Scotiabank Has Bullish Forecast for Fortinet FY2027 Earnings

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) – Analysts at Scotiabank raised their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Fortinet in a research report issued on Thursday, October 1st. Scotiabank analyst P. Colville now forecasts that the software maker will earn $3.42 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.95. Scotiabank has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $163.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Fortinet’s current full-year earnings is $3.10 per share.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $135.00 price target on Fortinet and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $110.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and issued a $136.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Fortinet from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.79.

Fortinet Stock Performance

Fortinet stock opened at $189.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $166.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.83. Fortinet has a 52 week low of $73.55 and a 52 week high of $192.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.58, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 191.54% and a net margin of 28.17%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.410-3.470 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.830-0.870 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fortinet

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fortinet during the second quarter valued at about $492,000. Westerkirk Capital Inc. grew its position in Fortinet by 41.9% in the 4th quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 52,500 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 15,500 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Fortinet by 21.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 75,491 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,169,000 after buying an additional 13,294 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Fortinet by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 49,058 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,537,000 after buying an additional 17,018 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Fortinet by 83.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. now owns 22,326 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,991,000 after acquiring an additional 10,180 shares during the period. 83.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In other news, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total value of $26,266,662.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 2,835 shares of the 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. This trade represents a 2.84% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 221,303 shares of company stock worth $36,164,034. Corporate insiders own 17.60% of the company’s stock.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI and industrial cybersecurity demand support the bull case. Fortinet’s security products are viewed as critical for protecting AI infrastructure, while Rockwell Automation’s expansion of managed services supporting Fortinet firewalls could broaden adoption in manufacturing and operational-technology environments. 1 Millionaire-Maker AI Cybersecurity Stock to Buy and Hold Rockwell Automation Expands SecureOT Managed Services
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and earnings expectations remain favorable. Zacks highlighted FTNT as a strong momentum stock and included it among companies expected to deliver an upcoming earnings beat. The coverage points to strong price performance, favorable estimate trends and continued investor interest in cybersecurity. Here’s Why Fortinet Is a Strong Momentum Stock Looking for Earnings Beat? Buy These 5 Top-Ranked Stocks
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its FY2027 EPS forecast. The bank lifted its estimate to $3.42 from $2.95, above the cited consensus estimate of $3.10, signaling improved expectations for Fortinet’s longer-term profitability. Scotiabank Has Strong Forecast for Fortinet FY2027 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: FTNT is being compared favorably with CrowdStrike. Both cybersecurity stocks are near record highs, but analysts say valuation and future earnings revisions will determine which has greater upside. Fortinet is described as having a relatively more reasonable valuation than some peers. CrowdStrike vs. Fortinet
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and cash-flow execution are key risks. After a multiyear rally, investors are questioning whether Fortinet can generate enough sustained cash flow to justify its elevated valuation. Scotiabank’s $163 price target and “Sector Perform” rating also suggest limited upside at current levels. Can Fortinet Stay Fully Priced on Future Cash Flow?

About Fortinet

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.

Founded in 2000, Fortinet serves customers globally through direct sales, channel partners, and managed security service providers.