Main Street Research LLC Reduces Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Main Street Research LLC reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 61.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 21,217 shares and leaving it with 13,235 shares worth about $2.44 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding about 79.82% of PANW shares; Vanguard and several other large firms also increased or initiated positions.
• Insider activity was mixed: CAO Josh D. Paul sold shares, while CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares, a move that significantly increased his ownership.

Main Street Research LLC cut its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 61.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,235 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 21,217 shares during the quarter. Main Street Research LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th 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 period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the 3rd 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 period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% in the 3rd 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 period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. This trade represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,756 shares of company stock worth $5,076,355 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $260.58 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $261.41. The firm has a market cap of $212.63 billion, a PE ratio of 143.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.29 and a 200 day moving average of $182.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. HSBC dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Argus upgraded Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.33.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on PANW to $285 from $235 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential for the cybersecurity leader.
• Positive Sentiment: Truist also boosted its price target ahead of results, reinforcing Wall Street’s improving view of Palo Alto Networks’ earnings and growth outlook. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Gets Major Price Target Boost from Truist Ahead of Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said customers at the company’s Ignite On Tour event showed strong interest in PANW’s AI security offerings, with acquisitions Portkey and Koi Security attracting attention and little resistance to recent firewall price increases.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary continued to highlight cybersecurity as a durable budget priority, with Palo Alto Networks added to Josh Brown’s “best stocks” list alongside other leading security names.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article framed PANW’s strong year-to-date outperformance versus Palantir as a possible rebalancing candidate, but the piece was more about relative performance than a new company-specific catalyst. Palo Alto Networks Is Beating Palantir by 60% This Year. Is a Rebalancing Imminent?
• Neutral Sentiment: Company insider selling by CAO Josh D. Paul was disclosed, though the 400-share sale was relatively small versus his remaining holdings and does not by itself signal a major shift in fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also pointed to rising AI security demand for products like Prisma AIRS and XSIAM, supporting the long-term growth narrative rather than changing near-term results.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.