Moran Wealth Management LLC Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Moran Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3,826.5%, acquiring a total of 63,688 shares worth approximately $13 million.
• The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of $216.00, and 29 analysts rating it as a Buy.
• Insider trading activity revealed that executives have sold a total of 1.3 million shares in the past ninety days, indicating increased selling pressure within the company.

Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3,826.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,688 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 62,066 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Stephens reiterated 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. New Street Research increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $216.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $141,512.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 32,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,564,943.84. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $213.28 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $193.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $189.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.66 billion, a PE ratio of 132.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $217.94.

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

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.