Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC Takes Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Benchmark Investment Advisors purchased 14,929 shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter, worth approximately $5.1 million and representing 2.2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.67. Recent firms raised their targets as high as $434, although Guggenheim downgraded the stock to “Reduce.”
• PANW shares opened at $358.04 after rising 2.4%; the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.85 in EPS and $3 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. Insiders, however, sold 37,935 shares worth $10.8 million over the past quarter.

Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,929 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,091,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.2% of Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $434.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $362.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total transaction of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,272,790.88. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 37,935 shares of company stock worth $10,809,461 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $358.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 293.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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