Cercano Management LLC Has $35.15 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Cercano Management LLC nearly doubled its position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter, buying 94,740 additional shares and bringing its stake to 190,830 shares valued at about $35.15 million.
• Large institutions remain heavily invested in PANW, with firms like Norges Bank and Vanguard adding to or initiating sizable positions; overall, institutional investors own 79.82% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive: several analysts raised price targets, and the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $238.23, while the stock recently traded near its 52-week high.

Cercano Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 98.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,830 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 94,740 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.3% of Cercano Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Cercano Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $35,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $164,968,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at $162,161,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 93,660 shares of company stock valued at $21,346,475 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $300 from $200 and kept an overweight rating, signaling continued optimism about the company’s growth outlook. JPMorgan price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird also lifted its price target to $300 from $265 and reiterated an outperform rating, reinforcing the view that PANW can sustain momentum into earnings. Baird price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks completed its acquisition of Portkey, an AI gateway provider, which should strengthen its Prisma AIRS platform and expand its AI-security offerings. Portkey acquisition article
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles note that PANW is approaching its earnings release, with traders expecting a meaningful post-earnings move; that keeps attention on the stock but does not by itself confirm direction. Earnings watch article
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer said the stock “tends to run into the quarter,” reflecting a seasonal trading thesis rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Jim Cramer commentary

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Berenberg Bank set a $290.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $238.23.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $300.48 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $195.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $184.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $245.19 billion, a PE ratio of 166.01, a P/E/G ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $302.95.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.