Zacks Research Issues Positive Forecast for F5 Earnings

F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q4 2026 earnings estimates for shares of F5 in a report issued on Wednesday, December 24th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the network technology company will post earnings per share of $3.28 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.27. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong Sell” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for F5’s current full-year earnings is $11.20 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for F5’s Q1 2027 earnings at $2.89 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.88 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.26 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $12.52 EPS.

F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The network technology company reported $4.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $810.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $794.06 million. F5 had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. F5 has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.500-15.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.350-3.850 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of F5 from $320.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of F5 from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “cautious” rating on shares of F5 in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of F5 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on F5 from $321.00 to $267.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.11.

F5 Price Performance

FFIV stock opened at $259.37 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $290.94. F5 has a fifty-two week low of $223.76 and a fifty-two week high of $346.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 0.99.

Insider Transactions at F5

In related news, EVP Thomas Dean Fountain sold 8,318 shares of F5 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.78, for a total value of $2,077,670.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 22,493 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,618,301.54. This trade represents a 27.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chad Michael Whalen sold 9,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.77, for a total transaction of $2,356,829.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,404,352.57. This represents a 26.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,485 shares of company stock valued at $7,565,698 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On F5

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new stake in F5 during the second quarter worth approximately $883,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in F5 by 17.4% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,622 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of F5 during the 2nd quarter worth $240,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in F5 by 15.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 18,477 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in F5 by 53.0% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 5,204 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,532,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. 90.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stores Impacting F5

Here are the key news stories impacting F5 this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks/analyst estimate lift — Research brokers increased earnings estimates for F5, which could support valuation and offset some downward pressure if forecasts hold. Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for F5
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — EVP Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,100 shares at ~$262.86 on Dec. 29 (about a 6.95% reduction in his holding). The sale is notable but relatively small versus total insider holdings and not unusual near year-end. Insider Sale Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple class-action notices filed/announced — Several law firms have announced or are investigating securities class actions covering Oct. 28, 2024–Oct. 27, 2025, alleging securities law violations; these notices seek lead plaintiffs and highlight potential litigation exposure and reputational risk. That legal overhang is the primary driver of downside pressure. FFIV Investors Have Opportunity to Lead F5, Inc. Securities Fraud Lawsuit with the Schall Law Firm
• Negative Sentiment: Shareholder suit tied to cybersecurity disclosure — Hagens Berman and other firms cite questions about the timing and impact of a reported cybersecurity incident; allegations around delayed/insufficient disclosure amplify uncertainty about operational impact and potential liability. FFIV Shareholder Notice: Hagens Berman

About F5

F5 Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) specializes in application services and delivery networking, helping organizations ensure the availability, performance and security of their applications. The company’s core offerings include advanced load balancing, traffic management and application security solutions designed to optimize user experiences and protect against threats such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and web application exploits.

At the heart of F5’s product portfolio is the BIG-IP platform, which provides a suite of software modules for local and global traffic management, secure web application firewalling and DNS service delivery.