Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Mizuho Analyst Says

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Mizuho from $70.00 to $86.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underperform” rating on the software maker’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 4.39% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $90.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Fortinet from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.33.

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of FTNT opened at $89.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $65.85 billion, a PE ratio of 37.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.92. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $70.12 and a fifty-two week high of $108.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.81.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 27.26% and a return on equity of 124.21%. The business’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Fortinet will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fortinet news, CEO Ken Xie sold 5,355 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total value of $476,059.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,978,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,709,744,555.60. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 2,478 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total transaction of $220,269.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,927,517 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $882,456,986.13. The trade was a 0.02% 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. Company insiders own 17.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fortinet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTNT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,152,917,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,581,275 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,354,874,000 after buying an additional 2,894,355 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,730,954 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $613,915,000 after buying an additional 2,166,396 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Fortinet by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,575,662 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $636,962,000 after buying an additional 1,790,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 76.2% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,109,016 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $326,297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results materially beat expectations — revenue $1.85B (+20% YoY), product revenue +41%, billings +31%, strong margins and record operating/free cash flow; company raised FY‑26 revenue and EPS targets, which is the main catalyst for the stock rally. Press Release: Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company launched new FortiGate G series (3500G/400G) aimed at securing AI workloads — product momentum and an AI‑security narrative support better long‑term demand. Product Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Market headlines and analyst notes highlighting the beat/guidance lift have amplified flows and momentum into the stock. Market Reaction
• Neutral Sentiment: C-suite insider sales (Ken Xie, Michael Xie) were executed under pre‑arranged 10b5‑1 plans to cover tax on vesting awards — common and not flagged as an operational concern, but investors may note timing. Insider Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Several sell‑side firms are keeping neutral/hold stances despite the beat; consensus remains a Hold with mixed price targets — immediate reaction driven more by results than upgrades. Earnings Call / Analyst Commentary
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts (cited by TipRanks/William Blair) and investors flag valuation as a restraint — a number of firms kept Hold ratings because the rally already prices high growth, which could cap upside if future quarters slip. Analyst: Hold on Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Reported trimming by some institutional holders and a backdrop of mixed analyst targets could limit upside if investors rotate out after the initial post‑earnings pop. Institutional Positioning

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.