Yahoo Finance Fortinet Buys Bradford Networks, Upgrades FortiWeb Software
Fortinet Inc. FTNT recently announced the acquisition of Bradford Networks, a provider of network security by ensuring access control of all devices associated with the enterprise network.
The target provides “agentless” surveillance and assessment of end point devices including the ones enabled by Internet of Things (IoT) and caters to multiple industries such as manufacturing, government, retail and technology among others.
Per Ken Xie, Fortinet’s founder, chairman and CEO, the incorporation of Bradford Networks’ technology will aid Fortinet with micro-segmentation and continuous visibility, enabling the company to stop malicious devices accessing the network.
Additionally, a day after the acquisition, Fortinet announced the use of machine learning for detecting behavioral threats in web applications with the introduction of FortiWeb Web Application Firewall (WAF) software 6.0.
We believe the company’s inorganic and innovative ways of enhancing its solutions suite will be accretive for its top line, going ahead, and boost investors’ confidence. Notably, the company has gained 61.6% in the past year, outperforming the 22.1% rally of the industry it belongs to.
Fortinet’s Performance Looks Impressive
Product ramp ups, deal wins and continuous growth of the network security market have been aiding the company’s performance.
Fortinet reported first-quarter revenues of $399 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $390 million. The reported figure also came in 17.1% higher than the year-ago figure. Revenues also came ahead of the guided range of $387-$393 million. The company also provided impressive guidance for the current quarter as well as full year.
Being an eminent player in the Unified Threat Management (UTM) and cyber security industry, we believe the company with its wide range of solutions is well poised to grab the growth opportunity in the cyber security market, which is expected to witness CAGR of 11% in the 2017-2022 period, per a recent report by MarketsandMarkets.
Additionally, the strategy of focusing on selling subscription-based services is expected to enable this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock to generate more stable revenues and help in expanding margins going ahead.
Other Stocks to Consider
A few other top-ranked technology stocks include Twitter, Inc. TWTR, Western Digital Corporation WDC and NetApp, Inc. NTAP, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The long-term earnings growth rate for Twitter, Western Digital and NetApp is projected to be 23.1%, 19% and 12.01%, respectively.
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