Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 16.2% in the first quarter, buying 8,497 additional shares and bringing its total position to 60,794 shares worth about $9.75 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 and revenue of $3.0 billion, both ahead of estimates. Revenue jumped 31.1% year over year, and the company raised FY2026 and Q4 2026 guidance.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish despite recent insider selling, with several firms raising price targets and maintaining buy ratings. At the same time, insiders have sold shares over the past 90 days, including a director’s 20,000-share sale and a CAO’s smaller sale.

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,794 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,497 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.1% of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,227 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $779,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Outfitters Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 4.9%

PANW opened at $320.59 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $368.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $261.28 billion, a PE ratio of 262.78, a P/E/G ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $268.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.73.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $318.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350 to $425 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence in further upside for the cybersecurity leader.
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG also lifted its price target on PANW from $333 to $380 while keeping a buy rating, adding to the bullish analyst momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary highlighted strong business momentum, including roughly 60% growth in next-gen security revenue and a sharp share-price rally over the past six months, which supports the bullish long-term thesis. Palo Alto (PANW) Up More than 96% Over The Past 6 Months, Is it The Best Performing Agentic AI Stock?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on the stock’s strong run and its role in the agentic AI and cybersecurity themes, reinforcing investor interest but offering no new fundamental catalyst. Shares Soar on Palo Alto's 60% Next Gen Security Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: One report noted PANW remains near its all-time high and that analysts still expect more gains, but it also flagged that the stock may be vulnerable if expectations become too stretched. Here's the key risk facing the Palo Alto Networks stock today
• Negative Sentiment: Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares at $346.85, reducing her position by 10.61%, which can be read as a small negative signal for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary warned that PANW’s valuation re-rating may have gone too far and that extreme exuberance is a risk, which may be pressuring the stock despite strong fundamentals.

Palo Alto Networks 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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