Equitable Holdings Inc. Takes Position in Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Equitable Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,332 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,587,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Fortinet by 53.6% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 215 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT opened at $166.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.68 and a 200 day moving average of $120.40. The company has a market capitalization of $121.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.45, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.07. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.55 and a 12 month high of $173.89. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet Federal, a wholly owned subsidiary, earned CMMC Level 2 certification after validating 110 NIST SP 800-171 controls. The certification could improve Fortinet’s credibility with U.S. government agencies and defense contractors seeking compliant cybersecurity providers. Fortinet Federal’s New CMMC Level 2 Certification
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to point to platform adoption, artificial-intelligence security products, product expansion and CMMC-related demand as potential growth drivers across enterprise and government markets. Fortinet Stock Surges on Security Platform Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A new multi-year sponsorship agreement with Stanford Athletics supports Fortinet’s brand visibility, although the financial impact is likely modest compared with its core business. Stanford Athletics and Fortinet Sponsorship
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet recently moved above its 20-day moving average, signaling short-term technical momentum. However, technical support can also encourage profit-taking after a large advance. Fortinet Crosses Above Its 20-Day Moving Average
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a key overhang. With the stock near its annual high and trading at roughly 58 times earnings, investors may be demanding continued strong execution, leaving limited room for disappointment. Fortinet Valuation Leaves Limited Margin of Safety
• Negative Sentiment: Insider-trading data shows executives made no open-market purchases and reported multiple sales over the past six months. In addition, the reported median analyst price target of $115 is below recent trading levels, reinforcing concerns that expectations may have become excessive.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

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 transaction 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 approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total transaction of $507,568.23. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,918,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,613,022,886.80. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold 329,142 shares of company stock valued at $50,731,178 in the last 90 days. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FTNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Compass Point set a $100.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho set a $125.00 price target on Fortinet and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Fortinet from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report 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 assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.91.

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.