Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Has $442.79 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Harel Insurance Investments sharply increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1,665.1% in Q1, ending with 2.76 million shares worth about $442.8 million.
• Institutional ownership in PANW remains heavy, with about 79.82% of shares held by institutions and hedge funds. Other major investors like Norges Bank, Vanguard, and Bank of America also added or built positions recently.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 beating estimates and revenue of $3 billion rising 31.1% year over year, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $319.96.

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1,665.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,761,909 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 2,605,433 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 3.0% of Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. owned about 0.34% of Palo Alto Networks worth $442,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,542,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $164,968,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PANW. Loop Capital raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stephens upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.96.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: PANW is benefiting from a broad cybersecurity rally, with buyers moving into the group after cooler-than-expected inflation data eased pressure on high-valuation tech stocks. CrowdStrike Climbs 11%, Palo Alto Rises 7% as Cybersecurity Stocks Rally on Cooling Inflation
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s warning about “rapidly-evolving” cybersecurity concerns is also lifting sentiment across the sector, as it suggests more corporate demand for security tools and services. IBM Heads for Worst Day Ever — But Why Are Cybersecurity Stocks Up?
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer called Palo Alto Networks “unbelievable,” adding another bullish headline that can help support investor enthusiasm around the stock. Jim Cramer Reveals Why Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Is “Unbelievable”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note that PANW has attracted heavy investor attention and has already delivered strong gains over the past year, which underscores momentum but does not add a new fundamental catalyst. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analyst-style coverage still points to higher integration costs and says Zscaler has the edge on valuation and Zero Trust adoption, which is more of a relative comparison than a direct blow to PANW. PANW vs. ZS: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $352.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $287.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 289.25, a PEG ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.91. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $280.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.93. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $368.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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