71 West Capital Partners Invests $10.13 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• 71 West Capital Partners opened a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter, buying 54,984 shares worth about $10.13 million.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion, up 31.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.59, though some firms have recently lowered or cut ratings.

71 West Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 54,984 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $10,128,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $284.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $231.90 billion, a PE ratio of 233.23, a P/E/G ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 536 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $150,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,704 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,157,120. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 81,044 shares of company stock worth $20,424,722. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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