Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 1,511,678 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,238,791 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 1,511,678 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.42% of Fortinet worth $272,318,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of FTNT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,686,920 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,684,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,516 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Fortinet by 3.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,183,161 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,085,244,000 after buying an additional 862,468 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Fortinet by 5.2% in the second 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 purchased a new position in Fortinet in the second quarter valued at about $1,640,900,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Fortinet by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 9,248,182 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $977,718,000 after acquiring an additional 677,654 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $27,935,690.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 10,210,282 shares in the company, valued at $831,321,160.44. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 175,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $14,308,506.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 51,396,385 shares in the company, valued at $4,184,693,666.70. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT opened at $81.12 on Thursday. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $70.12 and a 52-week high of $114.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.06.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.11. Fortinet had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 28.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price target (up previously from $83.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut Fortinet from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.48.

Trending Headlines about Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are broadly constructive ahead of Q4 — previews note potential upside vs. consensus driven by recurring revenue strength and AI/data‑center deal momentum, supporting hopes for an earnings beat. Fortinet Q4 2025 earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects a modest Q4 beat (which can lift sentiment near-term) even as it stays cautious on FY‑2026 — near-term beat expectations are a bullish catalyst into results. Jefferies Q4 preview
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt and other coverage point to tax incentives and improved sales execution as possible Q4 upside drivers — any upside surprise could re‑rate the shares. Rosenblatt Q4 upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Benzinga previews compile guidance/expectations (revenue guidance bands and EPS setup); useful positioning but not an immediate catalyst until Fortinet posts results and forward guidance. Zacks Q4 preview Benzinga preview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Ken Xie sold 175,737 shares (~$14.3M) and VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares (~$27.9M) on Feb. 2 — large insider sales often weigh on sentiment even though insiders still hold sizable stakes. InsiderTrades: Ken Xie sale Michael Xie SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades (including Scotiabank and some firms reassessing 2026 growth) have pressured the stock as investors mark down forward growth expectations. Analyst downgrades Scotiabank downgrade

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.