Fortinet Shows Strong Performance, Outpacing Competitors in Network Security

Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) is a leading provider of network security solutions based in Sunnyvale, California. The company specializes in creating security appliances and unified threat management solutions for businesses, service providers, and government clients. With a market capitalization of $74.4 billion, Fortinet operates extensively in North America, Latin America, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific.

As a large-cap stock, Fortinet is recognized for its significant size and impact on the software infrastructure sector, fitting neatly into the category of companies valued at $10 billion or more.

Recently, Fortinet’s stock dipped by 2.5% from its 52-week peak of $100.59 achieved on November 13. Despite this setback, FTNT stock has surged 27.9% over the past three months, significantly outperforming the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), which rose by 10% during the same timeframe.

Looking at a longer timeline, Fortinet’s stock performance is even more encouraging. It has soared by 82.8% in the last 52 weeks and achieved a 67.5% gain in 2024. These figures surpass the XLK’s performance, which increased by 24.4% this year and 27.1% over the past year.

To solidify this bullish trend, FTNT has maintained trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early August.

On November 7, Fortinet announced its Q3 earnings, resulting in a more than 9% surge in its stock price on the following trading day. The company reported revenue of $1.51 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. Fortinet also raised its fiscal year 2024 revenue outlook to a range of $5.86 billion to $5.92 billion, up from a previous forecast of $5.8 billion to $5.9 billion. This revised guidance aligns with the average analyst estimate of $5.86 billion.

In comparison, Fortinet’s competitor, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW), experienced gains of 32.9% over the past 52 weeks and 35.1% in 2024, falling short of Fortinet’s impressive performance during the same periods.

Among the 37 analysts who cover FTNT stock, the consensus rating stands at “Moderate Buy.” Although FTNT is currently trading above its mean price target of $95.13, the highest target on Wall Street of $111 indicates a potential upside of 13.2% from present price levels.

On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.