Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on FTNT. Guggenheim downgraded Fortinet from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Fortinet from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Fortinet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Fortinet from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.31.

Fortinet Stock Performance

FTNT stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $76.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,054,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,790,611. The company has a market capitalization of $58.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.48. Fortinet has a fifty-two week low of $44.12 and a fifty-two week high of $77.18.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Fortinet had a negative return on equity of 2,235.48% and a net margin of 22.23%. Fortinet's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Fortinet will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Fortinet news, Director William H. Neukom purchased 586 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $59.55 per share, with a total value of $34,896.30. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 295,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,613,579.90. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Keith Jensen sold 18,701 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.68, for a total transaction of $1,116,075.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,663 shares of the company's stock, valued at $278,287.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Neukom bought 586 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $59.55 per share, with a total value of $34,896.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 295,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,613,579.90. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 115,608 shares of company stock valued at $7,132,649 in the last three months. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fortinet by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 7,504 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortinet by 2.2% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 8,260 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in shares of Fortinet by 22.4% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 984 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 1.7% during the second quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 10,650 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Fortinet by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,319 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,456,000 after purchasing an additional 185 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.

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