Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Cut to Sell at Arete Research

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 24th, 2026

Arete Research downgraded shares of Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT – Free Report) from a buy rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $117.00 price objective on the software maker’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FTNT. Stephens boosted their target price on Fortinet from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating and set a $136.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Truist Financial set a $200.00 price target on shares of Fortinet and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fortinet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.36.

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Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTNT opened at $179.99 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.08. The firm has a market cap of $132.06 billion, a PE ratio of 63.38, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Fortinet has a 1-year low of $73.55 and a 1-year high of $197.13.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business 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 predict that Fortinet will post 3.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other news, 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 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 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. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 221,303 shares of company stock worth $36,164,034 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FTNT. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 408.3% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 305 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 164 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP bought a new position in Fortinet during the first quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects Fortinet’s third-quarter product revenue growth to reach roughly 50% year over year, well above the 31% consensus forecast. The broker cited favorable industry checks, price increases and accelerated firewall replacement activity. Fortinet growth outlook for 2027 becomes key test for investors, says Jefferies
Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for another strong quarterly result, with analysts expecting double-digit year-over-year EPS growth. Fortinet’s ability to sustain product growth into fiscal 2027 will be the central focus of the earnings outlook. What to Expect From Fortinet’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
Positive Sentiment: Recent bullish positioning, including a previously raised $200 price target, reflects expectations for continued cybersecurity spending and AI-related demand. Fortinet’s hardware-software combination was also highlighted as a potential long-term competitive advantage. Fortinet versus Cisco and Palo Alto Networks
Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies maintained a “hold” rating, emphasizing that forward guidance for 2027 matters more than simply beating near-term estimates. Fortinet trades at a premium valuation, increasing the importance of durable growth and strong cash generation.
Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet released coordinated security-hardening updates for multiple products, which may have improved sentiment amid broader cybersecurity concerns, although the updates are not a major direct earnings catalyst.
Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target from $118 to $140 but retained an “underweight” rating, implying substantial downside from recent trading levels. JPMorgan Fortinet rating
Negative Sentiment: Arete Research reportedly downgraded Fortinet to “sell,” adding to concerns that the stock’s elevated valuation already discounts much of its expected growth.
Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows executives made no open-market purchases and sold shares during the past six months, a potentially cautionary signal, though such sales may reflect scheduled diversification.

Fortinet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Fortinet, Inc develops cybersecurity products and services designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments and operational technology systems. The company’s portfolio includes next-generation firewalls, secure networking products, endpoint security, web application security, email security, identity and access solutions, and security information and event management tools.

Its product offerings include FortiGate network security appliances and cloud-based firewalls, along with FortiSwitch, FortiAP and FortiExtender solutions for secure connectivity.