Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Fortinet shares hit a new 52-week high after Barclays raised its price target from $155 to $170, helping push the stock to as high as $166.66 intraday.
• Despite the higher target, Barclays kept an equal weight rating, and the broader analyst view remains cautious with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $111.
• Fortinet also reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while CEO Ken Xie and VP Michael Xie recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $155.00 to $170.00. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Fortinet traded as high as $166.66 and last traded at $165.95, with a volume of 863538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $160.62.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FTNT. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Fortinet from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Compass Point set a $100.00 price objective on Fortinet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Fortinet from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Fortinet from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total transaction of $23,384,806.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,711,717,915.76. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. This represents a 0.04% 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 quarter, insiders sold 318,387 shares of company stock valued at $43,403,063. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet

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

Fortinet Stock Up 2.5%

The company has a market cap of $120.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.09. The company's 50-day moving average is $139.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 160.08% and a net margin of 27.49%.The firm's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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