Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 18,476 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Cambridge Investment Research Advisors reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,476 shares and ending with 159,751 shares worth about $29.4 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.03 versus the $0.94 estimate and revenue of $2.59 billion, up 14.9% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, as multiple analysts lifted price targets, including Oppenheimer to $275 and RBC to $255, while the consensus rating stays at Moderate Buy.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,751 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 18,476 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $29,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 54,028 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $9,952,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $654,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 8,548 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 8,085 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,489,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Lawood & Co. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,123,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $242.83 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $245.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.16, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $174.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.99.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $275.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.98.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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