Hello Friends! Thanks so much for stopping by and visiting my blog, Stock Picks Bob's Advice! As always, please remember that I am an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions based on information on this website!
Recently I received a submission from a fellow blogger, Nicolas, who is a co-founder of a new "networking platform to classify and rank investors according to the performance of their stock tips" called Stocktipr.com. I cannot vouch one way or another for the information on that site but would encourage you to visit!
Nicolas asked me if he could submit an article to this website, and without any further delay, what he wrote follows this introduction. He has let me know that he does not (as of June 4, 2011) have any shares nor does he have any financial relationship with Juniper (JNPR).
Juniper Networks, with headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, is a computer networking products company. Many investors, when looking for a stock pick in the computer network category, naturally look to Cisco Systems, the most recognizable of these firms. However, Cisco is now trading at a 52 week low while its PE is heading toward single digits, something that veteran stock pickers thought would never happen. Cisco's recent guidance warned that fourth quarter revenue would “be relatively flat compared to the prior year period, which represents lower revenue levels than we had previously anticipated at the beginning of fiscal 2011.” This is not positive news and obviously does not bode well for the near term. Cisco may look cheap around 16 dollars per share, but it is trading there for a reason. Remember, cheap stocks many times get cheaper.
A good alternative to Cisco is Juniper Networks. Juniper is well off of its 52 week low and its current PE of 34 shows a very positive degree of general investor confidence. Sales revenue, gross profits and earning per share all increased dramatically in the fourth quarter of 2010. The fact that Juniper is off its 52 week high shows that there is still room for upward price movement in the short term. Juniper also sports a low debt to equity ratio which, as seasoned investors know, indicates that the company has funded itself more conservatively and therefore has lower risk of future debt problems. (Cisco's debt to equity ratio is significantly higher than that of Juniper.)
Although Juniper is significantly smaller than Cisco, the company appears to be very nimble. In fact, in a recent article, Forbes said "competitors like Juniper, HP and Alcatel-Lucent have been making inroads and nipping at Cisco's market share in its core markets like switching and routers." As good investors know, many times small companies are able to innovate and move at a much quicker pace than large entities.
Those looking to enter the computer network sector would be well served by Juniper. Strong revenues coupled with solid earnings and positive investor sentiment makes Juniper an excellent choice in this sector.
Nicolas
Nicolas is co-founder and president of Stocktipr.com, a new networking platform to classify and rank investors according to the performance of their stock tips. Nicolas does not own any shares of Juniper Networks for now and don’t have any financial relationship you might have with the company. Nicolas is an amateur investor, so please remember to consult with your professional investment advisers prior to making any investment decisions.
Thank you Nicolas! I do not personally have an opinion on Juniper (JNPR) which closed at $31.90 on 6/9/11, but shall add it to my own 'watch list' and see how this stock tip of yours works out! Good-luck to you on your own website, and hopefully we can arrange some additional guest posts right here!
Yours in investing,
Bob