Fortinet (FTNT) Competitors

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, profitability, risk, earnings and community ranking.

Which has more risk & volatility, FTNT or NOW?

Fortinet has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ServiceNow has a beta of 0.99, indicating that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to FTNT or NOW?

In the previous week, ServiceNow had 41 more articles in the media than Fortinet. MarketBeat recorded 77 mentions for ServiceNow and 36 mentions for Fortinet. Fortinet's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat ServiceNow's score of 1.24 indicating that Fortinet is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Fortinet	30 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
ServiceNow	56 Very Positive mention(s)	11 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FTNT or NOW?

83.7% of Fortinet shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.2% of ServiceNow shares are owned by institutional investors. 18.0% of Fortinet shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of ServiceNow shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend FTNT or NOW?

Fortinet currently has a consensus price target of $103.72, indicating a potential downside of 5.72%. ServiceNow has a consensus price target of $1,129.72, indicating a potential upside of 20.47%. Given ServiceNow's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ServiceNow is more favorable than Fortinet.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fortinet	1 Sell rating(s)	19 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.38
ServiceNow	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	25 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.90

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer FTNT or NOW?

ServiceNow received 79 more outperform votes than Fortinet when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 75.22% of users gave ServiceNow an outperform vote while only 65.91% of users gave Fortinet an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Fortinet	Outperform Votes 1311 65.91%	Underperform Votes 678 34.09%
ServiceNow	Outperform Votes 1390 75.22%	Underperform Votes 458 24.78%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FTNT or NOW?

Fortinet has higher earnings, but lower revenue than ServiceNow. Fortinet is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ServiceNow, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fortinet	$5.96B	14.16	$1.75B	$2.26	48.68
ServiceNow	$10.98B	17.59	$1.43B	$6.83	137.30

Is FTNT or NOW more profitable?

Fortinet has a net margin of 29.30% compared to ServiceNow's net margin of 12.97%. Fortinet's return on equity of 256.53% beat ServiceNow's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fortinet	29.30%	256.53%	19.07%
ServiceNow	12.97%	17.11%	8.18%

Summary

ServiceNow beats Fortinet on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.