Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Price Up 9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Fortinet shares jumped 9% to approximately $171.72, despite trading volume running 59% below the average daily session volume.
• Analysts raised several price targets following Fortinet’s quarterly results, while the company reported $0.90 in EPS and $2.05 billion in revenue, surpassing estimates and marking 25.6% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The stock carries a consensus rating of “Hold” with a $150.91 price target; insiders have sold roughly $50.7 million of shares over the past three months, primarily through pre-arranged trading plans.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) shares were up 9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $171.60 and last traded at $171.7230. Approximately 2,537,934 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 6,191,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $160.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, July 13th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $163.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Evercore set a $165.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $150.91.

Fortinet Trading Up 9.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.63 billion, a PE ratio of 60.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50-day moving average is $156.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $119.45.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Fortinet's quarterly revenue was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 3,907 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.44, for a total value of $572,141.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,923,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,453,213,448.40. This represents 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 329,142 shares of company stock valued at $50,731,178 over the last three months. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Fortinet by 53.6% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 215 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 7,927 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,218,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,780 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Fortinet by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 5,010 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in Fortinet by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company's stock.

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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source