Michael Xie Sells 343,106 Shares of Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $27,935,690.52. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,210,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,321,160.44. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FTNT opened at $81.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Fortinet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $70.12 and a twelve month high of $114.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $80.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.08. The stock has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.06.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last announced its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Financial Consulate Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Fortinet in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Fortinet News

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FTNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (up from $83.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Fortinet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Fortinet from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered shares of Fortinet from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.48.

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.