Birchbrook Inc. Trims Stock Position in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Birchbrook Inc. cut its Fortinet stake by 48.6% in the second quarter, selling 7,709 shares and retaining 8,161 shares valued at approximately $1.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.71% of Fortinet.
• Fortinet reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.90 per share and revenue of $2.05 billion, up 25.6% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.410 to $3.470.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Fortinet has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $150.91, below its reported opening price of $159.64. Company insiders have sold approximately $69.5 million of stock over the past 90 days, primarily through pre-arranged plans.

Birchbrook Inc. trimmed its position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 48.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,161 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 7,709 shares during the quarter. Birchbrook Inc.'s holdings in Fortinet were worth $1,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,152,917,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 87.4% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,651,024 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $788,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500,194 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Fortinet by 45.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 11,506,173 shares of the software maker's stock worth $940,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,598,487 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Fortinet by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,730,954 shares of the software maker's stock worth $613,915,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166,396 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fortinet by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,109,016 shares of the software maker's stock worth $326,297,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777,115 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Fortinet Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FTNT opened at $159.64 on Friday. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $153.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $112.10. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.83 and a 52-week high of $172.09. The firm has a market cap of $117.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.21, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.07.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.15. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%.The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. Research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,213,448.40. This trade represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 475,157 shares of company stock valued at $69,480,964. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FTNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research lifted their target price on Fortinet from $186.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $175.00 price target on Fortinet and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $135.00 price objective on Fortinet and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $175.00 price objective (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $136.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.91.

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.

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