Juniper, which makes switches, routers and other networking gear, is unique in that it could be a buyer or a seller. Price likes Juniper. "I wouldn't own a stock for the fact that it is going to get bought, but I think that it is quite possible," he told Barron's. "I'm actually surprised that it hasn't happened." Price thinks Juniper's earnings could rise to $1.05 a share in 2010 from an estimated 80 cents in 2009 as corporate tech spending starts to recover. His target is 30, roughly 10% above recent levels.

But for who? It could be for Juniper Networks (JNPR), a company that missed the rise of the mobile Internet and now is playing catch-up with Cisco (CSCO). The Starent (STAR) deal especially has put Juniper in a position where it has to make a similarly advantageous acquisition to get back in the game.

Tech returns

Market Perform With Outperform Bias - Price 25.97 on July 29
by First Global

JNPR [looks] well-positioned to benefit from improvement in deal-closure rates and revival in enterprise spending. Expansion of switching portfolio [should] continue driving growth....2Q09 results [were] in line with our estimates; revenues declined 10.5% year/over/year to $786 million; pro forma EPS was 19 cents. Market cap: $13.6 billion.

BARRON'S (Aug. 3) Market Perform
1) It's well positioned to benefit from improvement in deal-closure rates and revival in enterprise spending.
2) Expansion of switching portfolio should continue driving growth
3) 2Q09 results were in line
4) Revenues declined 10.5% year-over-year

Providing the firearms to IBM's war with Cisco. Very low and manageable earnings expectations.

Juniper Networks is up almost 44% year-to-date, crushing rival Cisco's performance. Low analyst expectations could be this stock's ticket to an even higher price level.

Market Perform - Price 21.49 on June 23
by Morgan Keegan

Juniper and Nokia Siemens Networks announced a partnership targeting the integration of data-networking with optical- transport solutions gear....This partnership provides a good way to cost-effectively expand offerings and helps address customer requests, but may not deliver the degree of integration some carriers want. At 25 times our 86-cent [calendar-year] 2010 earnings per share, valuation seems rich. Market cap: $11.2 billion.

Obama's plans for the expansion of broadband and networking put technology stocks like this one in a good place.

Maybe this stack will go up
in the future

SOLD