Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 3.2% in the second quarter, selling 15,759 shares and retaining 471,534 shares valued at approximately $160.8 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 39 Buy ratings and 10 Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $385.67. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 34.5% year over year.
• Insiders sold 38,258 shares worth about $11.1 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW’s outstanding stock.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 471,534 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 15,759 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $160,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 35,252.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 417,760,413 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $142,464,656,000 after purchasing an additional 416,578,710 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,833,462,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,415,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,968,304,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,569,755,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Northland Securities set a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Arete Research boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Key sold 7,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,258 shares of company stock valued at $11,050,673. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $336.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $274.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 660.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $398.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.

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