Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $7.51 Million Stake in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its Fortinet stake by 86.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 94,615 shares worth about $7.51 million.
• Fortinet reported a strong latest quarter, with EPS of $0.82 beating estimates and revenue of $1.85 billion topping expectations, while revenue rose 20.1% year over year.
• The stock has drawn mixed Street views: several analysts remain cautious with an overall Hold rating and average target near $101.83, though recent news highlighted AI-driven security demand as a growth catalyst.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 86.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,615 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 43,944 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Fortinet were worth $7,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Fortinet Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $127.64 on Wednesday. Fortinet, Inc. has a one year low of $70.12 and a one year high of $128.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.23 and a 200-day moving average of $83.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $93.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.92.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.20. Fortinet had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 160.08%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Fortinet's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on FTNT shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fortinet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Arete Research set a $104.00 price objective on Fortinet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Fortinet from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.83.

Fortinet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet said AI-related security demand is accelerating, which is supporting stronger sales momentum and leading management to lift guidance. Fortinet Rides AI-Led Surge to Lift Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to frame FTNT as a strong momentum name, citing billings growth, margin strength, and favorable estimate revisions tied to AI and SASE demand. Here's Why Fortinet (FTNT) is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Another bullish note argues Fortinet looks like the better cybersecurity buy versus Zscaler because of AI and SASE tailwinds and ongoing demand strength. Zscaler vs. Fortinet: Which Cybersecurity Stock Is the Better Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet also presented at J.P. Morgan’s Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference, which may have helped reinforce its growth story but did not include a clearly new catalyst. Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) Presents at J.P. Morgan 54th Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: DZ Bank downgraded Fortinet from Buy to Hold and set a $125 price target, signaling some caution on valuation and contributing pressure on the shares. Finviz report

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total transaction of $220,269.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,927,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at $882,456,986.13. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 5,355 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total value of $476,059.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,978,004 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,709,744,555.60. This trade represents a 0.01% 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 own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Fortinet 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTNT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.