Congress Asset Management Co. Trims Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) by 1.3%, holding 560,896 shares worth approximately $114.78 million at the end of the second quarter.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard and Goldman Sachs, increased their positions in PANW, indicating strong institutional interest with 79.82% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a quarterly revenue of $2.54 billion, surpassing expectations and marking a year-over-year revenue increase of 15.8%.

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 560,896 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 7,150 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $114,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $10,712,019,000 after buying an additional 1,541,637 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,234,650,000 after acquiring an additional 2,134,735 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,902,048 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,177,765,000 after acquiring an additional 950,765 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth $810,047,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,422,037 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $754,576,000 after purchasing an additional 219,111 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $202.21 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $210.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.18. The firm has a market cap of $135.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Westpark Capital reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,415,030 shares of company stock worth $279,198,494. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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