After it was reported that FireEye is exploring a possible sale to a private equity buyer, Dougherty analyst Catharine Trebnick said she was "not surprised" and that a sale would "make a lot of sense" given that the company is going through a transformation to cloud services. While the media report on the potential sale suggests the most likely buyer is a private equity firm, Trebnick thinks a strategic buyer - either one with a professional service segment seeking to expand its Federal presence or a buyer from the Federal side looking for a strong cyber security practice - could also be interested in acquiring FireEye. Trebnick has a Buy rating and $18 price target on FireEye shares, which gained 60c, or 4.5%, yesterday to close at $13.82.