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $303.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on FFIV. StockNews.com upgraded shares of F5 from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of F5 from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on F5 from $260.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on F5 from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on F5 from $285.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, F5 presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $295.00.

F5 Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $263.20 and a 200-day moving average of $230.77.

F5 announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, October 28th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the network technology company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at F5

In related news, Director Alan Higginson sold 825 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.77, for a total transaction of $197,810.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,407.14. The trade was a 7.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lyra Amber Schramm sold 253 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Saturday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.26, for a total transaction of $75,206.78. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 200 shares in the company, valued at $59,452. This trade represents a 55.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,899 shares of company stock worth $1,682,977. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On F5

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in F5 by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 852 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $214,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of F5 by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,607 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of F5 by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of F5 by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,598 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in F5 by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 2,030 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 90.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.