Network Appliance (NTAP)

[NeuroticTrader1]

Companies exposed to cloud computing slumped along with F5 on Thursday, though some analysts cautioned against lumping the companies together.

"It's easy to yell 'fire' in a crowded theater today but, if you look at strong fundamental stories, there are a lot of them out there," FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives said. "Investors jump to a lot of conclusions, but ultimately, every company is different...We continue to see strength from the field."

The latest projections seem to support the optimism surrounding spending on cloud computing. Data tracker In-Stat LLC said Thursday that U.S. spending on cloud computing and managed hosting should surpass $13 billion in 2014, up from less than $3 billion in 2010.

Spending across all sectors and business sizes is projected to rise, but growth in some segments will be "staggering," In-Stat said. "The professional services and health-care verticals will see the largest growth in spending on cloud-computing services, growing over 124% between 2010 and 2014," it said.

Nonetheless, other cloud-computing stocks felt F5's pain Thursday.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110120-711603.html