Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Shares Up 9% – Here’s What Happened

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)’s stock price rose 9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.60 and last traded at $171.7230. Approximately 2,537,934 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 6,191,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.54.

More Fortinet News

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Compass Point set a $100.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, May 4th. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. Stephens set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.91.

Fortinet Trading Down 3.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.45, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $157.68 and a 200-day moving average of $120.40.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%.The company’s revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total value of $572,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. The trade was a 0.04% 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. Also, 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 transaction of $26,266,662.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at $8,616,486,029.52. This represents 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 ninety days, insiders sold 329,142 shares of company stock valued at $50,731,178. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Fortinet by 102.5% during the second quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 164 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 426.2% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 198,342 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $30,469,000 after purchasing an additional 160,649 shares during the last quarter. Formuepleje A S acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $938,000. Amundi lifted its stake in Fortinet by 23.1% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,732,986 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $727,081,000 after purchasing an additional 889,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,986,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.