13,886 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 6.1%, selling 13,886 shares and retaining 212,179 shares valued at approximately $84.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks insiders sold 54,260 shares worth about $20.8 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by an executive vice president and a director.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 50 analysts and an average price target of $391.32. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue rising 34.5% year over year.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 212,179 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 13,886 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.0% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $84,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $12,610,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,179 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,734,973,000 after acquiring an additional 205,123 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,993,802,000 after purchasing an additional 706,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,968,304,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total transaction of $10,769,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,110,900. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,760,300. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,260 shares of company stock valued at $20,804,474 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Mizuho set a $415.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stephens set a $400.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Scotiabank cut Palo Alto Networks from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $434.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $391.32.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $405.59. 1,364,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,310,553. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $409.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $331.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 795.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $362.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $285.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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