Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Key Points

• The Czech National Bank increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 6.4% during Q2, acquiring an additional 9,766 shares, bringing its total holdings to 161,840 shares valued at $33.1 million.
• Major analysts have expressed confidence in Palo Alto's stock, with multiple firms assigning buy ratings and setting price targets between $215 and $235.
• Insider selling was notable, with EVP Dipak Golechha and EVP Lee Klarich reducing their shares significantly, with Golechha's sale representing a 4.71% decrease in position.

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 161,840 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,766 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $33,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $1.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,452,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,374,792. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $188.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.35. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $210.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.16, a PEG ratio of 4.85 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 568,622 shares of company stock worth $106,468,778 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. New Street Research lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.39.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.