Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 5,704 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,686 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,704 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $3,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlatl Advisers LLC lifted its position in Fortinet by 6,534.8% in the third quarter. Atlatl Advisers LLC now owns 43,126 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,709,000 after acquiring an additional 42,476 shares during the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 363.0% during the third quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 8,612 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 6,752 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $196,000. Howland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 9.4% during the third quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 102.1% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 14,647 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 7,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Fortinet Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $179.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $170.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Fortinet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.55 and a 1-year high of $197.13.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The software maker reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. Fortinet’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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. Sell-side analysts predict that Fortinet, Inc. will post 3.10 EPS for the current year.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects Fortinet’s third-quarter product revenue growth to reach roughly 50% year over year, well above the 31% consensus forecast. The broker cited favorable industry checks, price increases and accelerated firewall replacement activity. Fortinet growth outlook for 2027 becomes key test for investors, says Jefferies
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking for another strong quarterly result, with analysts expecting double-digit year-over-year EPS growth. Fortinet’s ability to sustain product growth into fiscal 2027 will be the central focus of the earnings outlook. What to Expect From Fortinet’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Recent bullish positioning, including a previously raised $200 price target, reflects expectations for continued cybersecurity spending and AI-related demand. Fortinet’s hardware-software combination was also highlighted as a potential long-term competitive advantage. Fortinet versus Cisco and Palo Alto Networks
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies maintained a “hold” rating, emphasizing that forward guidance for 2027 matters more than simply beating near-term estimates. Fortinet trades at a premium valuation, increasing the importance of durable growth and strong cash generation.
• Neutral Sentiment: Fortinet released coordinated security-hardening updates for multiple products, which may have improved sentiment amid broader cybersecurity concerns, although the updates are not a major direct earnings catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target from $118 to $140 but retained an “underweight” rating, implying substantial downside from recent trading levels. JPMorgan Fortinet rating
• Negative Sentiment: Arete Research reportedly downgraded Fortinet to “sell,” adding to concerns that the stock’s elevated valuation already discounts much of its expected growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity shows executives made no open-market purchases and sold shares during the past six months, a potentially cautionary signal, though such sales may reflect scheduled diversification.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the company’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 $8,616,486,029.52. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, COO John Whittle sold 53,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.44, for a total value of $8,911,425.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 96,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,045,529.28. This represents a 35.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 221,303 shares of company stock valued at $36,164,034 over the last quarter. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FTNT shares. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Fortinet from $186.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fortinet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Fortinet from $185.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.36.

Fortinet Company Profile

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.