Communications Equipment: Goldman Turns Cautious; Downgrades Juniper, Aruba, Starent; Bullish On Cisco

Goldman Sachs has turned cautious on the communications equipment sector.

Goldman’s Simona Jankowski is assuming coverage of some companies in the group, and in the process lowering the firm’s view of the sector to Neutral from Attractive. (Jankowski takes over from Brantley Thompson, who is going to the buy side.) She picks up coverage of Cisco (CSCO) with a Buy rating, and adds the stock to the firm’s Conviction List; she also picks up Juniper Network (JNPR), and cut her rating to Neutral from Buy. She’ll also be covering Motorola (which is currently rated) and Buy-rated Qualcomm (QCOM) and Research in Motion (RIMM).