Traders Purchase High Volume of Put Options on Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR)

Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE:JNPR) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors purchased 7,826 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 778% compared to the typical volume of 891 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Juniper Networks in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on Juniper Networks in a report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Juniper Networks in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Juniper Networks from $40.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Juniper Networks in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Juniper Networks has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Juniper Networks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JNPR. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Juniper Networks by 2,069.4% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 745 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Juniper Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Juniper Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Juniper Networks by 60.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,188 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Juniper Networks by 71.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,546 shares of the network equipment provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.95% of the company’s stock.

Juniper Networks Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:JNPR opened at $35.61 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.79 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.93. Juniper Networks has a 1 year low of $26.66 and a 1 year high of $39.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $38.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.42.

Juniper Networks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Juniper Networks’s payout ratio is currently 115.79%.

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.