Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 1,511,678 Shares of Fortinet, Inc. $FTNT

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,238,791 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 1,511,678 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Fortinet were worth $272,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Fortinet in the second quarter worth $25,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Fortinet during the third quarter worth about $25,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 1,556.5% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 381 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Fortinet by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 355 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on FTNT shares. Scotiabank downgraded Fortinet from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $85.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective (up from $66.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Truist Financial set a $88.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Fortinet from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Fortinet presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.48.

Fortinet News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are broadly constructive ahead of Q4 — previews note potential upside vs. consensus driven by recurring revenue strength and AI/data‑center deal momentum, supporting hopes for an earnings beat. Fortinet Q4 2025 earnings preview
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies expects a modest Q4 beat (which can lift sentiment near-term) even as it stays cautious on FY‑2026 — near-term beat expectations are a bullish catalyst into results. Jefferies Q4 preview
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt and other coverage point to tax incentives and improved sales execution as possible Q4 upside drivers — any upside surprise could re‑rate the shares. Rosenblatt Q4 upside
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks and Benzinga previews compile guidance/expectations (revenue guidance bands and EPS setup); useful positioning but not an immediate catalyst until Fortinet posts results and forward guidance. Zacks Q4 preview Benzinga preview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Ken Xie sold 175,737 shares (~$14.3M) and VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares (~$27.9M) on Feb. 2 — large insider sales often weigh on sentiment even though insiders still hold sizable stakes. InsiderTrades: Ken Xie sale Michael Xie SEC filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades (including Scotiabank and some firms reassessing 2026 growth) have pressured the stock as investors mark down forward growth expectations. Analyst downgrades Scotiabank downgrade

Fortinet Price Performance

Shares of Fortinet stock opened at $81.12 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.08. Fortinet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $114.82. The firm has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The software maker reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.11. Fortinet had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 28.58%.The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Fortinet’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Fortinet, Inc. will post 2.09 EPS for the current year.

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.