William Blair analyst Jonathan Ho has maintained their neutral stance on FTNT stock, giving a Hold rating today.
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Jonathan Ho has given his Hold rating due to a combination of factors affecting Fortinet’s outlook. Although the company reported strong first-quarter results, surpassing expectations in revenue and earnings per share, its guidance for the upcoming quarter fell short of consensus estimates. This discrepancy is partly attributed to macroeconomic uncertainties, which have made sales representatives cautious about committing to sales targets, and challenges arising from Fortinet’s recent acquisition of Lacework.
Furthermore, while Fortinet anticipates a significant firewall refresh cycle due to end-of-support deadlines by mid-2026, the timing and scale of this cycle remain uncertain. Competitors are actively targeting Fortinet’s customer base, potentially converting hardware to virtual solutions or firewalls as a service. Despite these pressures, Fortinet’s sequential decline in maintenance and services revenue raises questions about the expected ramp-up in the firewall replacement cycle. Jonathan Ho’s Hold rating reflects these uncertainties and the inherent challenges in predicting customer behavior and timing.
In another report released today, RBC Capital also maintained a Hold rating on the stock with a $105.00 price target.