Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) rose 1.8% at least partly after its CEO and Hewlett Packard Enterprise's (HPE) CEO touted the benefits of the planned $14 billion acquisition at a conference in Barcelona.

HPE CEO Antonio Neri reiterated that he sees the deal closing this year or early next year, he commented earlier at the HPE Discover Barcelona 2024 conference on Wednesday.

"We hope to close this end of the year or early 2025," Neri said at the conference (link here: JNPR CEO starts speaking about deal 1:36 minute mark).

The comments come as investors await the Dept. of Justice's decision to either block or approve the deal, possibly in the coming days, according to recent press accounts.

There was also a report circulating among traders from late yesterday that the companies may decide to give the DOJ more time to review the deal. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the companies could also decide to delay the deal until next year when they may get a more favorable view of the transaction under the Trump administration.

Shares of Juniper (JNPR) had dropped 9% over the past three days on investor concerns that the regulator may block the deal after a report last week that the DOJ could make a decision as soon as this week. Investors became more worried about the deal after the DOJ filed a lawsuit to block UnitedHealth's (UNH) planned $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys (AMED) last Monday.