Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW is Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's 7th Largest Position

Key Points

• Chesley Taft & Associates reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 5.4% in the second quarter, but the cybersecurity company remains the fund’s seventh-largest holding at 2.4% of its portfolio, valued at approximately $62.1 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $333.76; several firms recently raised targets to between $330 and $355, although Guggenheim downgraded the stock to “Reduce.”
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly revenue of $3 billion, up 31.1% year over year, and EPS of $0.85, beating estimates. Shares opened at $363.86, near their 52-week high, while insiders sold about $27.2 million of stock during the quarter.

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,105 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 10,434 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 2.4% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $62,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Trust Point Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,519 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.3% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,014 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. First Heartland Consultants Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 1,941 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. MFG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,934,000. Finally, Sonoma Allocations LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sonoma Allocations LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $868,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group set a $300.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $255.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $363.86 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $376.98. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $317.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $296.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 298.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The firm's revenue 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 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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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