Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Arete Research

Key Points

• Arete Research upgraded Fortinet (FTNT) from a "strong sell" to a "strong buy" in a research note issued Monday.
• Fortinet beat quarterly estimates, reporting $0.81 EPS vs. $0.74 expected and $1.91B revenue vs. $1.86B, and issued FY2026 guidance of $2.94–3.00 EPS—well above the sell‑side average forecast of $2.63.
• Despite the upgrade and strong results, MarketBeat's consensus rating remains a Hold with an average price target of $87.72, while the stock trades around $85.61 (12‑month range $70.12–$109.33).

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Arete Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore set a $80.00 price objective on Fortinet in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Fortinet from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Fortinet from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortinet currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.72.

Fortinet Trading Up 1.5%

NASDAQ FTNT opened at $85.61 on Monday. Fortinet has a 12 month low of $70.12 and a 12 month high of $109.33. The company has a market capitalization of $63.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $81.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.68.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 124.21%. Fortinet's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.590-0.630 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.940-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fortinet will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 175,737 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $14,308,506.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,396,385 shares in the company, valued at $4,184,693,666.70. The trade was a 0.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $27,935,690.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,210,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $831,321,160.44. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 18.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in Fortinet in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Fortinet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Fortinet by 408.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 83.71% of the stock is 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.

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.