Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 20,581 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its Fortinet stake by 20,581 shares in Q1, bringing its total holding to 4.38 million shares worth about $358 million.
• Fortinet CEO Ken Xie and COO John Whittle both sold shares recently, and insiders have sold 318,387 shares valued at about $43.4 million over the past three months.
• Analysts remain mixed on FTNT: the stock’s average rating is Hold with a $119.48 target, though some firms raised targets while others downgraded or maintained cautious views.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,381,971 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 20,581 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.60% of Fortinet worth $358,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Fortinet by 408.3% during the 1st quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 305 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total transaction of $23,384,806.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,711,717,915.76. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO John Whittle sold 146,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.41, for a total transaction of $18,749,786.15. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 94,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,163,508.84. This represents a 60.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 318,387 shares of company stock valued at $43,403,063. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FTNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. HSBC downgraded Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $102.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, June 29th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $150.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $120.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $120.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $119.48.

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of FTNT stock opened at $158.10 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.08. The company has a market cap of $115.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Fortinet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.12 and a twelve month high of $170.35.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 160.08% and a net margin of 27.49%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. 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 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Intel and Fortinet announced a collaboration to develop Fortinet’s next-generation Security Processor 6, with Fortinet becoming Intel Foundry’s first publicly named cybersecurity chip customer. The deal highlights demand for Fortinet’s hardware and could strengthen its supply chain and product roadmap. Intel (INTC) Lands Fortinet As First Named Cybersecurity Customer For Its Foundry
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analysts turned more constructive on Fortinet, with one upgrade and another raising the price target while maintaining a Hold rating. The revisions suggest confidence in Fortinet’s fundamentals, even if valuation remains a concern. This Fortinet Analyst Is No Longer Bearish; Here Are Top 4 Upgrades For Tuesday Fortinet Price Target Raised to $140 as Strong Fundamentals Clash With Stretch Valuation, Supporting a Hold Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks remain in favor as investors rotate away from some AI and semiconductor names, which supports Fortinet’s sector backdrop. Cybersecurity Stocks Are Holding Up as the AI Trade Starts to Crack (FTNT)
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive headlines, Fortinet is still seen as expensive by some analysts, and Morgan Stanley warned that lofty cybersecurity valuations could limit upside ahead of earnings. Cybersecurity Stocks' Hefty Valuations Demand Caution Ahead of Earnings, Morgan Stanley Says

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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