Insight Holdings Group LLC Takes Position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)

Insight Holdings Group LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 115,700 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $6,772,000. Fortinet comprises 0.2% of Insight Holdings Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. American National Bank lifted its position in Fortinet by 443.6% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 598 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 23,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.40, for a total value of $1,691,751.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,625,005 shares in the company, valued at $3,471,825,357. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 24,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.48, for a total transaction of $1,593,300.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,867,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $700,705,320.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 23,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.40, for a total value of $1,691,751.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,625,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,471,825,357. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,396 shares of company stock worth $4,838,534. 18.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Fortinet Price Performance

Fortinet stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.35. 2,653,983 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,588,135. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.38, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.43. The company has a market capitalization of $46.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.10, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.08. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.12 and a 12-month high of $81.24.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The software maker reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.05. Fortinet had a negative return on equity of 2,235.48% and a net margin of 22.23%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. Fortinet’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on FTNT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Fortinet from $70.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. HSBC reduced their price target on Fortinet from $57.00 to $54.00 and set a “reduce” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Fortinet from $82.00 to $70.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Fortinet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $70.10.

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.