80,800 Shares in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Fortinet during the first quarter, buying 80,800 shares worth about $6.6 million.
• Fortinet continues to attract broad institutional interest, with 83.71% of its stock held by institutional investors, while several analysts recently raised price targets but kept overall sentiment at Hold.
• The company posted solid quarterly results, including EPS of $0.82 versus $0.62 expected and revenue growth of 20.1% year over year, though insiders also sold shares and the stock trades at a relatively rich valuation.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 80,800 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $6,603,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in FTNT. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Fortinet during the third quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Fortinet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Fortinet in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fortinet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Fortinet from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Fortinet from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Fortinet from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Fortinet from $70.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.77.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and media highlighted Fortinet’s AI-driven security push, including the FortiSOC launch, with demand trends and recent strong earnings fueling expectations for continued growth momentum. Is Fortinet Stock Poised for Strong Growth With AI-Driven Security?
• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet was also featured as an IBD Stock of the Day after investors focused on its network firewall products benefiting from AI data center buildouts, where more server traffic creates greater demand for security tools. Fortinet, IBD Stock Of The Day, Gets Network Firewall Boost From AI Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced Derek Kan will join its board of directors, adding public-sector, AI, and technology operating experience that could be viewed as a strategic governance positive. Fortinet Appoints Public Sector Leader and Tech Executive Derek Kan to Its Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Several additional articles repeated the same growth and AI-security themes, reinforcing the bullish narrative rather than adding new catalysts. Is Fortinet Stock Poised for Strong Growth With AI-Driven Security?
• Neutral Sentiment: One market commentary noted broader tech stocks rebounding, which may have provided a supportive backdrop for FTNT, but was not specific to Fortinet. Dow Jones Futures: Nasdaq Set To Regain Key Level As Korea's Kospi Rebounds, Micron Due; FedEx, Cerebras Tumble
• Negative Sentiment: Seeking Alpha warned that while Fortinet’s growth story is real, the valuation may also be stretched, which could temper upside if investors become more price-sensitive. Fortinet: The Growth Story Is Real, But So Is The Price Tag

Fortinet Stock Up 3.2%

NASDAQ FTNT opened at $149.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.85 billion, a PE ratio of 57.89, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.11. Fortinet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.12 and a fifty-two week high of $151.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.20. Fortinet had a return on equity of 160.08% and a net margin of 27.49%.The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Fortinet's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08. Following the sale, the vice president owned 9,923,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total transaction of $23,384,806.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,711,717,915.76. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 318,387 shares of company stock worth $43,403,063 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Fortinet Company Profile

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.

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