Intech Investment Management LLC Buys 274,854 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC has increased its stake in Fortinet, Inc. by 94.1%, holding a total of 567,020 shares valued at approximately $54.58 million.
• Company insiders, including VP Michael Xie and CEO Ken Xie, sold significant portions of their stock, with Xie selling 476,596 shares valued at around $46.93 million.
• Fortinet reported earnings of $0.64 per share in its latest quarterly report, surpassing analysts' expectations, while its stock has an average price target reduction across major analysts, now set at around $97.03.

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 94.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 567,020 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 274,854 shares during the quarter. Fortinet comprises 0.6% of Intech Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.07% of Fortinet worth $54,581,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Fortinet during the first quarter worth $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 703.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 257 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Fortinet by 2,184.6% during the 1st 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 boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 47.5% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of FTNT traded down $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $79.68. 4,424,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,396,253. The company has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.85. Fortinet, Inc. has a one year low of $70.12 and a one year high of $114.82.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (down from $78.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Erste Group Bank lowered Fortinet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Fortinet from $105.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Fortinet from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.