Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) received a number of price target changes and ratings updates during the last week:

  • Fortinet was upgraded by analysts at Wunderlich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They now have a $28.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, “Fortinet, Inc. announced 3Q12 in line with consensus at the top and bottom lines. Excluding a one-time legal expense, EPS would have been a penny higher. Management also made slight downward revisions to its full-year revenue outlook and narrowed its full-year EPS expectations. Billings and cash flow guidance were unchanged. We don’t believe guidance foreshadows a material disruption to the company’s go-forward business outlook. Further, we believe the stock’s afterhours trading (indicated down 17.7%) reflects a severe mispricing that more than offweighs our short-term concerns around the company’s CFO transition.”
  • Fortinet had its price target lowered by analysts at Needham & Company from $34.00 to $24.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
  • Fortinet had its price target lowered by analysts at Northland Securities from $31.00 to $29.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
  • Fortinet ‘s EPS estimates were cut by analysts at Jefferies Group. They now have a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. They previously had a $29.00 price target on the stock. They wrote, “FTNT delivered an inline but somewhat disappointing report as the company saw exacerbated seasonality and a shortfall in China. Management spoke to no widespread growth concerns but to a handful of transactions that moved out of 3Q and is optimistic for what could be a product cycle-led reacceleration in growth into CY13. We have been neutral based on valuation and could become be more constructive as multiples reset.”
  • Fortinet had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Nomura. They now have a $28.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $32.00.
  • Fortinet had its price target lowered by analysts at Deutsche Bank from $32.00 to $30.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. They wrote, “Part macro and part execution; Cutting PT from $32 to $30. FTNT’s Q3’12 results came in slightly below investor expectations, as billings and revenues were slightly lower than the consensus numbers. The slowdown was driven by slow growth in AMRS and APAC. The company indicated that it had some organizational issues in China, and the company did not meet its internal targets in that region, negatively impacting the quarter to the tune of ~$2m. Billings in AMRS slowed down to 21% y/y compared to TTM average of 35%. Demand momentum in the infrastructure space appears to be slowing, as also seen from the results of some other companies in this space.”
  • Fortinet had its price target lowered by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus to $28.00. They now have an “in-line” rating on the stock. They wrote, “[W]e feel that the 17% sell off in the stock after hours is an overreaction. This feels to us as being analogous to last year when Fortinet’s 2Q11 results were in line and viewed as disappointing. Last year’s controversy revolved around Europe. This year’s controversy will likely revolve around whether Fortinet’s 3Q performance is indicative of potential changes in competitive dynamics. On this front, we don’t believe that anything has changed materially and feel that solid 4Q results could serve to quell any controversy. Overall, we view the company’s growth profile as being largely intact and view the weakness as a buying opportunity.”

Shares of Fortinet, Inc. traded down 3.03% during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $19.53. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.54 and a 52 week high of $28.82. The company has a market cap of $3.100 billion and a P/E ratio of 54.43.

Fortinet, Inc. (Fortinet) provides network security solutions. Through the Company’s products and subscription services, Fortinet provides integrated and protection against security threats for enterprises, service providers and governmental entities worldwide.