Michael Xie Sells 3,121 Shares of Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total value of $507,568.23. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,918,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $572,141.08.

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of FTNT stock opened at $164.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $120.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.84, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.07. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $70.12 and a 12 month high of $172.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.17.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. The company’s revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. Research analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

More Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong earnings and raised guidance support the growth story. Fortinet reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $2.05 billion, up 25.6% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $0.90 per share versus the $0.75 analyst consensus. Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $8.02 billion-$8.18 billion and forecast third-quarter revenue of $2.01 billion-$2.10 billion. Fortinet guidance and AI firewall article
• Positive Sentiment: AI-focused security products and rising cyber threats provide potential catalysts. Fortinet launched the FortiGate 1200G series with FortiSASE Outpost for high-performance, AI-focused and sovereignty-sensitive hybrid environments. Separately, reported AI-powered “vishing” attacks targeting major financial firms underscore the growing need for cybersecurity services. AI-powered vishing cyberattacks article
• Positive Sentiment: Quantitative screens remain favorable. Zacks added FTNT to its Rank #1 “Strong Buy” and momentum lists, while other coverage identified Fortinet as a growth-at-a-reasonable-price candidate because of its above-average financial growth. Zacks momentum stocks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales were limited and appear administrative. CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares and VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested equity awards. The transactions reduced their holdings by only 0.30% and 0.03%, respectively.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and analyst caution may be encouraging investors to lock in gains. FTNT trades at a high earnings multiple after a substantial run, while its average analyst rating remains “Hold” with a consensus price target below recent trading levels. Deutsche Bank and Baird maintained Hold ratings, and Baird cited margin and balance-sheet risks with a $165 target.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on FTNT shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho set a $125.00 price objective on Fortinet and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial set a $183.00 target price on Fortinet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $175.00 price target on Fortinet and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortinet currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.91.

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 53.6% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 215 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Fortinet by 408.3% in the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 305 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Company Profile

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.