Despite Horrible Sentiment, Top Networking Stocks Could Have Big 2016

It doesn’t take a market genius to figure out that the information technology (IT) and networking sentiment is horrible. Just look at the daily drubbing the technology sector continues to take. Also look at the late to the party bears, who apparently now see nothing but doom and gloom.

The bottom line is that while sentiment is weak, Web 2.0 and cloud IT demand remains very strong, and in a new research report, Deutsche Bank thinks that the exponential growth in the 100G data center switching refresh could prove to be a $1 billion opportunity this year, and top companies in the firm’s coverage universe stand to benefit.

Four stocks are rated Buy at Deutsche Bank, and all could benefit from the spending onslaught.

Arista Networks

This company went public in the summer of 2014 and has continued to be one of the hot tech stories. Arista Networks Inc. (NYSE: ANET) delivers software-driven cloud networking solutions for large data center and computing environments. In addition, its 10/40/100 gigabit Ethernet switches offer scalability and performance, and they have over 2,700 customers and more than 2 million cloud networking ports deployed worldwide. At the core of Arista’s platform is EOS, an advanced network operating system. Arista Networks products are available worldwide through distribution partners, systems integrators and resellers.

Many on Wall Street think that the company could benefit from dual supplier requirements at the Web 2.0 and cloud portals, and they think Arista could see upside to the lofty 30% compound annual growth rates currently forecast. Some also see the stock benefiting as networking vendor that is leveraged to data center deployments.

The patent lawsuit filed by Cisco was seen as just a minor loss to the company when some of the rulings came out recently. International Trade Commission Administrative Law Judge David Shaw said Arista violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act 17 times, but declined to cite 15 other claims of violations that Cisco brought against Arista. Many on Wall Street expected Arista to engineer “workarounds” by the time the decisions are finalized.

The Deutsche Bank price target for the stock is $82. The Thomson/First Call consensus price target is $86.62. Shares closed most recently at $53.
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Cisco

This is one of the top mega-cap technology stock picks on Wall Street, and perhaps a surprising defensive pick for volatile markets like we have witnessed. Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) posted disappointing earnings in November, and many on Wall Street lowered price targets for the networking giant significantly. Cisco is also one of the 24/7 Wall St. top 10 stocks to own for the next decade.

Last year Cisco won an important contract for the Verizon build-out of the company’s next-generation 100G metro network. While Cisco’s optical business is small as a part of total revenue, this win is seen by Wall Street as a significant endorsement of the investments Cisco has made into its optics business. Deutsche Bank sees the data center refresh as a positive for the company.

Analysts across Wall Street point to an estimated double-digit bookings momentum for Cisco’s Meraki Cloud Services. Many think that Meraki is likely to be a $1 billion plus run-rate business this year, with an incredible 50% to 70% compounded annual growth rate. A jump from 40 GE to 100 GE data center switching and next generation security are also adding to the total sales profile and product mix.

Cisco investors receive a nice 3.66% dividend. The $31 Deutsche Bank price target is a bit higher than the consensus estimate of $30.50. The shares closed at $22.65.
Infinera

Another solid play for investors in data networking, Infinera Corp, (NASDAQ: INFN) provides Intelligent Transport Networks for network operators, enabling reliable, easy to operate, high-capacity optical networks. It leverages its unique large-scale photonic integrated circuits to deliver innovative optical networking solutions for the most demanding network environments. Intelligent Transport Networks enable carriers, cloud network operators, governments and enterprises to automate, converge and scale their data center, metro, long-haul and subsea optical networks.

The company blew away earnings in the most recent quarter, and it is expected to report this quarter on Thursday. Many analysts feel that the hot Facebook numbers and quarter, along with increased capital expenditure guidance, could prove to be a positive for Infinera.

The fact the company is leveraged to data center interconnect market makes it a top small cap stock to consider. The huge spending for data center optical, which many think will be $4 billion to $5 billion, and $5 billion to $6 billion for the metro spending is a real key to the story for the company.

Deutsche Bank has a whopping $28 price target, and the consensus target is $25.18. The stock closed Tuesday at $13.36.

Juniper Networks

This solid technology stock has been a long roller-coaster ride for investors over the last two years. Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) is a provider of high-performance network infrastructure to service providers and enterprises. Key products include IP-based routers for service provider core and edge networks, security solutions and high-end enterprise routing equipment. Juniper’s products supports converged data, voice, video and wireless applications across extended network.

The stock has taken a big hit since printing highs in November and is back to a very solid support level for investors looking to buy shares. For the fourth quarter, the company posted solid numbers, but the forward guidance left much to be desired, and the stock was hit hard yet again. Much of the lowered guidance was attributed to currency effects, and Deutsche Bank sees the company as another that will benefit from the big data center refresh this year.

Juniper investors receive a 1.82% dividend. The Deutsche Bank price objective is $31. The consensus target is $28.93, and the stock closed Tuesday at $21.99.
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Clearly, the markets are on edge, and things could get worse before they get better. However streaming, storage and mobile demand continues to grow almost unabated, and all these companies should benefit as massive build-outs stay on the books for 2016 and beyond.