Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Boosted by BankPlus Trust Department

Key Points

• BankPlus Trust Department increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 22.8%, owning 8,351 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a 15.8% year-over-year revenue growth and earnings per share of $0.95, exceeding the analysts' consensus estimate.
• Institutional investors own 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks, reflecting strong institutional confidence in the company's stock.

BankPlus Trust Department grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,351 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,549 shares during the period. BankPlus Trust Department's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.2% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,695 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,256 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 21.7% in the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $141,512.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 32,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,564,943.84. The trade was a 2.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $211.04 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $190.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.60. The company has a market cap of $141.16 billion, a PE ratio of 131.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $214.02.

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. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Bank of America raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.95.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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