Piper Jaffray analyst James Fish downgraded F5 Networks (FFIV) to Underweight while raising his price target for the shares to $180 from $168. F5 has "material earnings risk" due to weaker than anticipated demand trends, a software transition, rising competitive threats, new emerging technologies like SD-WAN, and the limited impact of the current buyback program over the next two years, Fish tells investors in a research note. Further, the current valuation is at "peak" levels despite these "alarming risks," the analyst contends. He views F5's risk/reward as unfavorable and prefers shares of Arista Networks (ANET) and Akamai (AKAM) for networking exposure.

Bullish option flow detected in Arista Networks with 2,900 calls trading, 1.7x expected, and implied vol increasing almost 2 points to 56.57%. Nov-24 270 calls and 4/26 weekly 275 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 770 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.64. Earnings are expected on May 7th.