Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 428.8%, acquiring an additional 256,845 shares and holding a total of 316,749 shares worth $54 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with 79.82% of its stock currently owned by this group.
• Despite recent stock price adjustments by various analysts, the consensus holds a moderate buy rating, with an average target price of $211.52 for the stock.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 428.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 316,749 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 256,845 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $54,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $33,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 669,422 shares of company stock valued at $126,452,337 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PANW stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,189,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,595,628. The stock has a market cap of $127.04 billion, a PE ratio of 118.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.39 and a 200 day moving average of $185.99.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America raised Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.52.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.