45,000 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Bought by OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

Key Points

• OCONNOR, a UBS Asset Management unit, opened a new position in Palo Alto Networks by buying 45,000 shares worth about $8.29 million in the fourth quarter. The stake represented about 0.9% of its portfolio and made PANW its 25th largest holding.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with about 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks shares held by institutions. Several smaller funds also added to or initiated positions during the period.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish after the company’s recent earnings beat, with Palo Alto Networks reporting $0.85 EPS on $3.0 billion revenue, both above estimates. The stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $306.59.

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 45,000 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,289,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 0.9% of OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wedbush raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $150,080.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,157,120. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,044 shares of company stock worth $26,022,722. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $287.78 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $228.24 and its 200-day moving average is $192.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $302.95. The firm has a market cap of $234.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 235.89, a P/E/G ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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