Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 9,356 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. by 15.5%, selling 9,356 shares, leaving them with a total of 50,937 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• Insider transactions reveal Director William H. Neukom purchased 335 shares, while Vice President Michael Xie sold 476,596 shares, indicating mixed sentiment among company insiders.
• Equities analysts have issued revised price targets for Fortinet, with several firms lowering their targets, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $97.93.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,937 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 9,356 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Fortinet were worth $4,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Berger Financial Group Inc bought a new stake in Fortinet during the first quarter worth about $5,512,000. Fiduciary Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter valued at about $220,000. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Fortinet by 17.1% during the 1st quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 42,414 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,083,000 after buying an additional 6,202 shares in the last quarter. NWK Group Inc. bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth about $6,901,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Fortinet by 56.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,767 shares of the software maker's stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fortinet Stock Up 0.2%

FTNT traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.57. 13,421,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,839,177. The stock's 50-day moving average is $101.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.49. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.40 and a 1-year high of $114.82. The stock has a market cap of $57.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Fortinet from $110.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Fortinet from $110.00 to $95.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut Fortinet from an "overweight" rating to a "reduce" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $110.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Fortinet from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-five have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William H. Neukom bought 335 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $104.22 per share, with a total value of $34,913.70. Following the acquisition, the director owned 301,471 shares in the company, valued at $31,419,307.62. This trade represents a 0.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 476,596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.48, for a total transaction of $46,935,174.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9,730,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $958,265,548.80. This trade represents a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Fortinet 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.