Fiera Capital Corp Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp boosted its Palo Alto Networks stake by 32% in the fourth quarter, buying 20,980 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 86,444 shares worth about $15.9 million.
• Palo Alto Networks posted a strong quarterly report, with EPS of $0.85 beating estimates and revenue of $3.0 billion topping expectations; revenue also rose 31.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on PANW, with several firms raising price targets after earnings; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $306.59.

Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,444 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,980 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $266.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.06 billion, a PE ratio of 218.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average price is $207.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.93. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,076 shares of company stock worth $17,930,587. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $253.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stephens raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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