Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Shares Purchased by Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Hilton Head Capital Partners dramatically increased its Fortinet stake, boosting holdings by 1,320.3% in Q1 to 9,090 shares valued at about $743,000.
• Institutional ownership in Fortinet remains very high at 83.71%, while several other large investors also recently added to or initiated positions in the stock.
• Fortinet reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue, but analysts are still mixed overall: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $107.77, even as some firms raised targets.

Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 1,320.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,090 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,450 shares during the quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Fortinet were worth $743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Fortinet by 1.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,660,558 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 477,397 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,152,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Fortinet by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,504,597 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,151,810,000 after purchasing an additional 893,190 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Fortinet by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,816,519 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $909,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,907,686 shares of the software maker's stock worth $627,949,000 after purchasing an additional 332,024 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, June 8th. DZ Bank cut shares of Fortinet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fortinet from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Fortinet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John Whittle sold 146,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.41, for a total value of $18,749,786.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 94,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,163,508.84. This trade represents a 60.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total value of $572,141.08. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9,923,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,213,448.40. This represents a 0.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders 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 Stock Down 1.8%

FTNT stock opened at $145.28 on Thursday. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.12 and a 52-week high of $150.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $120.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $106.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.11.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted Fortinet’s AI push, including the FortiSOC launch, as a potential driver of sustained growth, supported by strong recent earnings and rising demand for cybersecurity products. Is Fortinet Stock Poised for Strong Growth With AI-Driven Security?
• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet was featured as an IBD Stock of the Day because AI data centers are boosting demand for network firewalls, since those systems secure traffic between server clusters. Fortinet, IBD Stock Of The Day, Gets Network Firewall Boost From AI Data Centers
• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet announced the appointment of Derek Kan to its board, adding public-sector, AI, and scaling expertise that could support strategy and governance. Fortinet Appoints Public Sector Leader and Tech Executive Derek Kan to Its Board of Directors
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage compared Fortinet favorably with Palo Alto Networks, citing stronger SASE adoption, steadier execution, and a lower valuation, which reinforces the bullish narrative but is not a direct catalyst. PANW vs. FTNT: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerages currently rate Fortinet as a “Hold,” suggesting analysts see room for growth but are not yet overwhelmingly bullish. Fortinet, Inc. NASDAQ: FTNT Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: One recent opinion piece argued Fortinet’s growth story is real, but the stock’s price may already reflect much of that optimism, highlighting valuation risk. Fortinet: The Growth Story Is Real, But So Is The Price Tag

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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