Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases Shares of 4,603,119 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon acquired 4.6 million Palo Alto Networks shares worth approximately $1.57 billion, giving it a 0.56% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks exceeded quarterly expectations with adjusted earnings of $0.85 per share versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3 billion, up 31.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $362.67 price target, though recent cybersecurity-sector selling and insider stock sales present countervailing signals.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,603,119 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,569,755,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.56% of Palo Alto Networks at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $349.56 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $398.88. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $335.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $284.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 286.52, a PEG ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. 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. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI security initiative expands growth opportunities. Palo Alto Networks launched the Frontier AI Critical Defense Program with technology partners to protect critical infrastructure from AI-driven exploits and vulnerabilities. The initiative could strengthen PANW’s position in the emerging AI-security market and support demand from government and enterprise customers. Palo Alto Networks Introduces Frontier AI Critical Defense Program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $425 from $340 and maintained an “overweight” rating, citing potential for continued appreciation. The higher target signals confidence in PANW’s growth prospects despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks Price Target Raised by Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI adoption may drive sales. Palo Alto Networks is positioning its network, identity, AI and security-operations products to benefit as businesses deploy more artificial intelligence. This could help PANW compete more effectively with CrowdStrike and Zscaler. Can Strong Enterprise AI Adoption Help PANW Challenge CrowdStrike and Zscaler?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage from TD Cowen and other outlets remains constructive on PANW’s long-term appreciation potential, but provides limited new operating information. TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity-sector selling is weighing on PANW. Palo Alto Networks declined even as the broader market improved, while CrowdStrike also sold off sharply. The synchronized weakness suggests investors are reducing exposure to cybersecurity stocks or taking profits, overshadowing bullish analyst commentary. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks Stock Declines

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at $23,272,790.88. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,935 shares of company stock worth $10,809,461 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Truist Financial set a $435.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.67.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.

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