Cantor Fitzgerald Lowers Earnings Estimates for Fortinet

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their FY2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Fortinet in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst J. Ruykhaver now forecasts that the software maker will earn $2.06 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.12. Cantor Fitzgerald has a "Neutral" rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Fortinet's current full-year earnings is $2.09 per share.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.07. Fortinet had a return on equity of 256.53% and a net margin of 29.30%.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FTNT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Fortinet from $123.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Fortinet from $85.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Fortinet from $97.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $123.00 price target on Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.77.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT stock traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.04. 1,800,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,065,338. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $98.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 1.09. Fortinet has a 12-month low of $54.57 and a 12-month high of $114.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 703.1% in 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 during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Keith Jensen sold 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.56, for a total transaction of $2,668,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $537,820.16. This represents a 83.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 206,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total value of $19,967,580.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,391,879 shares in the company, valued at $4,981,414,831.47. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 576,944 shares of company stock worth $56,944,064. 18.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.