Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 22,568 shares and leaving it with 123,003 shares valued at about $22.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 79.82% of the company’s stock, while several smaller firms increased or initiated positions during the period.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: recent price targets were raised by firms including DA Davidson, Barclays, and Mizuho, and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $306.59.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 15.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,003 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 22,568 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.8% of Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $22,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks recently hit a $10 billion annual revenue run rate, reinforcing that the company has grown far beyond its legacy firewall roots and continues to scale as a cybersecurity platform. Palo Alto Networks Hits $10B Revenue Run Rate Beats S&P 500 Across All Timeframes
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity remains a favored theme as AI adoption grows, with industry commentary suggesting autonomous AI agents will need security protection, which could expand the long-term market for PANW’s products. Zscaler CEO: AI Will Create ‘Billions of Agents' That Need Cybersecurity Protection
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland Securities reiterated a Market Perform view and maintained a $302 price target, while modeling earnings of $0.45 per share for Q1 2027 and $0.48 for Q2 2027, suggesting steady expectations but no major near-term catalyst from the research note. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. market data
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed no meaningful change, so it does not appear to be a driver of the stock’s move today.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent post-earnings trading has been pressured by concerns that rising costs are weighing on margins, which is likely a key reason investors have been trimming the stock. PANW Stock Declines 9% Post Q3 Results: Should You Buy, Sell or Hold?

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $260.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $212.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 213.54, a P/E/G ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $302.95. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $209.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.35.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.12 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.

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