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Will Fortinet (FTNT) be able to Exceed Margin Expectations in 2024?

Conestoga Capital Advisors, an asset management company, released its “Mid-Cap Strategy” first-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. It was a solid quarter as many asset classes moved higher. The S&P Index, which tracks the performance of large-cap stocks, reached an all-time high on March 28th, and the Russell 2000 Index, which tracks the performance of small-cap stocks, appreciated to within 10% of their peak levels. The Mid Cap Composite rose 5.44% net of fees in the first quarter, compared to a 9.50% return for the Russell Midcap Growth Index. Stock selection was the leading performance detractor in the quarter. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.

Conestoga Capital Advisors Mid-Cap Strategy highlighted stocks like Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT), with a market capitalization of $46.547 billion, is a global provider of cybersecurity and convergence of networking and security solutions. One-month return of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) was -4.84%, and its shares gained 9.29% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On May 23, 2024, Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) stock closed at $60.93 per share.

Conestoga Capital Advisors Mid-Cap Strategy stated the following regarding Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT): FTNT is the worldwide market share leader in network security firewalls (by units). During the quarter, FTNT reported a significant beat in billings, showing early gains from the strategic pivot to non-firewall solutions (SASE, SecOps) announced late last year. This follows two consecutive disappointing quarters, and the stock has nearly recovered to 2023 highs. While FTNT is still digesting a pull forward of product-led growth, the recovery appears to be on the right track and should drive higher than expected margins in 2024.”

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

In the first quarter Fortinet, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:FTNT) operating margin increased to a record of 28.5% and total revenue increased 7% to 1.35 billion. Fortinet, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:FTNT) trailing 12-month revenue is 5.4 billion.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 44 hedge fund portfolios held Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) at the end of the first quarter which was 42 in the previous quarter.

In another article, we discussed Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) and shared the list of best artificial intelligence stocks to buy according to Wall Street analysts. Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) was a bottom contributor of Conestoga Capital Advisors in the previous quarter. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as Microsoft but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks.

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

The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

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