The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its Fortinet stake by 7.4% in the first quarter, selling 26,867 shares and retaining 337,126 shares valued at approximately $27.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.71% of Fortinet.
• Fortinet reported strong second-quarter results, with earnings of $0.90 per share and revenue of $2.05 billion, beating consensus estimates; revenue increased 25.6% year over year. Management also raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook, supported by demand for AI-security, SASE and other cybersecurity products.
• Despite positive analyst reactions and the stock trading near its 52-week high, valuation and insider selling remain risks. Shares trade at roughly 57 times earnings, while insiders have sold about $43.4 million of stock over the past 90 days; analysts’ average rating remains “Hold.”

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 337,126 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 26,867 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in Fortinet were worth $27,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Fortinet by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the software maker's stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 29.1% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the second quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 27.4% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 144,989 shares of the software maker's stock worth $15,328,000 after buying an additional 31,202 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: Fortinet reported earnings of $0.90 per share versus the $0.75 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 25.6% year over year to $2.05 billion, above the $1.89 billion forecast. Product revenue reportedly increased 52%, and billings climbed 33% to $2.37 billion. Fortinet lifts annual revenue forecast on strong cybersecurity demand
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance raised: Management lifted its full-year 2026 revenue outlook, signaling confidence that enterprise spending on security will remain strong amid rising data-security incidents. Analysts also highlighted pricing strength and solid execution. Fortinet raises revenue outlook after strong Q2 and new AI product push
• Positive Sentiment: AI and platform momentum: Demand for Fortinet’s AI-security offerings, SASE Firewall, security platforms and operational-technology products is providing additional growth catalysts as companies expand AI infrastructure. FTNT Q2 earnings call highlights SASE Firewall growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases: Rosenblatt raised its target to $195 and BTIG raised its target to $203, both with Buy ratings. Citigroup also increased its target to $185, reinforcing the favorable near-term reaction to the earnings report. Analysts boost forecasts following upbeat Q2 earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Susquehanna raised its target to $160 but retained a Neutral rating, while William Blair maintained a Hold rating, citing questions about how durable Fortinet’s pricing and growth advantages will be.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk after the stock’s substantial multiyear gain. At roughly 57 times earnings, shares may already reflect considerable optimism, leaving less room for disappointment. Fortinet stock seems stretched following its five-year run

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 transaction of $18,749,786.15. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 94,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total value of $23,384,806.56. Following the completion of 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 318,387 shares of company stock worth $43,403,063. Company insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FTNT. Robert W. Baird set a $165.00 price objective on Fortinet in a report on Thursday. HSBC lowered Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and set a $102.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $136.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday. Stephens set a $115.00 target price on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortinet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $150.91.

Fortinet Stock Up 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $161.95 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $150.50 and its 200 day moving average is $109.09. The stock has a market cap of $118.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 1.09. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.12 and a 52-week high of $170.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Fortinet's revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FTNT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Free Report).

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.