Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total value of $220,269.42. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,927,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $882,456,986.13. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.
Fortinet Price Performance
Shares of Fortinet stock opened at $89.92 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.03 and a 200 day moving average of $81.76. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.12 and a 12 month high of $108.77. The firm has a market cap of $65.83 billion, a PE ratio of 37.00, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Fortinet had a return on equity of 124.21% and a net margin of 27.26%.The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.590-0.630 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.940-3.000 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Key Stories Impacting Fortinet
- Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target to $100 and kept a market‑perform view, which supports near‑term upside expectations and may attract buy-side interest. BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Price
- Positive Sentiment: Investors appear to be positioning ahead of Fortinet’s Q1 earnings and responding to recent company security updates (FortiGuard report, WEF participation), which has driven momentum and contributed to higher intraday flows. Fortinet jumps 3% as investors position for upcoming earnings and recent security-focused updates
- Positive Sentiment: Strength in the cyber security sector (e.g., CrowdStrike’s recent strong run tied to AI-driven demand) is a positive tailwind for Fortinet’s valuation and demand narrative. CrowdStrike Stock Rises 19% in 3 Months: Time to Hold or Book Profits?
- Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ken Xie sold 5,355 shares and VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares under pre‑arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested awards — these filings are expected and not an operational red flag, but may be interpreted by some as insider liquidity. SEC Form 4 — Ken Xie sale disclosure
- Neutral Sentiment: Several earnings previews and analyst notes frame Q1 as steady growth with strong SASE momentum but macro risks, so Q1 results/guidance will be the immediate catalyst. Fortinet Set to Report Q1 Earnings: What’s in Store for the Stock?
- Negative Sentiment: Institutional portfolio moves show notable trimming by large holders (e.g., UBS, Morgan Stanley reductions) and a mix of analyst downgrades/low price targets remain in the background, which could limit upside if earnings disappoint. Fortinet jumps 3% as investors position for upcoming earnings and recent security-focused updates
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Fortinet by 5.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 136,249 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $11,057,000 after purchasing an additional 6,478 shares during the period. Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter worth approximately $3,937,000. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 4.1% in the first quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 16,756 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,369,000 after buying an additional 655 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter worth approximately $220,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the first quarter worth approximately $24,228,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently commented on FTNT shares. TD Cowen raised Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Fortinet from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on Fortinet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Fortinet from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $88.38.
View Our Latest Research Report on Fortinet
About Fortinet
Fortinet, Inc (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a multinational cybersecurity company that develops and delivers integrated security solutions for enterprise, service provider and government customers worldwide. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, the company was co‑founded by Ken Xie and Michael Xie. Ken Xie serves as chairman and chief executive officer, and the company operates through a global sales, channel and services organization to support customers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia‑Pacific.
Fortinet’s product portfolio centers on network security appliances and software, with its FortiGate next‑generation firewalls and the FortiOS operating system forming a core platform.
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