ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Raises Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.0% in Q2, bringing its holdings to 61,188 shares worth approximately $12.5 million.
• Several institutional investors have also significantly increased their positions in Palo Alto Networks, with Nuveen LLC purchasing a new stake valued at about $810 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.95 for Q2, exceeding analyst estimates, and set guidance for FY 2026 EPS between $3.750-3.850.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,188 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,996 shares during the period. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $810,047,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $633,068,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,234,650,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,735 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 77.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,879,506 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $662,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $10,712,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,637 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $206.80 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $138.33 billion, a PE ratio of 128.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $189.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.87.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total transaction of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,008,788.94. The trade was a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,314,430 shares of company stock valued at $259,210,094 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.64.

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.

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