Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 496,967 shares valued at about $91.5 million.
• Other large institutional investors also boosted positions, and the article notes that 79.82% of PANW shares are owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive: multiple analysts raised price targets, and MarketBeat says the stock carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $235.09 target price.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 496,967 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 13,956 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.07% of Palo Alto Networks worth $91,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $502,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,738 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at approximately $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth approximately $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $750,875,000 after purchasing an additional 708,332 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.09.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $281.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.86 billion, a PE ratio of 155.63, a P/E/G ratio of 9.29 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.96. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $283.71.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms lifted their price targets on Palo Alto Networks, including Morgan Stanley, Evercore, Wedbush, Benchmark, Wells Fargo, BTIG, and Mizuho, reinforcing expectations for continued growth and keeping sentiment constructive. Morgan Stanley raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage continues to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ strong platform momentum and growing ARR, suggesting investors see room for further upside if upcoming earnings confirm the trend. ARR growth article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media are also debating whether the company’s AI security leadership is a durable competitive advantage or mostly a narrative, which adds uncertainty but does not appear to be the main driver today. AI security narrative article
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares, a move some investors may interpret cautiously, although he still retains a meaningful stake in the company. Insider sale article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts remain cautious on near-term fundamentals, pointing to rising acquisition costs, share dilution, and a mixed outlook heading into Q3 earnings. Q3 earnings outlook article

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,660 shares of company stock valued at $21,346,475. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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