Insider Selling: Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) CEO Sells $26,266,662.12 in Stock

Key Points

• Fortinet CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares for approximately $26.27 million under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax obligations, reducing his stake by 0.30% while retaining more than 52.9 million shares.
• Fortinet reported strong quarterly results, with revenue of $2.05 billion, EPS of $0.90 versus the $0.75 consensus, and 25.6% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $8.02 billion–$8.18 billion.
• FTNT shares recently traded near their 12-month high at $168.29, but analyst sentiment remains mixed: the average rating is Hold with a $150.91 target, while some firms remain bullish and others cite margin and balance-sheet risks.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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.

Ken Xie also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, June 2nd, Ken Xie sold 160,632 shares of Fortinet stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.58, for a total transaction of $23,384,806.56.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT traded up $5.08 on Tuesday, reaching $168.29. 6,430,680 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,441,908. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.09 and a 200-day moving average of $109.91. Fortinet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.12 and a twelve month high of $170.35. The company has a market capitalization of $123.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.26, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $2.05 billion and net income of $606.3 million, while raising its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $8.02 billion–$8.18 billion. Third-quarter revenue guidance of $2.01 billion–$2.10 billion also points to continued growth. Fortinet Is Up 8.8% After Raising 2026 Revenue Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The company launched the FortiGate 1200G series with FortiSASE Outpost, targeting high-performance, AI-focused and sovereignty-sensitive cybersecurity requirements across hybrid environments. The product expansion could support future demand and strengthen Fortinet’s competitive position. FortiGate 1200G and FortiSASE Outpost
• Positive Sentiment: Growth-oriented analysis remains favorable, citing Fortinet’s above-average financial growth and ranking it as a potentially market-beating growth stock. These reports add to investor optimism following the company’s results and guidance increase. Why Growth Investors Should Buy Fortinet Now
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street Zen raised Fortinet’s rating to Buy, providing another favorable signal for sentiment. Fortinet Rating Increased to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Fortinet with the broader computer and technology sector highlights its year-to-date performance, while separate analysis is examining international revenue trends and their effect on forecasts. Neither report identifies a new fundamental catalyst. Fortinet Sector Performance Comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a Hold rating and $165 price target, citing margin and balance-sheet risks. The target is below Fortinet’s recent trading range, potentially signaling limited near-term upside after the strong rally. Fortinet Hold Rating and Price Target

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Fortinet by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the software maker's stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,000. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Fortinet by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Fortinet by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 144,989 shares of the software maker's stock worth $15,328,000 after acquiring an additional 31,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FTNT shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Fortinet from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating and issued a $136.00 price target (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $150.91.

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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