Van ECK Associates Corp Reduces Stock Position in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 73.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,992,788 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 5,489,574 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.27% of Fortinet worth $306,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,561,650,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,152,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Fortinet during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,432,842,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $979,062,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Fortinet by 87.4% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,651,024 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $788,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500,194 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Fortinet Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $166.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.80 billion, a PE ratio of 58.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.28. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.55 and a 52-week high of $173.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $157.68 and a 200 day moving average of $120.40.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 329,142 shares of company stock worth $50,731,178. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet Federal, a wholly owned subsidiary, earned CMMC Level 2 certification after validating 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls. The certification could improve Fortinet’s credibility with U.S. government agencies and defense contractors seeking compliant cybersecurity providers. Fortinet Federal’s New CMMC Level 2 Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to platform adoption, artificial-intelligence security products, product expansion and CMMC-related demand as potential growth drivers across enterprise and government markets. Fortinet Stock Surges on Security Platform Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A new multi-year sponsorship agreement with Stanford Athletics supports Fortinet’s brand visibility, although the financial impact is likely modest compared with its core business. Stanford Athletics and Fortinet Sponsorship
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet recently moved above its 20-day moving average, signaling short-term technical momentum. However, technical support can also encourage profit-taking after a large advance. Fortinet Crosses Above Its 20-Day Moving Average
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key overhang. With the stock near its annual high and trading at roughly 58 times earnings, investors may be demanding continued strong execution, leaving limited room for disappointment. Fortinet Valuation Leaves Limited Margin of Safety
• Negative Sentiment: Insider-trading data shows executives made no open-market purchases and reported multiple sales over the past six months. In addition, the reported median analyst price target of $115 is below recent trading levels, reinforcing concerns that expectations may have become excessive.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wolfe Research set a $175.00 target price on Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Fortinet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus 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.