Wunderlich Securities downgraded Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) from Buy to Hold and lowered the price target from $28.00 to $22.00. Wunderlich Securities noted, “We are downgrading shares of Fortinet (FTNT) from Buy to Hold in light of (1) difficult forward consensus estimates, (2) a change in channel tone from positive to mixed, and (3) our belief that the company will need to expend more in sales and marketing (S&M) in order to thwart competitive threats from louder UTM competitors. Though we continue to like the company and view its products as best-in-class across a number of metrics, we believe these factors necessitate a below-average EV/Sales multiple which, when applied, results in our new price target of $22 and according Hold rating.”
Fortinet closed at $21.05 on Monday.
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Tags: Wunderlich Securities
Posted in: Analyst Color, Downgrades, Analyst Ratings