14,424 Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Shares Sold by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. cut its Fortinet stake by 36.1%, selling 14,424 shares and retaining 25,585 shares valued at approximately $4.57 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds still own 83.71% of FTNT.
• Fortinet reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $0.90 beating estimates of $0.75 and revenue of $2.05 billion rising 25.6% year over year. The stock opened at $184.05, near its 52-week high, while its elevated valuation has prompted some concerns about overpricing.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Fortinet has an overall “Hold” consensus rating and an average price target of $156.80, despite several bullish ratings and raised targets. Upcoming results on October 28 and increasing competition in AI-driven cybersecurity could influence the shares.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,585 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 14,424 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Fortinet were worth $4,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTNT. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth $507,000. Foster Group Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth $212,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter valued at about $696,000. Krilogy Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 42.9% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 29,226 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $5,639,000 after acquiring an additional 8,781 shares during the period. Finally, RHS Financial LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter valued at about $603,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fortinet Stock Down 3.5%

NASDAQ FTNT opened at $184.05 on Thursday. Fortinet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.55 and a 1-year high of $197.13. The company has a market capitalization of $135.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.81, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $168.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.93. 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 (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.15. The business 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%. Fortinet's quarterly revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. Equities analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on FTNT shares. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $102.00 to $107.00 in a report on Friday, July 31st. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Mizuho set a $125.00 target price on Fortinet and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortinet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.80.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Atos expanded its partnership with Fortinet from a country-level arrangement to a global engagement, supporting Fortinet’s strategy of securing hybrid- and multicloud environments and potentially broadening enterprise demand. Atos expands partnership with Fortinet
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains favorable on Fortinet’s growth prospects, citing strong SASE expansion, rising service revenue and a valuation viewed as more attractive than Cloudflare’s. Barclays also raised its price target from $190 to $210. NET versus FTNT analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet’s AI-enabled security products and its visibility at GovWare 2026 are reinforcing the long-term growth narrative. Recent earnings also exceeded expectations, with revenue up 25.6% year over year according to the supplied company background.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet is scheduled to report its next results on October 28. Investors may remain cautious ahead of the release, particularly because the stock has recently traded near a 52-week high and expectations are elevated. Fortinet schedules October 28 results
• Negative Sentiment: A report that OpenAI may acquire a cybersecurity startup has pressured major cybersecurity stocks, including Fortinet. The possibility of a well-funded AI company entering the market raises concerns about future competition and sector valuations. Why Fortinet stock slumped
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts argue that Fortinet’s stock has risen faster than its underlying value and could be substantially overvalued after its strong earnings performance. That concern is particularly relevant given its elevated earnings multiple, increasing the risk of profit-taking. Fortinet valuation downgrade

Insider Activity

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9,918,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,022,886.80. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% 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. Over 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.

Fortinet Profile

Fortinet, Inc develops and provides cybersecurity products and services for businesses, governments, and service providers. The company's portfolio is designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments, and operational technology from cyber threats.

Its offerings include FortiGate next-generation firewalls, FortiSwitch secure networking switches, FortiAP wireless access points, FortiClient endpoint security, and FortiSASE secure access service edge solutions. Fortinet also provides centralized management and analytics through products such as FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer, along with security operations, threat intelligence, and other subscription-based services through its FortiGuard portfolio.

Founded in 2000, Fortinet serves customers globally through direct sales, channel partners, and managed security service providers.

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