Alta Advisers Ltd Acquires Shares of 2,863 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Alta Advisers acquired 2,863 Palo Alto Networks shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $976,000. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.67; several firms recently raised their targets as high as $434.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly EPS of $0.85, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 31.1% year over year to $3 billion. However, insiders sold 37,935 shares worth about $10.8 million over the past three months.

Alta Advisers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,863 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $65,796,000 after acquiring an additional 53,485 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $104,774,000 after purchasing an additional 29,230 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $2,159,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 37,935 shares of company stock worth $10,809,461. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Capital One Financial set a $421.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $434.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $362.67.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $358.04 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $337.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88. The company has a market cap of $291.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 293.48, a PEG ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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