Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management purchased 26,272 Palo Alto Networks shares worth approximately $8.96 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.85 in EPS versus a $0.79 estimate and $3 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.77–$3.79.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $365.87, although insiders sold $10.8 million of stock over the past 90 days and PANW trades at a high forward valuation.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,272 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,959,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,272,790.88. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 37,935 shares of company stock worth $10,809,461 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $339.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $276.54 billion, a PE ratio of 278.12, a PEG ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.91. The stock's fifty day moving average is $341.05 and its 200 day moving average is $246.01. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $398.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Mizuho set a $415.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $365.87.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish: BTIG Research reaffirmed its “Buy” rating and set a $380 price target, implying roughly 12% upside from the referenced price. BTIG Reiterates Buy Rating on Palo Alto Networks
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target from $326 to $384 and maintained an “Overweight” rating, signaling improved confidence in PANW’s earnings and growth outlook. JPMorgan Raises Palo Alto Networks Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s overall analyst view remains favorable, and Benchmark also expects the stock to rise. Strong firewall bookings, software growth and AI-related traffic are cited as potential drivers of longer-term network-security demand. Wall Street Analysts See Palo Alto as a Buy Can Rising Network Security Demand Boost PANW’s Long-Term Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: PANW was scheduled to report earnings, giving investors a near-term catalyst. Its latest reported quarter exceeded consensus revenue and EPS estimates, but the stock’s high valuation leaves results and guidance important for sustaining momentum. Palo Alto Networks Expected to Post Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The reported short-interest data shows zero shares short, so it provides no meaningful evidence of short-seller pressure or potential short-covering support.
• Negative Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks recently fell even as the broader market gained, indicating near-term profit-taking, valuation concerns or company-specific selling. The decline followed a session in which PANW lost more than 3%. Palo Alto Networks Stock Sinks as Market Gains

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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