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

Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-three analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nineteen have issued a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $101.43.

Several research analysts have weighed in on FTNT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Fortinet from $114.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Fortinet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Fortinet from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Fortinet from $103.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Fortinet from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William H. Neukom bought 355 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $98.50 per share, for a total transaction of $34,967.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 150,245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,799,132.50. This trade represents a 0.24 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Keith Jensen sold 4,250 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $386,027.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,689 shares in the company, valued at $425,901.87. This trade represents a 47.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 67,860 shares of company stock worth $6,469,056. Company insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 73.3% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 409 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 900.0% during the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 500 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $107.66 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.38 and a 200 day moving average of $84.56. The company has a market cap of $82.52 billion, a PE ratio of 54.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. Fortinet has a 12-month low of $54.57 and a 12-month high of $110.53.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. Fortinet had a return on equity of 973.30% and a net margin of 26.79%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Fortinet will post 1.95 EPS for the current year.

About Fortinet

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.