IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, owning 132,289 shares worth approximately $27 million at the quarter's end.
• Palo Alto Networks reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.95 for the latest quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.89, and its revenue rose by 15.8% year-over-year to $2.54 billion.
• Despite insider stock sales amounting to 568,622 shares valued at $106 million last quarter, approximately 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks' stock is still owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 132,289 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 8,235 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $27,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glen Eagle Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Glen Eagle Advisors LLC now owns 212 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $208.19. The stock had a trading volume of 8,643,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,444,992. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.53. The company has a market cap of $139.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Bank of America upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $232.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $212.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 568,622 shares of company stock worth $106,468,778 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.