Nomura Raises Price Target On Fortinet On 4Q'14 Earnings Takeaways

In a report published Thursday, Nomura analyst Frederick Grieb reiterated a Buy rating on

, and raised the price target from $34.00 to $35.00. In the report, Nomura noted, “Fortinet reported F4Q'14 billings of $283mn, representing 35% yoy growth, above the Street estimate of 19% yoy growth. Fortinet has seen a strong acceleration in its billings growth over the past year, from a combination of a recent product refresh, increased sales and marketing spend and increased customer focus on security in the wake of several high profile security breaches. That said, Fortinet has provided soft guidance of 20% billings growth with 20% operating margins for four to five years out. We continue to rate Fortinet Buy, remaining positive with a target price of $35 (up from $34, previously), representing 14% upside potential to aftermarket indications. Fortinet currently trades at 23x our CY'15 uFCF estimate, below security software peers at 32x.” Fortinet closed on Wednesday at $31.40.