F5 Networks' Shares Surged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of network optimization specialist F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV  ) are bursting across a clear line today, gaining as much as 16% on extremely high volume.

So what: A very strong fourth-quarter report with 42% year-over-year earnings growth on 24% higher sales did the trick, leaving analysts' targets in the dust. As a juicy, red cherry on top, F5 also added $200 million to its existing $166 million share buyback program.

Now what: Loath to pick a favorite division, CEO John McAdam said that the beat came from solid results across the board and in every region. This may sound counterintuitive in a time of tight belts and budgets, but makes perfect sense when you realize that F5's products squeeze more performance out of your other network hardware. The more you spend on F5 gear, the smaller the check you have to write out to Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO  ) or Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR  ) .

It's really a beautiful strategy that should sound familiar if you're investing in Linux vendor Red Hat (NYSE: RHT  ) or virtual computing giant VMware (NYSE: VMW  ) . Learn more about "spend money to save money" IT tactics in this totally free video report.

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