Cybersecurity standout Fortinet's job is to catch the bad guys in cyberspace. And it's a leader in its group as it continues to report strong profit and sales growth. It's growing quickly as companies respond to rising cyberattacks due to geopolitics and online identity and accounts thefts. Fortinet is slated to report first quarter earnings results on May 4, and Fortinet stock is currently about 18% under a 371.87 entry.
Bullishly, the current formation for Fortinet stock is a first-stage consolidation. First and second stage bases are more likely to succeed and lead to a breakout than later stage ones.
Fortinet Stock Lifted By Strong, Steady Profit Growth
Earnings for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company grew 16% last quarter to $1.23 per shares. It was the unified threat management systems provider's fourth quarter in a row of double-digit EPS growth ranging from 13% to 35%. Similarly, sales growth has ranged from 23% to 33% the past year. In its most recent quarter sales grew 29% to $963.6 million.
Fortinet plans to announce first quarter earnings results after the market close on May 4. Analysts are looking for EPS to dip 1% vs. a year ago for the quarter amid tough comps vs. the year-ago quarter. And they expect Fortinet earnings to climb 24% for the full year.
Fortinet stock's B- Accumulation/Distribution Rating, on an A+ to E scale with A+ tops, shows that institutional investors such as mutual funds and ETFs are big buyers of its stock. Fortinet stock has an excellent 97 Composite Rating, of 99, and boasts a 94 EPS Rating.
The IBD Composite Rating helps investors easily measure the quality of a stock's fundamental and technical metrics. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better.
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Peers In Hot Cybersecurity Group
Fortinet stock earns the No. 2 rank among its peers in the Computer Software-Security industry group. Qualys is the top-ranked stock in the group. HireRight, Mimecast and Palo Alto Networks are also in the top 5.
Buying just before a stock reports can be risky. You don't know how the stock will report and how the market will react, and you don't have enough time to build a profit cushion. You can reduce your risk by waiting to see the actual numbers and the market's reaction.
Note: Dates for earnings reports are subject to change. Check the company's website for any updates.
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