AlphaQuest LLC Sells 2,368 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC reduced its shares in Palo Alto Networks by 83.7%, selling 2,368 shares and leaving them with 460 shares valued at $78,000 by the end of the reporting period.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in Palo Alto Networks, with Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs respectively raising their shares by 2.5% and 41.9% during the first quarter.
• Analysts have issued new price targets for the stock, with Barclays setting a target at $215.00 while Wells Fargo increased theirs to $235.00, showing overall bullish sentiment among analysts.

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 83.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 2,368 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $78,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $10,712,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,637 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,234,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,735 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,120,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,625 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,951,283 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,082,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $810,047,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total value of $20,722,402.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 206,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,468,674.44. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,450,734.65. This represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 448,648 shares of company stock worth $83,548,499 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.68.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $190.52 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.70, a PEG ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.