Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $104.72, but opened at $109.49. Fortinet shares last traded at $106.97, with a volume of 3,289,914 shares.

The software maker reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. Fortinet had a net margin of 26.79% and a return on equity of 973.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on FTNT. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Fortinet from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Fortinet from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $120.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nineteen have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given 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 target price of $99.23.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other news, CEO Ken Xie sold 23,044 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.32, for a total transaction of $2,150,466.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,039,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,576,384,617.36. This represents a 0.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William H. Neukom bought 355 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $98.50 per share, with a total value of $34,967.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 150,245 shares in the company, valued at $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 67,860 shares of company stock valued at $6,469,056. Insiders own 18.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 409 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 900.0% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 500 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Trading Up 0.1 %

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 capitalization of $80.38 billion, a PE ratio of 52.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.21.

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.