Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 5,489,574 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,992,788 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 5,489,574 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $306,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at $9,561,650,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 1.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,660,558 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,493,860,000 after acquiring an additional 477,397 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,152,917,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Fortinet by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,504,597 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,151,810,000 after acquiring an additional 893,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Fortinet by 45.5% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 11,506,173 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $940,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,598,487 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This 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 can be accessed 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total transaction of $507,568.23. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,918,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 329,142 shares of company stock worth $50,731,178 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Trading Down 3.9%

FTNT opened at $166.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Fortinet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.55 and a 52 week high of $173.89. The stock has a market cap of $121.80 billion, a PE ratio of 58.45, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day moving average of $157.68 and a 200-day moving average of $120.40.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FTNT. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Fortinet from $115.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.91.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

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.

Fortinet 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.