Morgan Stanley Downgrades Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) from Equal Weight to Underweight, Reduces Its Price Target to $67

With significant upside potential, Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) secures a spot on our list of the 13 Best Quality Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds.

On September 2, Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) was downgraded from Equal Weight to Underweight by Morgan Stanley, which also reduced its price target from $78 to $67 due to worries that the fiscal 2026–2027 firewall refresh cycle would be shorter than expected, which might put pressure on future profit projections.

Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) is still growing its product line, adding SASE and SecOps solutions to its installed base, and keeping a healthy financial position with more cash than debt and excellent free cash flow creation despite the downgrade.

Driven by major corporate momentum, the company’s second-quarter 2025 results exceeded profitability and billings predictions and reached revenue expectations, albeit subscription revenue growth slowed somewhat. Morgan Stanley acknowledged Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT)’s ongoing success in growing its U.S. sales and upselling other products, but pointed out that its short-term view reflects possible challenges.

Network firewalls, wireless local area networks, secure switches, access points, and 5G connectivity gateways are just a few of the cybersecurity solutions and networking and security technologies that Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) offers globally. It is one of the best quality stocks.

While we acknowledge the potential of FTNT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 15 Stocks That Will Benefit From AI and 12 Best Quantum Computing Stocks to Buy According to Wall Street Analysts.

Disclosure: None.