Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Sells 281,589 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• Royal London Asset Management cut its Fortinet position by 25.1%, selling 281,589 shares and retaining 841,090 shares valued at approximately $129.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 83.71% of the company.
• Fortinet reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.90 per share and revenue of $2.05 billion, up 25.6% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.410 to $3.470.
• Despite positive growth drivers, analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $150.91 target price, while Fortinet trades near its 52-week high at roughly 58 times earnings. Insiders have also sold $50.7 million of stock over the past quarter.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lowered its position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 25.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 841,090 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 281,589 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.11% of Fortinet worth $129,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 18,756 shares of the software maker's stock worth $2,881,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan boosted its stake in Fortinet by 5.0% in the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 204,942 shares of the software maker's stock worth $31,483,000 after purchasing an additional 9,745 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Fortinet by 126.8% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 127,595 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $19,601,000 after buying an additional 71,332 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Fox Hill Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the second quarter valued at $2,310,000. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FTNT shares. Weiss Ratings cut Fortinet from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Stephens set a $115.00 target price on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays set a $190.00 target price on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $175.00 price target on shares of Fortinet and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating and issued a $136.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortinet currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $150.91.

Insider Activity

In other Fortinet news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total value of $572,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 329,142 shares of company stock worth $50,731,178. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Fortinet Stock Down 3.9%

Fortinet stock opened at $166.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.45, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.07. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $157.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Fortinet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.55 and a fifty-two week high of $173.89.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.15. Fortinet had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet Federal, a wholly owned subsidiary, earned CMMC Level 2 certification after validating 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls. The certification could improve Fortinet’s credibility with U.S. government agencies and defense contractors seeking compliant cybersecurity providers. Fortinet Federal’s New CMMC Level 2 Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to platform adoption, artificial-intelligence security products, product expansion and CMMC-related demand as potential growth drivers across enterprise and government markets. Fortinet Stock Surges on Security Platform Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A new multi-year sponsorship agreement with Stanford Athletics supports Fortinet’s brand visibility, although the financial impact is likely modest compared with its core business. Stanford Athletics and Fortinet Sponsorship
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet recently moved above its 20-day moving average, signaling short-term technical momentum. However, technical support can also encourage profit-taking after a large advance. Fortinet Crosses Above Its 20-Day Moving Average
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key overhang. With the stock near its annual high and trading at roughly 58 times earnings, investors may be demanding continued strong execution, leaving limited room for disappointment. Fortinet Valuation Leaves Limited Margin of Safety
• Negative Sentiment: Insider-trading data shows executives made no open-market purchases and reported multiple sales over the past six months. In addition, the reported median analyst price target of $115 is below recent trading levels, reinforcing concerns that expectations may have become excessive.

About Fortinet

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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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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