The Top Networking Stocks

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, the seven stocks below are the highest rated in the computer communications industry.

CAPS contains more than just the crowd's opinions. The votes of CAPS' best-performing members, known as All-Stars, count more in shaping each company's rating than do the picks of their poorer-performing peers. That way, the highest-rated companies are not just the most popular companies in the industry, in this case Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO), but are the best of the best. You can then intelligently use members' collective wisdom to make better decisions and find hidden gems you may never have otherwise heard of.

Generally speaking, Cisco serves as a decent proxy for the entire industry. Cisco's positive earnings report two weeks ago managed to pump up the entire networking sector, as Cisco is seen as a bellwether for the rest of the sector. Specifically, the 4.7% sales increase and small earnings growth was much better than what analysts expected. It's not the only one benefiting from a positive networking market. F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV) also reported strong earnings this quarter, slightly beating revenue and earnings expectations. If the networking industry is finally turning around, it could be a good time to get in.

The highest-rated networking stock is...
Looking at the aggregate data, we see that our community rates Digi International (Nasdaq: DGII) above the rest and for good reason. As CAPS player sett0047 wrote:

Digi is an emerging leader in machine-to-machine (M2M) and wireless networking markets. The company's forward thinking hardware solutions are making it possible to bring a plethora of new information online and in the hands of key decision makers. The Smart Grid, along with several other remote wireless monitoring application verticals, present a huge opportunity for Digi. For example, Digi's partnership with COMV to supply wireless equipment/thermostats for TXU's residential energy program represents a market opportunity of $150 million. Management has indicated that as many as 10 smart technology integrators (e.g.: Itron, Comverse) are reselling various Digi products or using them pilot programs.

Here are the rest of the seven highest-rated companies in the industry along with their CAPS rating:

Source: Motley Fool CAPS as of Nov. 7.

Use the table as a first step to help generate ideas for further research. Having a watchlist of promising companies is a great place to start. We can help you keep tabs on these beloved companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service. Click here to start now.