Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total transaction of $507,568.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9,918,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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.
Michael Xie also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Wednesday, June 3rd, Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of Fortinet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08.
Fortinet Stock Up 3.1%
Fortinet stock opened at $168.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Fortinet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.12 and a fifty-two week high of $170.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.55. The firm has a market cap of $123.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.07.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%.The firm's revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.97 earnings per share for the current year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FTNT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,152,917,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 87.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,651,024 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $788,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500,194 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Fortinet by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 11,506,173 shares of the software maker's stock worth $940,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,598,487 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Fortinet by 38.9% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,730,954 shares of the software maker's stock worth $613,915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,166,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 76.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,109,016 shares of the software maker's stock worth $326,297,000 after buying an additional 1,777,115 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Key Fortinet News
Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Raised guidance and strong results support the bull case. Fortinet reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $2.05 billion, up 25.6% year over year, while earnings exceeded analyst expectations. Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $8.02 billion-$8.18 billion and projected third-quarter revenue of $2.01 billion-$2.10 billion. Fortinet Is Up 8.8% After Raising 2026 Revenue Guidance and Launching New AI-Focused Firewall
- Positive Sentiment: AI product launch adds a growth catalyst. The new FortiGate 1200G series with FortiSASE Outpost targets high-performance, AI-focused and sovereignty-sensitive security deployments across hybrid environments, strengthening Fortinet’s positioning in an expanding cybersecurity market.
- Positive Sentiment: Growth-focused commentary remains favorable. Zacks and related market coverage characterize Fortinet as a highly ranked growth stock, citing above-average financial growth and the potential for continued market outperformance. Why Growth Investors Should Buy Fortinet Now
- Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling appears administrative rather than bearish. CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares, while VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares. Both transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards. The sales represented only 0.30% and 0.03% of their respective holdings.
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation and execution risks could limit upside. Baird reaffirmed a Hold rating and $165 price target, citing margin and balance-sheet concerns. With the stock trading near its 52-week high and at a high earnings multiple, investors may be sensitive to any slowdown in growth or profitability. Fortinet Margin and Balance-Sheet Risks Cap Upside
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Fortinet from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.91.
View Our Latest Research Report on Fortinet
Fortinet Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
