Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,760 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,220 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at $75,412,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,077,000 after purchasing an additional 15,091 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Palo Alto Networks News
Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks beat fiscal Q3 expectations, with revenue of $3.0 billion and EPS of $0.85, and management raised full-year and Q4 guidance, reinforcing the view that AI-related cybersecurity demand is accelerating. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Wall Street analyst sentiment turned more bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets sharply and several upgrading the stock, which can support PANW’s valuation and sentiment in the near term. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Citigroup, Wedbush, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Berenberg, Truist, Rosenblatt, Oppenheimer, RBC, Mizuho and others all lifted targets into a much higher range, signaling confidence that the post-earnings growth story remains intact. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: FBN Securities upgraded Palo Alto Networks to “strong-buy,” adding another constructive catalyst for the stock after the earnings report. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary suggests the stock may have run ahead of itself after a strong rally, and a few articles note that investors are pausing to assess whether the AI-security growth can justify the valuation. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: An insider sale by the chief accounting officer may create a small headline overhang, but the transaction appears limited relative to the company’s recent surge. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: Broader weakness in cybersecurity peers, including CrowdStrike’s post-earnings drop, may be weighing on sentiment across the group and helping explain some near-term pressure in PANW. Article Title
Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks
In related news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 72,076 shares of company stock worth $17,930,587 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $315.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BTIG Research increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $268.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Northland Securities increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.29.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance
Shares of PANW opened at $279.25 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $202.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 228.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $302.95.
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 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Palo Alto Networks
(
Free Report)
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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