Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FTNT. Truist Financial set a $183.00 price target on shares of Fortinet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of Fortinet from $186.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.91.

Fortinet Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $164.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.17. Fortinet has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $172.09. The stock has a market capitalization 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 (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 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 firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’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 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total transaction of $507,568.23. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9,918,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold 475,157 shares of company stock valued at $69,480,964 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Fortinet by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 215 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 3.0% during the first quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Fortinet by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,110 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Fortinet by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Fortinet

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.

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.