Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Sets New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Key Points

• Fortinet shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $126.61 and finishing around $126.50, up about 3% on the day. The move came alongside heavy volume of more than 5.6 million shares.
• Recent earnings came in above expectations, with Fortinet reporting $0.82 EPS on revenue of $1.85 billion, both ahead of analyst forecasts. The company also raised guidance for Q2 2026 and fiscal 2026.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed despite the rally, with several firms lifting price targets, but the overall consensus still sitting at “Hold” with an average target of $100.45. Insider sales by the CEO and vice president were disclosed, though both were tied to tax withholding under pre-arranged trading plans.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $126.61 and last traded at $126.50, with a volume of 5614132 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.78.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $115.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $125.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Fortinet from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.45.

Fortinet Trading Up 3.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $92.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.84, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.92. The company's 50-day moving average is $88.36 and its 200-day moving average is $83.65. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.20. Fortinet had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 160.08%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Fortinet's revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 5,355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $476,059.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,978,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,709,744,555.60. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total transaction of $220,269.42. Following the sale, the vice president owned 9,927,517 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $882,456,986.13. The trade was a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Fortinet by 4.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,581,275 shares of the software maker's stock worth $6,354,874,000 after buying an additional 2,894,355 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,660,558 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,493,860,000 after purchasing an additional 477,397 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Fortinet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,152,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Fortinet by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,504,597 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,151,810,000 after acquiring an additional 893,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Fortinet by 45.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 11,506,173 shares of the software maker's stock worth $940,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,598,487 shares during the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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