Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Fortinet stake by 2.7% in the first quarter, ending with 808,204 shares worth about $66 million.
• Fortinet reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of $0.82 versus $0.62 expected and revenue of $1.85 billion, up 20.1% year over year. The company also issued Q2 2026 and full-year 2026 guidance above analysts’ expectations.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed despite some raised price targets, with the current consensus at “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.97. Meanwhile, insiders have sold shares recently, including CEO Ken Xie and COO John Whittle.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 808,204 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 20,970 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Fortinet worth $66,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet in the third quarter worth $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on FTNT shares. Arete Research set a $104.00 price objective on Fortinet and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Fortinet from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $113.97.

Fortinet Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of FTNT opened at $160.78 on Friday. Fortinet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.12 and a fifty-two week high of $170.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $143.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.39. The firm has a market cap of $117.80 billion, a PE ratio of 62.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 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 (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 EPS. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO John Whittle sold 146,015 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 94,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,163,508.84. The trade was a 60.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total value of $23,384,806.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,711,717,915.76. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 318,387 shares of company stock worth $43,403,063 over the last three months. 17.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet was upgraded by Zacks Research from hold to strong-buy, signaling stronger earnings optimism and a potentially more favorable near-term trading setup. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Fortinet as a beneficiary of rising cybersecurity demand, especially as AI infrastructure spending and global threat concerns keep security budgets elevated. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage on Fortinet’s AI security initiatives, including the expansion of FortiEndpoint and broader AI cybersecurity positioning, is reinforcing the growth narrative around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet’s selection of TD SYNNEX as a global delivery/distribution partner adds another sign of expanding channel reach and customer access. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted that Fortinet has been outperforming peers despite weakness in the broader session, suggesting relative strength rather than a fresh fundamental catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary compared Fortinet with peers like Palo Alto and Microsoft, but also raised valuation concerns after a strong multi-year run, which may cap upside if growth does not keep pace. Article Title

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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