Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Has $55.73 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 302,572 shares valued at about $55.7 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on PANW, with multiple firms raising price targets; MarketBeat data shows an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.98.
• Palo Alto Networks posted a strong quarter, reporting $1.03 EPS and $2.59 billion in revenue, both ahead of expectations, while insiders also sold shares during the period.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lowered its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 302,572 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 46,419 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.1% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $55,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $277,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 15,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $1,554,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.98.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

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

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $245.80. The business's fifty day moving average is $174.81 and its 200-day moving average is $181.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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?

Palo Alto Networks 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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