Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes $4.72 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Freestone Grove Partners acquired 13,831 Palo Alto Networks shares worth approximately $4.72 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: JPMorgan raised its price target to $384, while the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $368.42.
• PANW reported quarterly EPS of $0.85 and revenue of $3 billion, beating estimates, but the stock trades at a valuation above 300 times earnings. Recent insider sales and upcoming earnings create potential risks if growth, margins or guidance disappoint.

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,831 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,717,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $326.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. FBN Securities reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.42.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,835 shares of company stock valued at $11,127,854 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $371.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88. The business has a 50 day moving average of $344.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.45. The company has a market capitalization of $302.85 billion, a PE ratio of 304.58, a PEG ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $400 from $340 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside to next-generation security annual recurring revenue, revenue, operating income and margins. The forecast reinforces expectations that Palo Alto Networks’ AI-security strategy is gaining traction. Palo Alto Networks Gets a $400 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are taking confidence from CrowdStrike’s stronger-than-expected results, which highlighted robust AI-related cybersecurity demand and lifted sentiment across the sector. Palo Alto Networks is viewed as a potential beneficiary of the same spending cycle. Palo Alto Networks Stock Trades Up
• Positive Sentiment: Platformization, adoption of AI-security products and recent deal wins are expected to support fourth-quarter growth. BTIG also assigned PANW a Buy rating, adding to broadly favorable analyst coverage. Palo Alto Networks to Report Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant movement after the report, while analysts are watching recurring revenue, margins, operating income and guidance—not just revenue and EPS. Expected Post-Earnings Stock Move
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition-related costs could pressure results, and the stock’s triple-digit P/E ratio—above 300 based on the supplied data—means much of the AI-growth outlook may already be reflected in the price. Any shortfall in growth or guidance could trigger profit-taking. Palo Alto’s Rally Has One Big Problem Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000, reducing his position by 1.21%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining holdings but may create a modest sentiment headwind. Palo Alto Networks Insider Sale

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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