Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 74,705 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $11,474,000.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,561,650,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fortinet during the fourth quarter worth $1,152,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Fortinet during the second quarter worth $1,432,842,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Fortinet during the second quarter valued at $979,062,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Fortinet by 87.4% during the first 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday, July 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho set a $125.00 target price on shares of Fortinet and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Fortinet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.91.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total value of $507,568.23. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,918,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,613,022,886.80. This trade represents a 0.03% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 329,142 shares of company stock valued at $50,731,178 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.
Trending Headlines about Fortinet
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.
Fortinet Stock Down 3.9%
Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $166.00 on Friday. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.55 and a 52-week high of $173.89. The stock has a market cap of $121.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.45, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $157.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Fortinet had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.
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.
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