Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Stock: Barlow Wealth Partners LLC Cuts Position

Key Points

• Barlow Wealth Partners cut its Fortinet stake by 11.8% in the third quarter, selling 18,539 shares and retaining 138,986 shares worth approximately $26.6 million. Institutional investors overall own 83.71% of FTNT, with several other firms increasing their positions.
• Fortinet insiders sold 221,303 shares worth about $36.2 million over the past 90 days, including a $8.9 million sale by COO John Whittle under a pre-arranged trading plan.
• Fortinet exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.90 in adjusted EPS and $2.05 billion in revenue, up 25.6% year over year. However, its elevated valuation and an average analyst rating of “Hold” reflect concerns that market expectations may be high.

Barlow Wealth Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 138,986 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 18,539 shares during the quarter. Fortinet makes up approximately 2.8% of Barlow Wealth Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Barlow Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Fortinet were worth $26,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of FTNT. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Fortinet during the second quarter valued at $492,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 21.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,491 shares of the software maker's stock worth $6,169,000 after acquiring an additional 13,294 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 83.8% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 22,326 shares of the software maker's stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 10,180 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 53.1% in the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,058 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 35.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 32,402 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $5,792,000 after acquiring an additional 8,488 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total transaction of $507,568.23. Following the sale, the vice president owned 9,918,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. This trade represents a 0.03% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, COO John Whittle sold 53,865 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.44, for a total transaction of $8,911,425.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 96,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,045,529.28. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 221,303 shares of company stock worth $36,164,034. Company insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT opened at $181.91 on Friday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $169.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $142.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.55 and a 12 month high of $197.13. The company has a market cap of $133.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.03.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet and Atos expanded their longstanding relationship into a global cybersecurity framework for hybrid- and multi-cloud environments. The arrangement combines Fortinet’s security products with Atos’ managed-security services and consulting, potentially broadening Fortinet’s enterprise reach and recurring services opportunity. Fortinet Expands Global Cybersecurity Framework
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted Fortinet’s SASE growth, rising services revenue and comparatively lower valuation versus Cloudflare, supporting the view that the company remains a long-term cybersecurity growth candidate. NET vs. FTNT
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is also focused on upcoming earnings. Fortinet’s most recent reported quarter showed revenue growth and earnings above analyst expectations, although the stock’s elevated valuation leaves the market sensitive to any guidance or results that fall short of expectations. Fortinet Shares Jump with Earnings on Horizon
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its Fortinet price target but maintained an “underweight” rating; the new target remains below the stock’s current level, signaling concern that expectations may be too high.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that OpenAI could acquire a cybersecurity startup pressured major cybersecurity stocks, including Fortinet. The possibility of a well-funded new competitor is raising concerns about future pricing, innovation and market-share dynamics across the sector. OpenAI Cybersecurity Deal Impacts Sector

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FTNT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $136.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $116.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.09.

Fortinet Company Profile

Fortinet, Inc develops and provides cybersecurity products and services for businesses, governments, and service providers. The company's portfolio is designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments, and operational technology from cyber threats.

Its offerings include FortiGate next-generation firewalls, FortiSwitch secure networking switches, FortiAP wireless access points, FortiClient endpoint security, and FortiSASE secure access service edge solutions. Fortinet also provides centralized management and analytics through products such as FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer, along with security operations, threat intelligence, and other subscription-based services through its FortiGuard portfolio.

Founded in 2000, Fortinet serves customers globally through direct sales, channel partners, and managed security service providers.

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