Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Fortinet from “strong buy” to “hold.” The broader analyst consensus is also “hold,” with an average price target of $147.94.
• Fortinet beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $0.91 and revenue of $2.08 billion; revenue grew 20.5% year over year.
• Despite the earnings beat and raised 2026 outlook, investor concerns about product growth and the service outlook have weighed on the stock amid a broader cybersecurity-sector selloff.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FTNT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DZ Bank downgraded Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on Fortinet from $115.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortinet has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $147.94.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Fortinet stock opened at $128.11 on Monday. Fortinet has a fifty-two week low of $73.55 and a fifty-two week high of $197.13. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $170.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $94.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.59, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.04.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software maker reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. Fortinet had a net margin of 28.96% and a return on equity of 152.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The company's revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Fortinet will post 3.20 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,483 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.31, for a total value of $20,881,366.73. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,849,857,423.32. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.49, for a total value of $404,138.29. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,918,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,284,328,436.40. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 221,304 shares of company stock worth $30,675,309 over the last quarter. Insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Birinyi Associates Inc. bought a new position in Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $4,338,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $492,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 83.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 22,326 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 10,180 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 35.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 32,402 shares of the software maker's stock worth $5,792,000 after buying an additional 8,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortinet by 53.1% in the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,058 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,018 shares in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortinet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet reported quarterly revenue and earnings above consensus and raised its 2026 outlook. Product sales reportedly grew 37%, and longer-term cybersecurity demand tied to AI remains a potential tailwind. Fortinet sinks despite beating and raising guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ken Xie and VP Michael Xie sold shares through pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding on vested awards. The sales were small relative to their remaining holdings, making them a limited signal about the company’s prospects. Fortinet VP share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the earnings beat, investors have reportedly been unsettled by slower-than-expected product growth and a weaker service outlook. Fortinet’s recent steep selloff has also coincided with broader weakness in technology and cybersecurity stocks, adding pressure to FTNT. Fortinet earnings analysis and service outlook Why Fortinet stock is falling

About Fortinet

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.

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