Avalon Global Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Avalon Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 1.7%, owning 134,640 shares valued at approximately $22.98 million, making it the firm's 8th largest position.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.95 for its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.8%.
• Institutional investors now hold 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks' stock, with numerous firms adjusting their positions, highlighting a strong interest in the cybersecurity company.

Avalon Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 134,640 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 3.2% of Avalon Global Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Avalon Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $22,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. SWAN Capital LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. UBS Group set a $185.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Northland Securities cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.52.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.8%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.61. 5,985,276 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,151,992. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $189.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.10 billion, a PE ratio of 116.89, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.94. 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 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. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for 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 period last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.20, for a total transaction of $128,940.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 37,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,948,576.60. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 669,948 shares of company stock valued at $126,552,277. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.