Juniper Wraps Up Altor Acquisition - Analyst Blog

Leading networking infrastructure products and service provider Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) wrapped up its acquisition of virtualization security technology provider Altor Networks. The acquisition cost Juniper $95.0 million in cash. 

Founded in 2007, Altor Networks has evolved as one of the leading innovator and provider of security for virtual data centers and clouds. The company developed the world's first firewall purpose-built for virtual networks, which enforces security policies on a per-virtual-machine basis. Altor Network had been sharing a long standing technology partnership with Juniper Networks. 

Altor Networks' Security solutions will be combined with Juniper's existing security platform to provide its customers with enhanced solutions encompassing both physical and virtual systems. Altor's security technology will expand Juniper's customer base and secure its leadership in the virtualization security market. 

Juniper previous share gains in the security market came through its acquisition of SMobile. Currently, Juniper is attempting to cement its position in the enterprise wireless local area networktechnology market. To this end, Juniper acquired Trapeze Networks at a cash consideration of $152.0 million that enhanced its networking product portfolio. 

Apart from recent acquisitions, decent third quarter results leave us quite optimistic on Juniper. We think that the encouraging guidance for the fourth quarter, strong bookings and significant growth in backlog should attract investors. 

However, stiff competition from market leader Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) and upcoming networking company Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) as well as Juniper's European exposure are likely to weigh on the shares. 

Currently, Juniper has a Zacks # 3 Rank, implying a short-term Hold recommendation.

 
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