Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Fortinet, Inc. by 35.3%, owning 380,157 shares valued at approximately $36.6 million after acquiring an additional 99,087 shares.
• Fortinet reported earnings of $0.58 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and showcasing a 13.8% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• Market analysts have mixed opinions, with one reiterating a "buy" rating and a target price of $125.00, while others have adjusted their price targets to $105.00 and $110.00.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 35.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 380,157 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 99,087 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Fortinet were worth $36,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Fortinet by 703.1% in 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. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Fortinet by 47.5% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 348 shares of the software maker's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mechanics Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Price Performance

NASDAQ:FTNT traded down $2.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,708,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,937,192. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.36. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.57 and a 52 week high of $114.82. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $103.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.52 billion, a PE ratio of 40.07, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.07.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 148.79% and a net margin of 30.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on FTNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Fortinet from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Fortinet from $123.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Monday, May 12th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Fortinet from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William H. Neukom acquired 335 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $104.22 per share, for a total transaction of $34,913.70. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 301,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,419,307.62. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

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.