Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $90.00 to $103.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the software maker's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.33% from the stock's previous close.

FTNT has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Fortinet from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Fortinet from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $68.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $90.87.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT traded down $4.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $93.36. The company had a trading volume of 5,690,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,406,878. The business has a fifty day moving average of $89.45 and a 200-day moving average of $74.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $71.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.15, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.00. Fortinet has a 12 month low of $54.57 and a 12 month high of $100.59.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In related news, CFO Keith Jensen sold 4,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total transaction of $386,027.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,689 shares of the company's stock, valued at $425,901.87. This trade represents a 47.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William H. Neukom purchased 355 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $98.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,967.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 150,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,799,132.50. The trade was a 0.24 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,207 shares of company stock worth $3,983,037. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 2.2% during the second quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 25,631 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,545,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Fortinet by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 517,899 shares of the software maker's stock worth $31,214,000 after acquiring an additional 30,576 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 177,401 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $10,692,000 after purchasing an additional 7,128 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Fortinet by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,672 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the second quarter worth approximately $375,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.