Riverbed Technology Incorporated Stock Downgraded (RVBD)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Riverbed Technology Incorporated (Nasdaq:RVBD) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, expanding profit margins and largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity.

• EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Jim Cramer's Protégé, Dave Peltier, only buys Stocks Under $10 that he thinks could potentially double. See what he's trading today with a 14-day FREE pass.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• RVBD's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 14.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 17.0%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• The gross profit margin for RIVERBED TECHNOLOGY INC is currently very high, coming in at 80.60%. It has increased from the same quarter the previous year. Despite the strong results of the gross profit margin, RVBD's net profit margin of 2.01% significantly trails the industry average.
• RVBD's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64 is somewhat low overall, but it is high when compared to the industry average, implying that the management of the debt levels should be evaluated further. Despite the fact that RVBD's debt-to-equity ratio is mixed in its results, the company's quick ratio of 1.66 is high and demonstrates strong liquidity.
• Despite any intermediate fluctuations, we have only bad news to report on this stock's performance over the last year: it has tumbled by 42.85%, worse than the S&P 500's performance. Consistent with the plunge in the stock price, the company's earnings per share are down 75.00% compared to the year-earlier quarter. Although its share price is down sharply from a year ago, do not assume that it can now be tagged as cheap and attractive. The reality is that, based on its current price in relation to its earnings, RVBD is still more expensive than most of the other companies in its industry.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $53.95 million or 12.44% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower.

.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. provides solutions to the fundamental problems associated with information technology performance across wide area networks (WANs) in the United States and internationally. The company has a P/E ratio of 49.3, above the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Riverbed Technology has a market cap of $2.66 billion and is part of the technology sector and computer hardware industry. Shares are down 17.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

You can view the full Riverbed Technology Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

It's Official: Action Alerts PLUS beats the S&P 500 with Dividends Reinvested! Cramer and Link were up 16.72% in 2012. Were you? See what they are trading for 14-days FREE.

For more information on Riverbed Technology Incorporated click any of the following:

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Stock Price

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Analyst Ratings

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Key Stats & Profile

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Earnings

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Ratio Comparison

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Growth Rates

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Balance Sheet

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Cash Flow

• Riverbed Technology Incorporated Income Statement