Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Buys 315,132 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 43.1%, buying 315,132 shares in the third quarter to hold 1,046,655 shares, worth about $415.8 million.
• Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s shares. Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $397.12.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.02 EPS and $3.41 billion in revenue; revenue rose 34.5% year over year. Shares were recently quoted at $322.24.

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,046,655 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 315,132 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.6% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. owned 0.13% of Palo Alto Networks worth $415,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Danske Bank A S grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.3% in the third quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 540,572 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $214,775,000 after purchasing an additional 41,613 shares during the last quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 562.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 808 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Rasp Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 991.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors now owns 12,569 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 11,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shah Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $451,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial set a $400.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, November 9th. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Northland Securities set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Forty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $397.12.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PANW traded down $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $322.24. The company had a trading volume of 5,278,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,260,294. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $367.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $277.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $432.33. The company has a market capitalization of $263.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 631.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Latest Palo Alto Networks News

Here's some of the latest news about PANW:

• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target from $450 to $400 but maintained a Buy rating, leaving the analyst positive while signaling a more cautious valuation view. Jefferies analyst recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: PANW was also noted as a holding in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust. This is a visibility signal, but the article provides no new company-specific operating or financial catalyst. A Jim Cramer’s Trust Stock Is Using AI to Breaks the Defenses It Helps Protect
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks comparison favored Cloudflare over Palo Alto, citing Cloudflare’s stronger revenue-growth outlook and rising AI-security demand. This could weigh on PANW relative to peers, though it is one analyst’s comparison rather than a change to PANW’s outlook. PANW vs. NET: Which Cybersecurity Stock Should You Buy Right Now?

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John Key sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total value of $103,070.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,825,163.56. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029 in the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company's product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.

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