Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR – Get Free Report) and Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD – Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Juniper Networks and Clearfield, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Juniper Networks | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2.13 |
| Clearfield | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.00 |
Juniper Networks presently has a consensus target price of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.46%. Clearfield has a consensus target price of $46.75, indicating a potential upside of 26.35%. Given Clearfield’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Clearfield is more favorable than Juniper Networks.
Volatility and Risk
Insider & Institutional Ownership
91.9% of Juniper Networks shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Clearfield shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.3% of Juniper Networks shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of Clearfield shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Juniper Networks and Clearfield’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Juniper Networks | 4.58% | 8.02% | 3.78% |
| Clearfield | -5.26% | -3.06% | -2.70% |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Juniper Networks and Clearfield”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Juniper Networks | $5.10 billion | 2.49 | $310.20 million | $0.69 | 56.58 |
| Clearfield | $169.62 million | 3.10 | $32.53 million | ($0.25) | -148.00 |
Juniper Networks has higher revenue and earnings than Clearfield. Clearfield is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Juniper Networks, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Juniper Networks beats Clearfield on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Juniper Networks
Juniper Networks, Inc. designs, develops, and sells network products and services worldwide. The company offers routing products, such as ACX series universal access routers to deploy high-bandwidth services; MX series Ethernet routers that function as a universal edge platform; PTX series packet transport routers; wide-area network SDN controllers; and session smart routers. It also provides switching products, including EX series Ethernet switches to address the access, aggregation, and core layer switching requirements of micro branch, branch office, and campus environments; QFX series of core, spine, and top-of-rack data center switches; and juniper access points, which provide Wi-Fi access and performance. In addition, the company offers security products comprising SRX series services gateways for the data center; Branch SRX family provides an integrated and next-generation firewall; virtual firewall that delivers various features of physical firewalls; and advanced malware protection, a cloud-based service and Juniper ATP. Further, it offers Junos OS, a network operating system; Contrail networking, which provides an open-source and standards-based platform for SDN; Mist AI-driven Wired, Wireless, and WAN assurance solutions to set and measure key metrics; Mist AI-driven Marvis Virtual Network Assistant, which identifies the root cause of issues; Juniper Paragon Automation, a modular portfolio of cloud-native software applications; and Juniper Apstra to automate the network lifecycle in a single system. Additionally, the company provides software-as-a-service, technical support, maintenance, and professional services, as well as education and training programs. It sells its products through direct sales, distributors, value-added resellers, and original equipment manufacturers to end-users in the cloud, service provider, and enterprise markets. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
About Clearfield
Clearfield, Inc. manufactures and sells various fiber connectivity products in the United States and internationally. The company offers FieldSmart, a series of panels, cabinets, wall boxes, and other enclosures; WaveSmart, an optical components integrated for signal coupling, splitting, termination, multiplexing, demultiplexing, and attenuation for integration within its fiber management platform; and active cabinet products. It also provides CraftSmart FiberFirst pedestals, an access terminal that offers a cable management and mounting bracket kit to support the deployment of access terminals; YOURx, an access terminal that provides flexibility with cable mid-span and internal splicing options; and FieldShield, a fiber pathway and protection method for reducing the cost of broadband deployment. In addition, the company offers fiber assemblies; fiber optic and copper cables, microducts, microduct accessories, and tools; and installation and connection accessories for fiber optic networks. It serves community broadband customers, multiple system operators, large regional service providers, and wireline/wireless national telco carriers. The company was formerly known as APA Enterprises, Inc. and changed its name to Clearfield, Inc. in January 2008. Clearfield, Inc. was incorpoarted in 1979 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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