Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Takes Position in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Zuckerman Investment Group LLC has acquired a new position in Fortinet, purchasing 5,057 shares valued at approximately $487,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Fortinet reported earnings of $0.64 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $1.63 billion, reflecting a 13.6% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Fortinet's stock, with two strong buy ratings and an average price target of $97.40, indicating a generally cautious outlook following recent downgrades.

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,057 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $487,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Fortinet by 703.1% during the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 257 shares of the software maker's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT stock opened at $77.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $59.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.88. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $114.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 111.46% and a net margin of 30.60%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on FTNT shares. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target (down from $125.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp downgraded Fortinet from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Fortinet from $115.00 to $85.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. DZ Bank raised Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Fortinet from $105.00 to $78.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.40.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other news, Director William H. Neukom acquired 335 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $104.22 per share, with a total value of $34,913.70. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 301,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 476,596 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $958,265,548.80. The trade was a 4.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTNT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.