Fortinet (FTNT) Shares Sold Off on Missed Expectations

Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Mid Cap Strategy” third-quarter 2023 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The Mid Cap Composite declined 8.01% net of fees in the third quarter, trailing the Russell Midcap Growth Index’s -5.22% return. A combination of negative stock selection and sector allocation effects resulted in the underperformance of the strategy in the quarter.  In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2023.

Conestoga Mid Cap Composite highlighted stocks like Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) in the third quarter 2023 investor letter. Based in Sunnyvale, California, Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) offers cybersecurity and networking solutions. On November 15, 2023, Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) stock closed at $51.06 per share. One-month return of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) was -12.03%, and its shares lost 6.13% of their value over the last 52 weeks. Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) has a market capitalization of $38.987 billion.

Conestoga Mid Cap Composite made the following comment about Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:

“Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT): FTNT is the worldwide market share leader in network security firewalls (by units). During the quarter, FTNT shares sold off significantly as reported billings growth missed expectations, resulting in considerably lower 2023/2024 guidance. Currently, the company is facing higher cancellation rates and elongated deal cycles (particularly at the Enterprise level) in addition to a “digestion period” after three consecutive years of elevated growth. We believe FTNT management may buy back shares at a more aggressive pace and reset medium-term expectations for growth.”

A close-up of a user authenticating into a secure network using a two-factor authentication process.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 49 hedge fund portfolios held Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) at the end of second quarter which was 45 in the previous quarter.

We discussed Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) in another article and shared the list of best technology stocks to buy according to giant quant hedge fund. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2023 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.