Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Lifted by Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 32.1%, owning a total of 22,508 shares worth approximately $3.84 million.
• Over 79% of Palo Alto Networks' stock is owned by institutional investors, with several others, including Capital A Wealth Management and WPG Advisers LLC, recently acquiring new positions in the company.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong earnings with $0.95 EPS, exceeding expectations, and set ambitious FY 2026 guidance of $3.750-$3.850 EPS amid continued revenue growth of 15.8% year-over-year.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 32.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,508 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,465 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.5% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. SWAN Capital LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares in the company, valued at $51,564,964.44. This represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 669,422 shares of company stock valued at $126,452,337. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of PANW stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.52. 5,189,897 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,595,628. The firm has a market cap of $127.04 billion, a PE ratio of 118.70, a PEG ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $210.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $189.39 and a 200 day moving average of $185.99.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.52.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.