Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Purchases 15,450 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 23.5%, purchasing 15,450 additional shares to reach 81,069 shares valued at approximately $27.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a quarterly earnings beat, with adjusted EPS of $1.02 versus $0.98 expected and revenue of $3.41 billion, up 34.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a bullish outlook, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a $385.67 price target.
• Valuation and sector risks remain: PANW trades at a very high reported P/E ratio of 653.46, while cybersecurity-sector growth concerns and recent insider selling could limit near-term momentum.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,069 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,450 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 0.9% of Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $27,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $420.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Forty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.67.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Technical and earnings support: A bullish hammer chart pattern suggests potential near-term support after the recent pullback. Rising earnings estimates and the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter beat—$1.02 in adjusted EPS versus $0.98 expected, with revenue up 34.5% to $3.41 billion—also support the possibility of a rebound. Palo Alto Could Find a Support Soon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: DA Davidson raised its price target to $420, while Susquehanna and BTIG lifted targets to $415 and $404, respectively. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating, adding to a generally bullish Wall Street view. DA Davidson Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term AI opportunity: Analysts and commentary continue to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ expanding cybersecurity platform and products designed to protect enterprises from AI-related threats. The company’s strong growth profile has helped sustain investor interest despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks AI Cybersecurity Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector pressure is limiting momentum: Zscaler’s softer fiscal 2027 growth outlook overshadowed its earnings beat and weighed on cybersecurity peers. Palo Alto Networks has been more resilient than some competitors, but sector-wide concerns remain. Zscaler Growth Guidance Pressures Cybersecurity Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: AI acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid about $500 million in cash and stock for Console, an AI help-desk automation startup. The deal could broaden its AI capabilities, although integration and valuation risks may limit its immediate stock impact. Palo Alto Networks Console Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and insider sale: PANW’s very high valuation leaves little room for disappointment, while Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul’s sale of 900 shares worth approximately $336,000 adds a minor cautionary signal. However, the sale reduced his holdings by only 1.23%, limiting its significance.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $333.26 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $398.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $350.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 653.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,721.30. This represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 38,635 shares of company stock worth $11,150,578 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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