Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortinet from “hold” to “buy,” though the broader analyst picture remains mixed with a consensus rating of “hold” and a consensus target price of $113.97.
• Fortinet reported strong quarterly results, posting $0.82 EPS versus the $0.62 estimate and revenue of $1.85 billion versus $1.73 billion expected, with revenue up 20.1% year over year.
• Insider selling and stock strength were notable: CEO Ken Xie and VP Michael Xie sold shares in recent transactions, while FTNT shares were trading at $161.61, near their 52-week high of $170.35.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens set a $115.00 target price on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up from $64.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $113.97.

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $161.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.40 billion, a PE ratio of 62.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $144.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.80. Fortinet has a twelve month low of $70.12 and a twelve month high of $170.35.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 160.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Fortinet will post 2.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,711,717,915.76. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,907 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total transaction of $572,141.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,453,213,448.40. The trade was a 0.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 318,387 shares of company stock worth $43,403,063 in the last three months. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring 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 purchased a new stake in Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Fortinet in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.