Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Stock Position Trimmed by Slow Capital Inc.

Slow Capital Inc. lessened its stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 6.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,281 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the quarter. Fortinet makes up about 1.3% of Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $11,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the second quarter valued at approximately $9,561,650,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 45.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 11,506,173 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $940,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,598,487 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 87.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,651,024 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $788,682,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500,194 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet in the second quarter valued at $1,432,842,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at $979,062,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortinet news, COO John Whittle sold 53,865 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.44, for a total transaction of $8,911,425.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 96,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,045,529.28. The trade was a 35.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $26,266,662.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 221,303 shares of company stock worth $36,164,034. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on FTNT. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $118.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $175.00 target price on Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.36.

Fortinet News Summary

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 Price Performance

FTNT stock opened at $179.99 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.55 and a 1-year high of $197.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.53. The firm has a market cap of $132.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.38, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.03.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Fortinet’s 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. Research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.10 EPS for the current year.

Fortinet Company Profile

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.