Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT Shares Purchased by JT Stratford LLC

JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 589.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,052 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,419 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTNT. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Fortinet during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortinet in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new position in Fortinet during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Fortinet during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Fortinet by 1,556.5% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 381 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fortinet

In related news, CEO Ken Xie sold 175,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $14,308,506.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 51,396,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,184,693,666.70. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $27,935,690.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,210,282 shares in the company, valued at $831,321,160.44. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company outlook and results: Fortinet guided to ~13% billings growth for 2026 and reported quarterly revenue and EPS above Street estimates — a clear fundamental positive supporting buying interest. Fortinet forecasts article
• Positive Sentiment: Support from broker moves: BMO recently bumped its price target (to $95) and cites Fortinet’s long-term track record, adding analyst support that can underpin the rally. BMO note (via Yahoo)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation review: Recent coverage assesses FTNT valuation after the share-price momentum — useful context for investors weighing whether the rally is priced for continued growth. Valuation article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/market notes roundup: Fortinet appears in several analyst research roundups and conference materials (Morgan Stanley presentation transcript and top analyst call summaries), which provide incremental detail but no single catalyst. Conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-call follow-up: JPMorgan had listed FTNT among top short ideas weeks ago; recent write-ups show a mixed scorecard — the initial short interest narrative hasn’t clearly resolved and is producing uneven headlines. JPMorgan short ideas follow-up
• Neutral Sentiment: Data noise on short interest: Recent short-interest reporting in the feed shows implausible/zero values (likely a data error) — not a reliable signal for trading decisions today. (No actionable article link)
• Negative Sentiment: New negative analyst action: Wells Fargo initiated coverage with an Underweight rating and a $64 price target (materially below current levels), which is a clear near-term headwind and likely a major driver of intraday volatility. Wells Fargo initiation (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Additional sell-side downward signal reported: a Zacks note referenced Wells Fargo’s negative stance (phrased as a move to “strong sell”), reinforcing the negative take from that shop. Zacks summary

Fortinet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FTNT opened at $82.79 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $61.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.17. Fortinet, Inc. has a one year low of $70.12 and a one year high of $109.33. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.43.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. Fortinet had a return on equity of 124.21% and a net margin of 27.26%.The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Fortinet’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Fortinet has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.590-0.630 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.940-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on FTNT shares. HSBC cut shares of Fortinet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Evercore set a $80.00 price target on Fortinet in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Fortinet from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $88.00 target price on Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $88.62.

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.