F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV), Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO), NetGear, Inc. (NTGR): This Under-Appreciated Networking Company Deserves a Look

On the other hand, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) seems more reasonably valued at 11.8 times TTM earnings, and are projected to grow by 7.2% annually over the next few years.Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is the world’s largest supplier of computer internetworking systems, and with their size and leading position comes a little less risk. One of my favorite things about Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is its amazing balance sheet, which has almost $50 billion in cash and about $16 billion in debt for an amazing net cash position of $34 billion! The tradeoff to this stability is a lower potential for future growth, as Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) (with almost half of its sales coming internationally) doesn’t have nearly as much room for worldwide expansion as the other two companies featured here.

What to watch for on Friday

NetGear, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTGR) actually announced preliminary earnings data last Monday, so we won’t see any surprises, numbers-wise. The company expects revenues in the range of $290-295 million, and earnings per share between $0.45 and $0.50 per share, less than the consensus of $0.56. The stock immediately (over)reacted, falling over 10% after the announcement.

The company attributes the low numbers to difficulty in transitioning their ReadyNAS line, and was not able to keep up with demand. They anticipate a full recovery of supply for the rest of the year, and I would like to hear more about their progress toward this during the earnings call.

With shares sitting just above their 52-week lows, and down over 30% from just three months ago, I feel confident in saying that the market over-reacted to a bad quarter and I feel confident in calling the stock a buy before the earnings report.

The article This Under-Appreciated Networking Company Deserves a Look originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Matthew Frankel.

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