Fortinet (FTNT) closed the latest trading day at $99.31, indicating a -0.52% change from the previous session's end. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.47% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.31%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 0.51%.

The network security company's stock has climbed by 5.66% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.19% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.67%.

The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Fortinet in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on February 6, 2025. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.60, marking a 17.65% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $1.59 billion, indicating a 12.59% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Fortinet. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.46% higher. Fortinet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Looking at its valuation, Fortinet is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 41.85. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 31.57, so one might conclude that Fortinet is trading at a premium comparatively.

Also, we should mention that FTNT has a PEG ratio of 2.25. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. FTNT's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.23 as of yesterday's close.

The Internet - Software industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 39, positioning it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research