Ken Xie Sells 161,482 Shares of Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock

Posted by Brian Himes on Aug 6th, 2026

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.

Ken Xie also recently made the following trade(s):

On Tuesday, June 2nd, Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of Fortinet stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total value of $23,384,806.56.

Fortinet Trading Down 2.4%

FTNT stock opened at $164.26 on Thursday. Fortinet, Inc. has a one year low of $70.12 and a one year high of $172.09. The stock has a market cap of $120.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $152.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.17. 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 (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Equities analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTNT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Arete Research set a $104.00 target price on Fortinet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. HSBC cut Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $102.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, June 29th. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on Fortinet and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $125.00 price target on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.91.

Read Our Latest Research Report on FTNT

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter worth $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 purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

About Fortinet

(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.