Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the thirty-two analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $103.72.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fortinet from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Fortinet from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of Fortinet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Fortinet from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 206,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total transaction of $19,967,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,391,879 shares in the company, valued at $4,981,414,831.47. This represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 326,784 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.17, for a total transaction of $32,080,385.28. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 11,000,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,079,876,675.56. This trade represents a 2.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 620,904 shares of company stock worth $61,138,694. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTNT. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its stake in Fortinet by 188.9% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 416 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new position in Fortinet in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT stock opened at $98.28 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $102.15 and its 200 day moving average is $91.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.49, a PEG ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.97. Fortinet has a 12 month low of $54.57 and a 12 month high of $114.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. Fortinet had a return on equity of 256.53% and a net margin of 29.30%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortinet will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.