Gradient Investments LLC Sells 5,748 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Gradient Investments reduced its Fortinet stake by 29.3% in the third quarter, selling 5,748 shares and retaining 13,880 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• Institutional investors own 83.71% of Fortinet’s stock, while insiders sold 221,303 shares worth about $36.2 million during the last quarter under pre-arranged trading plans.
• Fortinet beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, with EPS of $0.90 and revenue of $2.05 billion, but analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and a $152.79 target price amid valuation concerns.

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,880 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 5,748 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Fortinet were worth $2,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the second quarter valued at $9,561,650,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Fortinet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,432,842,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth about $979,062,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 87.4% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 9,651,024 shares of the software maker's stock worth $788,682,000 after buying an additional 4,500,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the second quarter worth about $656,852,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total value of $507,568.23. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9,918,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This represents a 0.30% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 221,303 shares of company stock worth $36,164,034. Company insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on FTNT shares. Evercore set a $165.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $185.00 price objective on Fortinet and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $163.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $152.79.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $189.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.74 billion, a PE ratio of 66.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.83. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.55 and a 12 month high of $192.41.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company's 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Fortinet News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and industrial cybersecurity demand support the bull case. Fortinet’s security products are viewed as critical for protecting AI infrastructure, while Rockwell Automation’s expansion of managed services supporting Fortinet firewalls could broaden adoption in manufacturing and operational-technology environments. 1 Millionaire-Maker AI Cybersecurity Stock to Buy and Hold Rockwell Automation Expands SecureOT Managed Services
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and earnings expectations remain favorable. Zacks highlighted FTNT as a strong momentum stock and included it among companies expected to deliver an upcoming earnings beat. The coverage points to strong price performance, favorable estimate trends and continued investor interest in cybersecurity. Here's Why Fortinet Is a Strong Momentum Stock Looking for Earnings Beat? Buy These 5 Top-Ranked Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its FY2027 EPS forecast. The bank lifted its estimate to $3.42 from $2.95, above the cited consensus estimate of $3.10, signaling improved expectations for Fortinet’s longer-term profitability. Scotiabank Has Strong Forecast for Fortinet FY2027 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: FTNT is being compared favorably with CrowdStrike. Both cybersecurity stocks are near record highs, but analysts say valuation and future earnings revisions will determine which has greater upside. Fortinet is described as having a relatively more reasonable valuation than some peers. CrowdStrike vs. Fortinet
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cash-flow execution are key risks. After a multiyear rally, investors are questioning whether Fortinet can generate enough sustained cash flow to justify its elevated valuation. Scotiabank’s $163 price target and “Sector Perform” rating also suggest limited upside at current levels. Can Fortinet Stay Fully Priced on Future Cash Flow?

About Fortinet

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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