Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes $9.54 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Dark Forest Capital Management LP has acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, purchasing 55,911 shares valued at approximately $9.54 million, making it the fund's 9th largest holding.
• Analysts generally have a positive outlook on Palo Alto Networks, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $211.52, backed by multiple "buy" ratings from leading firms.
• Insiders have sold over $107 million in shares during the last three months, with key executives reducing their ownership stakes in the company.

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 55,911 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $9,541,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up 0.4% of Dark Forest Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 12.9% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 120,213 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $20,513,000 after purchasing an additional 13,705 shares in the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $3,208,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.8% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,111,000 after buying an additional 1,774 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.8% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 18,703 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,192,000 after buying an additional 7,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% in the first quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 36,427 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,216,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Roth Capital initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 569,422 shares of company stock worth $107,116,337 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $190.52 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39. The stock has a market cap of $127.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $189.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.92.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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