J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 60.0% in the second quarter, selling 91,991 shares and holding 61,447 shares worth approximately $12.57 million afterward.
• Palo Alto Networks reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.95 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.89, with revenues of $2.54 billion, up 15.8% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts remain optimistic with a consensus price target of $214.64 and most analysts rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy."

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG trimmed its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 60.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,447 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 91,991 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 161,840 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $33,119,000 after buying an additional 9,766 shares during the period. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 181,691 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $37,181,000 after buying an additional 49,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $209.30 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $190.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The business's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, September 15th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $232.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.64.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $259,351,606. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.

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