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Fortinet (FTNT) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know

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In the latest trading session, Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) closed at $50.42, marking a -0.79% move from the previous day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.72%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.45%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.27%.

Coming into today, shares of the network security company had lost 2.77% in the past month. In that same time, the Computer and Technology sector lost 14.29%, while the S&P 500 lost 9.06%.

Fortinet will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. In that report, analysts expect Fortinet to post earnings of $0.27 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 35%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $1.12 billion, up 29.47% from the year-ago period.

FTNT's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $4.38 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +31.25% and +31.06%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Fortinet. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.58% higher. Fortinet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

In terms of valuation, Fortinet is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 48.47. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 43.86, so we one might conclude that Fortinet is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that FTNT has a PEG ratio of 2.69. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Security was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.47 at yesterday's closing price.

The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 69, putting it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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