F5 Networks (FFIV) posted fiscal Q3 earnings late Wednesday that beat estimates, as did its Q4 guidance, with an analyst saying an F5 networking product is often replacing a Cisco Systems rival product. F5 stock was up more than 2% in afternoon trading in the stock market today, earlier touching a more than two-year high above 117. F5 is a member of the current IBD 50 ranking of top-performing stocks over the past 12 months. F5 is the top seller
Software-defined networking, an emerging data center technology, is turning into a revenue opportunity for F5 Networks (FFIV) rather than a threat to its core business, says Pacific Crest Securities. Pacific Crest analyst Brent Bracelin says marketing partnerships with Cisco Systems (CSCO) and VMware (VMW), which is controlled by data storage firm EMC (EMC), have helped Seattle-based F5 target the SDN market. “We are encouraged that the biggest
Server sales could get a big lift next year when Microsoft’s (MSFT) Windows Server 2003 software reaches its scheduled end of life. A report by Pacific Crest Securities on Monday compared the impact to the boost seen in personal computer sales as Windows XP approached its end of support on April 8. The end of life for Windows Server 2003 on July 14, 2015, is one of two catalysts that could spark an enterprise data center revival next year, the investment bank said. The other factor is Intel ‘s (INTC) new Grantley server platform, which is set to ship in late September or early October, Pacific Crest said. Among the companies likely to benefit from the server sales rebound are Intel, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Western Digital (WDC), Seagate Technology (STX), SanDisk (SNDK), F5 Networks (FFIV) and A10 Networks (ATEN). Last year, data center spending fell for the first time since the…