Ellsworth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Ellsworth Advisors LLC has acquired around 49,910 shares of Fortinet, Inc. worth approximately $4.8 million, making it the 29th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Fortinet's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.64, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $1.63 billion and a yearly growth of 13.6%.
• Several banks have lowered their target price for Fortinet, with Wells Fargo reducing it to $85 and Barclays to $90, while the consensus rating remains at "Hold."

Ellsworth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 49,910 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $4,804,000. Fortinet makes up approximately 1.3% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FTNT. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Fortinet by 703.1% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 257 shares of the software maker's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Fortinet during the first quarter worth $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Fortinet during the first quarter worth $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Fortinet by 2,184.6% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 297 shares of the software maker's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Fortinet by 47.5% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the software maker's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 158,486 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total value of $15,607,701.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,391,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,061,072,243.92. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 476,596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total value of $46,935,174.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,730,560 shares in the company, valued at $958,265,548.80. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Fortinet Price Performance

Fortinet stock opened at $79.48 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $90.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.32. The stock has a market cap of $60.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.12. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $114.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The software maker reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 111.46% and a net margin of 30.60%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FTNT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Fortinet from $110.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Fortinet from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp cut Fortinet from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Fortinet from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Fortinet from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.03.

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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