GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Cuts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• GPS Wealth Strategies Group cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 97.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 1,209 shares worth about $223,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, posting $1.03 EPS versus $0.94 expected and $2.59 billion in revenue, with revenue up 14.9% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: several firms raised price targets, and the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $226.33, while PANW recently traded near its 52-week high.

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lowered its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 97.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,209 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 51,179 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $260.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.29 and a 200 day moving average of $182.32. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $261.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.97, a PEG ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $226.33.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on PANW to $285 from $235 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential for the cybersecurity leader.
• Positive Sentiment: Truist also boosted its price target ahead of results, reinforcing Wall Street’s improving view of Palo Alto Networks’ earnings and growth outlook. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Gets Major Price Target Boost from Truist Ahead of Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said customers at the company’s Ignite On Tour event showed strong interest in PANW’s AI security offerings, with acquisitions Portkey and Koi Security attracting attention and little resistance to recent firewall price increases.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary continued to highlight cybersecurity as a durable budget priority, with Palo Alto Networks added to Josh Brown’s “best stocks” list alongside other leading security names.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article framed PANW’s strong year-to-date outperformance versus Palantir as a possible rebalancing candidate, but the piece was more about relative performance than a new company-specific catalyst. Palo Alto Networks Is Beating Palantir by 60% This Year. Is a Rebalancing Imminent?
• Neutral Sentiment: Company insider selling by CAO Josh D. Paul was disclosed, though the 400-share sale was relatively small versus his remaining holdings and does not by itself signal a major shift in fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also pointed to rising AI security demand for products like Prisma AIRS and XSIAM, supporting the long-term growth narrative rather than changing near-term results.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,355 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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