Key Points
- Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,100 shares of F5 on Dec. 29 at an average price of $262.86 for $289,146, reducing his direct holding by 6.95% to 14,733 shares (worth about $3.87M).
- This sale is part of a pattern of recent insider selling, including multiple weekly dispositions in Nov–Dec and a large 8,318-share sale on Nov. 3, indicating sustained insider liquidation activity.
- F5 reported an earnings beat and set FY26 guidance (quarterly EPS $4.39 vs. $3.96 expected; FY26 guidance 14.5–15.5 EPS), but the stock faces legal overhang from class-action and shareholder suits and carries a consensus "Hold" rating with a $291.11 target.
F5, Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV - Get Free Report) EVP Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,100 shares of F5 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.86, for a total transaction of $289,146.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,872,716.38. This trade represents a 6.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
Thomas Dean Fountain also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Monday, December 22nd, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,110 shares of F5 stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.90, for a total transaction of $286,269.00.
- On Monday, December 15th, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,110 shares of F5 stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.76, for a total transaction of $293,883.60.
- On Monday, December 8th, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,110 shares of F5 stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.66, for a total transaction of $276,012.60.
- On Monday, December 1st, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,110 shares of F5 stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.99, for a total transaction of $263,058.90.
- On Monday, November 24th, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,110 shares of F5 stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.91, for a total value of $260,750.10.
- On Tuesday, November 18th, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 1,110 shares of F5 stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.44, for a total value of $252,458.40.
- On Monday, November 3rd, Thomas Dean Fountain sold 8,318 shares of F5 stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.78, for a total value of $2,077,670.04.
F5 Price Performance
F5 stock opened at $259.37 on Wednesday. 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. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $252.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $290.94. F5, Inc. has a 12 month low of $223.76 and a 12 month high of $346.00.
F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The network technology company reported $4.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $810.09 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $794.06 million. F5 had a net margin of 22.42% and a return on equity of 21.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. F5 has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.500-15.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 3.350-3.850 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that F5, Inc. will post 11.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of F5 by 275.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 90 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of F5 in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of F5 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of F5 by 288.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 163 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of F5 during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.66% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have commented on FFIV shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on F5 from $350.00 to $315.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of F5 in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on F5 from $260.00 to $250.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of F5 from $321.00 to $267.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of F5 from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, F5 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $291.11.
Read Our Latest Research Report on FFIV
Trending Headlines about 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
F5 Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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