Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

12 Oct 2026, 02:06 by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat Gem

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on FTNT. Truist Financial set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Fortinet from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Fortinet from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Fortinet from $186.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.37.

Get Our Latest Analysis on Fortinet

Fortinet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FTNT opened at $194.75 on Friday. Fortinet has a 12 month low of $73.55 and a 12 month high of $194.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.26 and a 200-day moving average of $139.62. The company has a market cap of $142.89 billion, a PE ratio of 68.57, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.03.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT – Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 191.54%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% on a year-over-year basis. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Fortinet will post 3.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other news, COO John Whittle sold 2,835 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.74, for a total value of $478,377.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 96,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,365,586.38. The trade was a 2.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the business’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 directly owned 52,972,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 221,303 shares of company stock valued at $36,164,034. 17.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fortinet

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FTNT. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Fortinet by 408.3% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 305 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortinet in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Burk Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortinet in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 164 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Fortinet in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

Positive Sentiment: Analysts and financial commentators continue to highlight Fortinet as a strong momentum stock. Its recent price performance, favorable earnings trends, and improving investor interest could attract additional momentum-focused buyers. Are You Looking for a Top Momentum Pick? Why Fortinet Is a Great Choice
Positive Sentiment: Fortinet is being presented as an artificial-intelligence cybersecurity opportunity. Its products can help protect physical AI infrastructure, networks, and cloud applications as businesses increase security spending. Commentators also view its valuation as relatively reasonable compared with some cybersecurity peers. 1 Millionaire-Maker AI Cybersecurity Stock to Buy and Hold
Positive Sentiment: Comparisons with CrowdStrike and other technology stocks emphasize Fortinet’s strong share-price performance and the potential for further gains if earnings estimates and cybersecurity demand remain favorable. CrowdStrike vs. Fortinet: Which Cybersecurity Stock Is Poised for Higher Highs?
Neutral Sentiment: Coverage comparing Fortinet with the broader computer and technology sector focuses on relative year-to-date performance rather than a new company-specific catalyst. Are Computer and Technology Stocks Lagging Fortinet This Year?
Neutral Sentiment: A report described a significant increase in short interest but simultaneously listed short interest at zero shares and a 0.0-day short-interest ratio. That contradictory data appears unreliable and is unlikely to offer a clear trading signal.
Negative Sentiment: With Fortinet near all-time highs and trading at a premium earnings multiple, the stock may be vulnerable to profit-taking or disappointment if growth slows, valuation concerns increase, or it fails to meet elevated expectations. With Fortinet Stock at All-Time Highs, Here’s What Can Move It Up or Down

Fortinet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Fortinet, Inc develops and provides cybersecurity products and services for businesses, governments, and service providers. The company’s portfolio is designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments, and operational technology from cyber threats.

Its offerings include FortiGate next-generation firewalls, FortiSwitch secure networking switches, FortiAP wireless access points, FortiClient endpoint security, and FortiSASE secure access service edge solutions. Fortinet also provides centralized management and analytics through products such as FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer, along with security operations, threat intelligence, and other subscription-based services through its FortiGuard portfolio.