Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 17,394 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Franklin Resources increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 17,394 shares (up 0.4%) to 4,037,320 shares, representing 0.59% ownership and valued at $822,079,000 per its latest 13F filing.
• Company insiders sold a total of 149,252 shares worth about $27.89 million over the past three months (notably James J. Goetz and EVP Lee Klarich), leaving insiders with 1.40% ownership.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly estimates with $1.03 EPS vs. $0.94 expected and $2.59B revenue, set FY2026 guidance of $3.65–$3.70 EPS, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $210.19 target.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,037,320 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 17,394 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.59% of Palo Alto Networks worth $822,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $13,290,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,174,029 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,093,262,000 after acquiring an additional 169,055 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,202,776,000 after purchasing an additional 611,375 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,476,638 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $916,099,000 after purchasing an additional 54,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $675,865,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 149,252 shares of company stock worth $27,888,535. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $165.58 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $135.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.48, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $170.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $189.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.19.

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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