UPDATE: Morgan Keegan Downgrades Juniper to Perform

Morgan Keegan lowers its rating on Juniper (NYSE: JNPR) to Perform from Outperform and lowers its price target by $5 to $20 as 2012 growth is called into question following the company's lowered guidance.

Morgan Keegan comments, " Slowing service provider spending coupled with a challenging macro economy led management to forecast Q1:12 sales of $960-$990 mm (down 12%-14% seq.), well below our prior $1,119 mm and consensus for $1,096 mm. Earnings were forecast for $0.11-$0.14 vs. consensus at $0.27, which surely disappoints. Is management being conservative to avoid another miss, or has business deteriorated further."

JNPR closed at $22.37 a share yesterday.