52,115 Shares in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) Acquired by Axecap Investments LLC

Axecap Investments LLC bought a new position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 52,115 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $5,017,000. Fortinet makes up about 4.3% of Axecap Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Fortinet by 703.1% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 257 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Fortinet in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its holdings in Fortinet by 188.9% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 416 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Graney & King LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FTNT shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Fortinet from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wolfe Research began coverage on Fortinet in a report on Monday, May 12th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Fortinet in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.80.

Insider Activity

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $376,266.06. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,000,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,167,217,215.48. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 158,488 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.10, for a total value of $16,815,576.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,391,879 shares in the company, valued at $5,452,678,361.90. This trade represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of Fortinet stock opened at $102.02 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $100.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.97. The company has a market capitalization of $78.09 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.57 and a 52 week high of $114.82.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.05. Fortinet had a return on equity of 256.53% and a net margin of 29.30%. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

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.