Northeast Investment Management Sells 5,828 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Northeast Investment Management reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 3.7% in the first quarter, selling 5,828 shares and ending with 151,363 shares valued at about $24.3 million.
• Other institutional investors have also been active in PANW, and institutions now own 79.82% of the company. Major analysts remain bullish, with several raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $306.59.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and the stock was trading near its 52-week high after rising 2.7%. However, insiders sold shares over the past 90 days, including a recent 20,000-share sale by director James J. Goetz.

Northeast Investment Management trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 151,363 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 5,828 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,568,964,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065,776 shares during the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $281,542,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $255.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.59.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,389 shares of company stock worth $27,570,630. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.7%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $293.09 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $238.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $195.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $238.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 240.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks'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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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