Red-Hot Networking Equipment Stocks Blowing Away Numbers: 4 to Buy Now

By Lee Jackson Updated Jan 13, 1:34AM EST · Published Nov 3, 10:10AM EDT

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Red-Hot Networking Equipment Stocks Blowing Away Numbers: 4 to Buy Now — © Thinkstock

[cnxvideo id=”625452″ placement=”ros”]One thing is for sure, the more speed, latency, gaming, cloud computing and storage and streaming demand of the internet, the more the top companies working on the metro build-outs and 100G may continue to blow out earnings. On Wednesday, one company in the sector blew out its earnings, and a host of other top companies are getting ready to report soon.

With huge growth around the world, and especially in China, many of the top companies that are providing the optical products for 100G applications are exploding. 100G Metro solutions are the most effective way to simply transport your data in metro and enterprise applications. We screened our Wall Street research database for leading companies rated Buy and found four that could be huge winners.

Acacia Communications

This company had a red-hot IPO and has backed up sharply since a recent secondary offer. Acacia Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: ACIA) is a leading supplier of high-speed coherent optical interconnect products to network equipment manufacturers, hyperscale cloud companies and service providers.

The company’s foundation is in its Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and a unique approach with its silicon-based photonic integrated circuit (SiPhi PIC). The company primarily combines the DSP and PIC to create modules, which are integrated into optical/networking equipment to provide high-speed optical interconnect.

Top Wall Street analysts have been increasing estimates following Acacia’s positive preannouncements and recently completed secondary offering. Acacia continues to benefit from strong demand across Web 2.0 direct customers, Chinese original equipment manufacturers and metro 100G cycles. Acacia additionally is benefiting from strength in China broadband optical roll-outs.

The Merrill Lynch price target for the stock is a gigantic $130, and the Wall Street consensus target is lower at $119. The stock closed most recently at $68.35 per share.

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Ciena

This stock has been very up and down in the past year, and it has frequently been the subject of takeover rumors. Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) provides equipment, software and services that support the transport, switching, aggregation, service delivery and management of voice, video and data traffic on communications networks worldwide.

The company’s Converged Packet Optical segment offers networking solutions optimized for the convergence of coherent optical transport, Optical Transport Network (OTN) switching and packet switching. Its products comprise the 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, 5430 Reconfigurable Switching System, CoreDirector Multiservice Optical Switches and OTN configuration for the 5410 Reconfigurable Switching System.

Verizon in 2015 named Ciena as one of its main 100G vendors in the United States. That should trickle down to other fiber-optic gear makers, including Lumentum, which is supplier to both Cisco and Ciena. The networking-equipment maker reported outstanding results on September 1 and is expected to release its next earnings numbers in premarket hours on December 8. The steep sell-off in the stock is offering investors a solid entry point.

Merrill Lynch has a $26 price target for the stock, while the consensus target is set at $26.31. Shares closed most recently at $19.34.

Juniper Networks

This solid technology stock has been on a long roller-coaster ride for investors over the past 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 support converged data, voice, video and wireless applications across extended networks.

The stock reported solid numbers for the most recent quarter, and many Wall Street analysts are turning incrementally more positive. The Merrill Lynch analyst noted this when the company reported:

Juniper beat and raised estimates. We reiterate our Buy and increase our price objective from $29 to $30. The company is benefiting from increasing demand for networking solutions by Cloud Service Providers and new product cycles. Juniper is attractively valued at 10 times 2017 earnings-per-share with EPS growing in the high single to low double digits over the next 2 years.

The consensus price target for the stock is $27.78. The shares ended trading on Wednesday at $25.15 apiece.

Oclaro

The company posted outstanding results Wednesday. Oclaro Inc. (NASDAQ: OCLR) designs, manufactures and markets lasers and optical components, modules and subsystems for the optical communications, industrial and consumer laser markets worldwide.

The company’s products generate, detect, combine and separate light signals in optical communications networks. It offers client side transceivers, including pluggable transceivers; line side transceivers; tunable laser transmitters, such as discrete lasers and co-packaged laser modulators; lithium niobate modulators to manipulate the phase or the amplitude of an optical signal; transponder modules for transmitter and receiver functions; and discrete lasers and receivers for metro and long-haul applications.

The analysts at Stifel are bullish on the stock and noted this in their coverage:

Oclaro results and guidance were again above expectations as 100G growth continues to impress (+140% year-over-year +23% quarter-over-quarter, 72% of revenue – fifth consecutive quarter of 20%+ sequential growth). Specifically, revenue of $135.5 million was ahead of our estimate and the consensus of $132.0/$131.6 million with pro forma earnings of $0.14 exceeding our and the consensus expectation of $0.09/$0.10.

The company also gave guidance for the fourth quarter that was way above analysts’ estimates. Stifel raised its price target to $11 from $10. The consensus target is posted at $10.42. The shares closed most recently at $7.65, up almost 6% on the day.

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The need for speed is going nowhere but up, and these top companies will continue to be at the forefront. It’s important to remember that these stocks are more suited for aggressive growth accounts.

About the Author Lee Jackson →

Lee Jackson has covered Wall Street analysts' equity and debt research and equity strategy daily for 24/7 Wall St. since 2012. His broad and diverse career, which included a stint as the creative services director at the NBC affiliate in Austin, Texas, gives him unique insight into the financial industry and world.

Lee Jackson's journey in the financial industry spans over 30 years, with nearly two decades as an institutional equity salesperson at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and Morgan Stanley. His career was marked by his presence on the sell side during pivotal Wall Street events, from the dot.com rise and bubble to the Long Term Capital Management debacle, 9/11, and the Great Recession of 2008. This is a testament to his resilience and adaptability in the face of market volatility.

Lee Jackson’s practical financial industry experience, acquired from a career at some of the biggest banks and brokerage firms, is complemented by a lifetime of writing on various platforms. This unique combination allows him to shed light on the intricacies and workings of Wall Street in a way that only someone with deep insider experience and knowledge can. Moreover, his extensive network across Wall Street continues to provide direct access for him and 24/7 Wall St., a privilege few firms enjoy.

Since 2012, Jackson’s work for 24/7 Wall St. has been featured in Barron’s, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Business Insider, TradingView, Real Money, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Benzinga, and other media outlets. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and has a degree in broadcasting from the Specs Howard School of Media Arts.