Juniper Networks, Inc. JNPR is set to report first-quarter 2016 results on Apr 28. Last quarter, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 6.12%. The company has surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the trailing four quarters, bringing the average positive surprise to 6.12%.Let us see how things are shaping up for this announcement.Factors to ConsiderEarlier this month, this Internet infrastructure solutions provider lowered its outlook for the first quarter of 2016 citing soft demand from enterprises as well as U.S. and European telecom customers.The company now expects to earn revenues in the range of $1.090 billion to $1.100 billion, lower than the previous guidance of $1.150 billion to $1.190 billion. Even non-GAAP earnings per share are expected to range within 35 cents to 37 cents, much lower than the previous guidance of 42 cents to 46 cents. As such, the company has also been seeing downward estimate revision.Apart from the muted outlook, uncertain global macro environment and anticipation of potentially weak investment patterns among customers are the other headwinds for the company. Competition from Cisco CSCO and F5 Networks FFIV as well as delays in large projects also remain concerns.Nonetheless, the company’s expansion into the software defined network segment is a positive and should strengthen its position in the networking space.Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that Juniper will beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.Zacks ESP: Juniper currently has an Earnings ESP of -6.90%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate stands at 27 cents per share while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged higher at 29 cents per share.Zacks Rank: Juniper has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). We caution against stocks with Zacks Rank #4 and 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions momentum.Stock to ConsiderHere is a company that has the right combination of elements, according to our model, to post an earnings beat this quarter:Silicon Motion Technology Corp. SIMO with Earnings ESP of +7.27% and a Zacks Rank #1.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CISCO SYSTEMS (CSCO): Free Stock Analysis Report F5 NETWORKS INC (FFIV): Free Stock Analysis Report JUNIPER NETWRKS (JNPR): Free Stock Analysis Report SILICON MOTION (SIMO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research