Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Lazard Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 48,123 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 13,362 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $3,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at $585,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Fortinet by 29.1% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Fortinet in the second quarter worth $1,136,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Fortinet by 27.4% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 144,989 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $15,328,000 after buying an additional 31,202 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: Fortinet reported earnings of $0.90 per share versus the $0.75 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 25.6% year over year to $2.05 billion, above the $1.89 billion forecast. Product revenue reportedly increased 52%, and billings climbed 33% to $2.37 billion. Fortinet lifts annual revenue forecast on strong cybersecurity demand
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance raised: Management lifted its full-year 2026 revenue outlook, signaling confidence that enterprise spending on security will remain strong amid rising data-security incidents. Analysts also highlighted pricing strength and solid execution. Fortinet raises revenue outlook after strong Q2 and new AI product push
• Positive Sentiment: AI and platform momentum: Demand for Fortinet’s AI-security offerings, SASE Firewall, security platforms and operational-technology products is providing additional growth catalysts as companies expand AI infrastructure. FTNT Q2 earnings call highlights SASE Firewall growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases: Rosenblatt raised its target to $195 and BTIG raised its target to $203, both with Buy ratings. Citigroup also increased its target to $185, reinforcing the favorable near-term reaction to the earnings report. Analysts boost forecasts following upbeat Q2 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its target to $160 but retained a Neutral rating, while William Blair maintained a Hold rating, citing questions about how durable Fortinet’s pricing and growth advantages will be.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk after the stock’s substantial multiyear gain. At roughly 57 times earnings, shares may already reflect considerable optimism, leaving less room for disappointment. Fortinet stock seems stretched following its five-year run

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTNT opened at $161.95 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.28. Fortinet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.12 and a fifty-two week high of $170.35. The stock has a market cap of $118.65 billion, a PE ratio of 57.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $150.50 and a 200-day moving average of $109.09.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%.The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Whittle sold 146,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.41, for a total value of $18,749,786.15. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,163,508.84. This represents a 60.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9,923,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,453,213,448.40. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 318,387 shares of company stock worth $43,403,063 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $135.00 price target on Fortinet and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday. HSBC cut Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $102.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $125.00 target price on shares of Fortinet and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.91.

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.