J.P. Morgan's Top 2 IT Stocks

J.P Morgan analyst Rod Hall commented on several telecom and networking equipment stocks Friday in the February "Hall Monitor" report.

Hall’s number one ranked stock in a group of 22 tech companies was Apple Inc. AAPL.

The analyst expected the Apple Watch introduction to act as a positive catalyst and that momentum from iPhone upgrades to continue. Hall also noted rumors of a product event coming in late February as another positive for the stock.

Apple Inc. was rated Overweight and recently traded at $126.44, down 0.02 percent.

Ciena Corporation CIEN was ranked in 2nd place and remained a top pick with an Overweight rating.

Hall believed that “Ciena is materially undervalued at current levels” and expected “more supportive news on optical long haul and metro build plans at MWC in Barcelona in early March.”

Ciena Corporation recently traded at $19.78, down 0.30 percent.

EMC Corporation EMC was ranked in 15th place and rated Neutral.

Hall was concerned that the weak demand NetApp Inc. NTAP experienced will also adversely impact EMC in the first quarter.

EMC Corporation recently traded at $27.83, down 0.14 percent.

Aruba Networks, Inc. ARUN was ranked in 14th place rated Neutral.

Hall expected Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO to give more attention to the wireless LAN market which could adversely impact Aruba Networks after Cisco forecasted 100 percent growth for its Meraki unit in fiscal Q2.

Aruba Networks, Inc. recently traded at $17.48, down 1.30 percent.

F5 Networks, Inc. FFIV was ranked in 10th place with a Neutral rating.

While Hall thought the company was “executing well,” it remained in the middle of the list following a “slight earnings hiccup.”

F5 Networks, Inc. recently traded at $115.56, up 0.25 percent.