Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Price Target Raised to $185.00

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $165.00 to $185.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FTNT. Weiss Ratings raised Fortinet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays set a $190.00 price target on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore set a $165.00 price target on Fortinet in a report on Thursday. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on Fortinet from $186.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.91.

Fortinet Trading Up 5.0%

Fortinet stock opened at $161.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $118.65 billion, a PE ratio of 57.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.09. Fortinet has a one year low of $70.12 and a one year high of $170.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $150.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.09.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Fortinet will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total transaction of $23,384,806.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,711,717,915.76. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO John Whittle sold 146,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.41, for a total value of $18,749,786.15. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 94,724 shares in the company, valued at $12,163,508.84. This trade represents a 60.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 318,387 shares of company stock valued at $43,403,063 over the last quarter. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Fortinet by 53.6% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 215 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Wexford Capital LP purchased a new position in Fortinet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 408.3% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 305 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 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

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.