Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Holdings Trimmed by Natural Investments LLC

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC has reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.8%, owning 20,772 shares valued at approximately $4.25 million, making it the company's 19th largest position.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a 12.30% net margin and exceeded earnings expectations, posting $0.95 EPS compared to a consensus estimate of $0.89 for the last quarter.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for Palo Alto Networks, with several firms raising price targets; current consensus price target stands at $214.95.

Natural Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,772 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 1,520 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.1% of Natural Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $208.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $139.50 billion, a PE ratio of 129.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $189.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $141,512.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PANW. Bank of America raised Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. New Street Research raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.

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