Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty-four research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.0370.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FTNT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Fortinet from $90.00 to $88.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Fortinet from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $75.00 target price (down from $85.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 158,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.51, for a total value of $13,710,537.35. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,391,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,445,911,452.29. This represents a 0.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,546 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.53, for a total value of $306,835.38. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 10,492,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,874,317.54. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Fortinet by 4.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,581,275 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $6,354,874,000 after buying an additional 2,894,355 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,660,558 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 477,397 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,916,974 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,783,091,000 after acquiring an additional 828,569 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Fortinet during the second quarter worth $1,640,900,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Fortinet by 17.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,816,519 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $909,453,000 after purchasing an additional 1,568,337 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $81.64 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.48. Fortinet has a 1-year low of $70.12 and a 1-year high of $114.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.07.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.11. Fortinet had a net margin of 28.58% and a return on equity of 118.27%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortinet has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.660-2.700 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 0.730-0.750 EPS. Analysts forecast that Fortinet will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen upgraded Fortinet to Buy and set a $100 price target, arguing AI risks are overstated and forecasting stronger billings into 2026 — this is the principal catalyst for today’s rally. Fortinet Is Top S&P 500 Stock After Upgrade. Don’t Worry About ‘AI Eating Software.
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen’s upgrade was backed by “solid checks” from the field, per reports, giving the call more credibility and suggesting demand/billings data corroborate the upbeat view. Fortinet in focus as TD Cowen upgrades on back of ‘solid checks’
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple outlets note a five‑star analyst upgrade to Buy (TipRanks/Benzinga coverage), lifting investor attention and trading volume — momentum and analyst conviction are reinforcing the move. Fortinet Stock (FTNT) Surges after Five-Star Analyst Upgrades to Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage summaries and quick news pieces (e.g., Benzinga/Yahoo) are amplifying the upgrade narrative, attracting short-term traders and contributing to above-average volume. Tesla removes Autopilot software, Fortinet upgraded to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet is appearing among intraday Nasdaq gainers and tech/AI rotation lists — helpful context for momentum but not a fundamental change. Live Nasdaq Composite: Market Mettle Tested in Whipsaw Week
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/ETF commentary highlights Fortinet’s role in cloud and security ETFs — may attract passive inflows over time but is not an immediate catalyst. Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Nasdaq Composite ETF Cloud Security Reach

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.