Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Price Target Raised to $160.00

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $135.00 to $160.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on FTNT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fortinet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $145.00 price target (up from $102.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.09.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of FTNT opened at $169.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $169.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.85. Fortinet has a 52 week low of $73.55 and a 52 week high of $197.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.15. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 analysts forecast that Fortinet will post 3.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,613,022,886.80. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 221,303 shares of company stock worth $36,164,034. Insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fortinet during the 2nd quarter worth $492,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. raised its holdings in Fortinet by 83.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 22,326 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,991,000 after purchasing an additional 10,180 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 21.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,491 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,169,000 after buying an additional 13,294 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 53.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,058 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $7,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Fortinet by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 32,402 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $5,792,000 after acquiring an additional 8,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet expanded its partnership with Atos to provide a unified cybersecurity framework for hybrid- and multi-cloud environments. The agreement could strengthen Fortinet’s enterprise reach and support demand for its security products and services. Fortinet Expands Global Cybersecurity Framework For Hybrid And Multi Cloud Security
• Positive Sentiment: Growth-oriented analysis remains supportive, citing Fortinet’s above-average financial growth and its potential to outperform the broader market. Its latest reported quarter also showed strong earnings and revenue growth, providing a fundamental counterpoint to the current selling pressure. 3 Reasons Why Growth Investors Shouldn’t Overlook Fortinet
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its Fortinet price target from $135 to $160 but retained an “underweight” rating. The higher target is constructive, although it still implies limited upside relative to the stock’s recent trading level. Wells Fargo Lifts Target for Fortinet Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley downgraded FTNT to “underweight” from “equal weight,” warning that a smaller-than-expected firewall refresh opportunity could reduce future revenue estimates. This concern overshadowed the company’s continued customer expansion and has become the clearest company-specific catalyst behind the decline. Fortinet Falls as Analyst Downgrade Revives Firewall Refresh Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Fortinet’s premium valuation makes the stock vulnerable when growth expectations weaken. Broader weakness in technology and AI-related stocks, along with reports of net insider selling, added to investor caution ahead of the company’s October 28 earnings report.

About Fortinet

Fortinet, Inc develops cybersecurity products and services designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments and operational technology systems. The company’s portfolio includes next-generation firewalls, secure networking products, endpoint security, web application security, email security, identity and access solutions, and security information and event management tools.

Its product offerings include FortiGate network security appliances and cloud-based firewalls, along with FortiSwitch, FortiAP and FortiExtender solutions for secure connectivity.