Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Price Up 2.2%

Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) shot up 2.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $71.54 and last traded at $71.25. 2,050,038 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 5,900,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Fortinet from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Fortinet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Fortinet from $70.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fortinet from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.31.

Fortinet Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $53.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.72.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. Fortinet had a negative return on equity of 2,235.48% and a net margin of 22.23%. The company’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 24,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.11, for a total value of $1,386,590.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,847,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $608,626,179.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director William H. Neukom bought 586 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.55 per share, with a total value of $34,896.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 295,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,613,579.90. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 24,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.11, for a total value of $1,386,590.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,847,018 shares in the company, valued at $608,626,179.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,915 shares of company stock worth $5,401,638. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Winthrop Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Fortinet by 135.6% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 377 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.