Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) VP Michael Xie Sells 2,478 Shares

Key Points

• Fortinet VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares on May 4 at an average price of $88.89 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding, a $220,269 transaction that reduced his stake by just 0.02% to 9,927,517 shares.
• Fortinet recently beat quarterly expectations (EPS $0.81 vs. $0.74; revenue $1.91B vs. $1.86B), reported 14.8% year-over-year revenue growth, and set Q1 2026 guidance of $0.590–0.630 EPS and FY2026 guidance of $2.940–3.000 EPS.
• Shares traded up about 0.8% to $89.92; analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average target of $88.38, though views vary (BMO $100 target, Wells Fargo underweight/$64), and institutional investors own roughly 83.7% of the stock.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total value of $220,269.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 9,927,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,456,986.13. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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.

Fortinet Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of FTNT stock traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $89.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,962,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,434,550. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.92. Fortinet, Inc. has a one year low of $70.12 and a one year high of $108.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $81.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 124.21% and a net margin of 27.26%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Fortinet has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.590-0.630 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.940-3.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price objective on Fortinet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Fortinet from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Fortinet in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Arete Research set a $104.00 target price on Fortinet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $90.00 target price on Fortinet in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $88.38.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Fortinet during the third quarter valued at $2,034,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Fortinet by 4.7% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 402,278 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $33,824,000 after buying an additional 17,892 shares during the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its stake in Fortinet by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 44,152 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,506,000 after buying an additional 14,076 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Fortinet by 465.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 756,651 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $64,255,000 after buying an additional 622,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the 3rd quarter worth $1,177,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target (to $100) and issued a positive/market-perform outlook, giving investors a near-term valuation cushion and supporting buying interest. BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Fortinet
• Positive Sentiment: Pre-earnings positioning and product/security momentum lifted shares—Fortinet released its 2026 Global Threat Landscape report (highlighting AI-enabled threats) and increased visibility at major cybersecurity events, which can drive enterprise demand for Fortinet’s SASE and security platform. Fortinet jumps 3% as investors position for upcoming earnings and recent security-focused updates
• Neutral Sentiment: FTNT heads into Q1 earnings with steady growth expectations and ongoing SASE traction; the report is a likely catalyst but guidance sensitivity and macro risks could limit surprise upside. Fortinet Set to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage coverage remains centered on “hold/market perform” views overall, leaving analyst consensus cautious despite pockets of upside. That moderates conviction for fresh, large-scale buys. Fortinet Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cooling growth commentary from market analysts highlight stretched multiples versus slower near-term growth, which can cap multiple expansion and make the stock sensitive to any guidance softness. A Look At Fortinet (FTNT) Valuation As Growth Cools
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling over recent months and a mix of recent underweight/underperform analyst calls increase downside risk if earnings or guidance disappoint. Investors should watch Q1 results and any forward-guide changes closely. Fortinet jumps 3% as investors position for upcoming earnings and recent security-focused updates

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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