Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

FTNT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. They issued a market perform rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities restated a buy rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Fortinet from $67.00 to $63.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Fortinet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $70.68.

Fortinet Price Performance

FTNT stock opened at $58.88 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.38, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.19. Fortinet has a 1 year low of $44.12 and a 1 year high of $81.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.90.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The software maker reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Fortinet had a net margin of 22.23% and a negative return on equity of 5,061.85%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Fortinet’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Fortinet will post 1.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 24,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.48, for a total value of $1,593,300.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,867,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,705,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 24,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.48, for a total value of $1,593,300.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,867,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $700,705,320.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 46,084 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.07, for a total transaction of $3,183,021.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,813,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,578,767,976.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,480 shares of company stock valued at $8,021,556. Insiders own 17.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Fortinet by 7.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 129,130 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,577,000 after buying an additional 8,402 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 26.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,717 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 123,042 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $7,220,000 after purchasing an additional 6,815 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lifted its stake in Fortinet by 1.3% during the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 321,490 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $18,865,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 3.7% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 134,600 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $7,898,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Company Profile

Fortinet, Inc provides cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions worldwide. It offers secure networking solutions focus on the convergence of networking and security; network firewall solutions that consist of FortiGate data centers, hyperscale, and distributed firewalls, as well as encrypted applications; wireless LAN solutions; and secure connectivity solutions, including FortiSwitch secure ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points, FortiExtender 5G connectivity gateways, and other products.