Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Acquires 32,512 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Nixon Peabody Trust Co. boosted its Palo Alto Networks stake by 28.8% in the first quarter, buying 32,512 shares and bringing its total to 145,434 shares valued at about $23.3 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on PANW, with multiple firms raising price targets; the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $316.15.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and 31.1% revenue growth year over year, while also noting insider selling by executives and directors.

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 28.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,434 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 32,512 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.9% of Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $23,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $255.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $253.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $316.15.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 102,111 shares of company stock valued at $27,204,024. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $348.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $283.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 285.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm's fifty day moving average is $258.43 and its 200 day moving average is $201.39. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $358.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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