Piper upgrades F5, sees company benefiting from higher 2026 refresh activity

As previously reported, Piper Sandler upgraded F5 (FFIV) to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $295, up from $277. The firm notes that shares are down 22% since the announced breach in October and FY26 guidance “miss” on the Q4 call. While Piper expects the breach may have some impact, its initial Q1 2026 channel, SuperComputing, and management commentary seem to suggest this was a “measure twice, cut once” scenario. As such, the firm thinks like other prior breaches, one will see upward sales revisions that could draw the multiple higher, too.