Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO), F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV): Can Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR) Ever Prove the Doubters Wrong?

Investors need proof of life
Despite these struggles, there is the strong belief that Juniper will turn things around. I just don’t trust that the company has the current management in place to put Juniper back on its growth path. The good news, though, is that Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) has some product launches on the horizon that can potentially revive optimism — one of which is the company’s new PTX switches, which has garnered some great reviews. However, though, it’s unclear whether these new products will be enough.

The competition plans to launch attacks of their own. Riverbed is one example. The company’s acquisition of OPNET, which is growing at a 30% rate should eventually pay off. This will put Riverbed in a better position to steal share from Juniper, while also fighting off Cisco. Meanwhile, F5 has been making moves of its own — picking off LineRate, a developer of SDN services.

However, Juniper’s management, despite recent cost-cutting efforts, has not shown that it’s ready to give up. That the company just spent $176 million for Contrail Systems, which then followed the acquisition for enterprise security software company Mykonos, means there is still some fight left. While these moves are steps in the right direction, it doesn’t effectively address Juniper’s enterprise software position.

What of the stock?
It’s still too expensive. There’s no other way to say it. But if Juniper can effectively find synergies for its recent acquisitions, while also making fundamental improvements, there may be some life. And if management can take it a step further by reducing the dependency on carriers, this stock may work. But these are some pretty big “ifs.” For now, however, I doubt it.

The article Can Juniper Ever Prove the Doubters Wrong? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Richard Saintvilus has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Cisco Systems, F5 Networks, Goldman Sachs, and Riverbed Technology and owns shares of F5 Networks and Riverbed Technology.

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