iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $28.64 Million Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,970 more shares and bringing its total holdings to 155,468 shares worth about $28.64 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish, with several firms raising price targets and most ratings landing at Buy or Strong Buy; MarketBeat shows an average target of $214.98 and a Moderate Buy consensus.
• Palo Alto Networks reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS expectations with $1.03 per share and slightly topping revenue estimates at $2.59 billion, while revenue grew 14.9% year over year.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,468 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 8,970 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $28,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $502,263,000 after buying an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $750,875,000 after buying an additional 708,332 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.98.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $198.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $245.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $174.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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