Fortinet (FTNT) closed the most recent trading day at $101.95, moving +1.11% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.94%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.75%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.52%.
The network security company's stock has dropped by 3.6% in the past month, falling short of the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.9% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.67%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Fortinet in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $0.59, reflecting a 3.51% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.62 billion, indicating a 12.94% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
FTNT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $2.48 per share and revenue of $6.75 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +4.64% and +13.36%, respectively.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Fortinet. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.36% higher. Currently, Fortinet is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Fortinet is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 40.68. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 73.23, so one might conclude that Fortinet is trading at a discount comparatively.
It is also worth noting that FTNT currently has a PEG ratio of 3.03. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. FTNT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.03 as of yesterday's close.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 19, positioning it in the top 8% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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