Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,360,000 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the November 30th total of 9,190,000 shares. Currently, 3.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,870,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Juniper Networks Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of JNPR stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.37. 233,273 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,644,505. The stock has a market cap of $12.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.17, a PEG ratio of 11.75 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Juniper Networks has a fifty-two week low of $29.13 and a fifty-two week high of $39.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.80.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Juniper Networks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 115.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on JNPR shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,545 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 44,018 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $1,605,000 after buying an additional 9,169 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,852 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 20,054 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 4,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Juniper Networks by 0.9% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 633,850 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $23,110,000 after acquiring an additional 5,428 shares during the period. 91.95% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Juniper Networks Company Profile

Juniper Networks, Inc designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers.