On September 19, 2023, it was reported that Buckley Wealth Management LLC had acquired a new stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) during the second quarter of the year. According to the company’s recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Buckley Wealth Management purchased 3,054 shares of Fortinet’s stock, which were valued at approximately $231,000.
Fortinet recently released its earnings results on August 3rd, announcing earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38 for the quarter. This exceeded analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.04. The company generated revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, slightly below the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion.
Analyzing its financial performance further, Fortinet demonstrated a net margin of 21.24% and negative return on equity (ROE) of 698.28%. However, despite these figures, revenue increased by 25.5% compared to the same quarter last year when the company posted EPS of $0.18.
Analysts predict that Fortinet will post an EPS of 1.24 for the current fiscal year.
Several research analyst reports have covered FTNT’s performance recently.
The Goldman Sachs Group issued a report on July 25th raising their target price on Fortinet from $77.00 to $86.00 and labeling the stock as a “buy.” Citigroup also provided their insights by reducing their price target from $73.00 to $70.00 while maintaining a “buy” rating for Fortinet on August 29th.
Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Fortinet with a price target set at $90.00 on September 13th.
Contrarily, TD Cowen downgraded Fortinet from an “outperform” rating to “market perform” and reduced their price objective from $90.00 to $70.00 on August 4th.
Raymond James also lowered their target price to $70.00 from $75.00 while maintaining an “outperform” rating on the stock on the same day.
Overall, the sentiment surrounding Fortinet’s stock seems positive, with ten equities research analysts rating it as a hold and twenty-four assigning it a buy rating. According to Bloomberg, the company currently holds an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and has a consensus price target of $73.10.
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Ownership and Insider Trading Activities at Fortinet: Surprising Developments and Intriguing Transactions
Fortinet, Inc., the software maker known for its cybersecurity solutions, has recently seen some interesting developments in its ownership and insider trading. Institutional investors like ST Germain D J Co. Inc., SJS Investment Consulting Inc., North Star Investment Management Corp., Retirement Group LLC, and Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC have all made notable modifications to their holdings of Fortinet.
Intriguingly, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet shares during the fourth quarter of last year. The value of this position was estimated at $26,000. Similarly, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. experienced a significant boost in its holdings during the first quarter of this year. The firm now owns 430 shares of Fortinet stock worth approximately $29,000, after acquiring an additional 409 shares.
Another institutional investor that demonstrated increased interest in Fortinet is North Star Investment Management Corp., which ramped up its stake by 85.1% during the first quarter by acquiring an additional 200 shares worth $29,000. Retirement Group LLC also entered the scene as it acquired a new stake in Fortinet valued at around $30,000 during the fourth quarter of last year.
Adding to these perplexing developments was another intriguing acquisition made by Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC during the same period as Retirement Group LLC’s investment decision. This acquisition was worth approximately $31,000 and added to the increasing number of institutional investors taking positions in Fortinet.
Considering these changes, one can surmise that institutional investors currently hold around 65% of Fortinet’s outstanding stock. While this represents a majority ownership in the company by these entities, it is important to note that there are certainly other investors involved who may not fall under the “institutional” category.
Switching gears from ownership to insider trading activities at Fortinet, Chief Financial Officer Keith Jensen was recently involved in an interesting transaction involving his company’s stock. On Friday, August 18th, Jensen sold 5,100 shares at an average price of $57.20 per share, resulting in a total value of $291,720. After the sale, Jensen’s direct ownership decreased to 4,578 shares with an estimated value of $261,861.60.
These insider trading activities were duly reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) through a filing accessible on its official website. It is worth noting that this was not Jensen’s sole transaction involving the company’s stock; he had also sold the same number of shares on the same day at the same average price.
Another intriguing decision made by an insider was Director William H. Neukom’s purchase of 552 shares of Fortinet stock on Friday, September 8th. Neukom acquired these shares at an average cost of $63.28 per share, amounting to a total transaction of $34,930.56. Following this acquisition, Neukom now owns a total of 291,551 shares estimated to be worth approximately $18,449,347.28.
In light of these insider transactions within the past three months alone – totaling 67,218 sold shares and worth around $4,429,412 – it can be deduced that insiders currently hold around 17.54% ownership in Fortinet.
Fortinet stock opened at $60.45 on Tuesday and boasts a market capitalization of approximately $47.47 billion. With a PE ratio standing at 45.45 and a price-to-earnings growth ratio set at 2.69 – signaling strong investor interest in future growth prospects – the company has been attracting attention from investors looking for opportunities in the software industry.
It is important to note that despite these changes in ownership and insider trading activities at Fortinet, its operational performance remains unaffected as evidenced by its stable stock prices. As with any investment decision, potential investors should conduct thorough research and analyze all available information before making a decision regarding Fortinet stock.
In conclusion, while Fortinet continues to make strides in the cybersecurity industry, recent developments in ownership and insider trading activities have sparked ample interest among institutional investors and market observers. These perplexing changes add a layer of complexity to the overall stock dynamics, signaling that there may be more at stake than meets the eye.
