Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Shares Bought by California Public Employees Retirement System

Key Points

• California Public Employees Retirement System increased its Fortinet stake by 9.1% in the first quarter, adding 104,047 shares and bringing its holding to 1,252,611 shares valued at about $102.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 83.71% of Fortinet’s shares, while several firms have recently added or expanded positions.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally cautious: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $113.97, even as some analysts raised targets and Fortinet reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,252,611 shares of the software maker's stock after acquiring an additional 104,047 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of Fortinet worth $102,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of FTNT. Expressive Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 4th quarter valued at about $646,000. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its position in Fortinet by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 44,152 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,506,000 after acquiring an additional 14,076 shares during the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,422,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at about $14,638,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Fortinet by 156.6% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 390,492 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $31,009,000 after purchasing an additional 238,299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on FTNT shares. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $150.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fortinet from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Fortinet from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $70.00 price objective (up from $64.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.97.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In related news, COO John Whittle sold 146,015 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $12,163,508.84. The trade was a 60.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. This trade represents a 0.04% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 318,387 shares of company stock worth $43,403,063. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD SYNNEX was named an approved global distributor for Fortinet, expanding Fortinet’s channel reach and potentially helping sales growth. Fortinet also unveiled planned FortiEndpoint upgrades featuring AI governance, native data loss prevention, and FortiAI-assisted operations, which could strengthen its competitive position in enterprise security. Should Fortinet’s New TD SYNNEX Partnership and AI Endpoint Upgrades Require Action From Fortinet (FTNT) Investors?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary continue to frame Fortinet as a beneficiary of rising agentic AI adoption, which is boosting demand for AI security, identity protection, and threat detection across the cybersecurity sector. 3 Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy Amid Rising Adoption of Agentic AI
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage ahead of earnings points to expectations for double-digit bottom-line growth, suggesting investors are looking for another solid quarter from Fortinet. What to Expect From Fortinet's Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet remains a closely watched cybersecurity name as investors position for its Q2 2026 results, but the immediate news flow is mostly about expectations rather than a confirmed earnings surprise. What to Expect From Fortinet's Q2 2026 Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment is mixed, with one update showing a consensus “Hold” rating even as Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to “Buy,” indicating analysts are not fully aligned on near-term upside. Fortinet, Inc. NASDAQ: FTNT Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages Fortinet NASDAQ: FTNT Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch noted that Fortinet underperformed peers on Thursday, which may reflect some profit-taking or caution ahead of earnings despite the broader positive theme. Fortinet Inc. stock underperforms Thursday when compared to competitors

Fortinet Price Performance

FTNT stock opened at $161.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $118.40 billion, a PE ratio of 62.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.80. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $170.35.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The company's revenue 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

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.

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