Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Increased by Insight Holdings Group LLC

Key Points

• Insight Holdings Group LLC nearly doubled its PANW stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 98.9% to 51,705 shares worth about $9.5 million. Palo Alto Networks is now its 14th-largest position and makes up roughly 0.7% of its portfolio.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including directors James J. Goetz and John P. Key. Across the last quarter, insiders sold 101,044 shares valued at about $26.0 million.
• Analysts remain bullish on Palo Alto Networks, with multiple firms raising price targets into the $320–$335 range. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $306.59.

Insight Holdings Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 98.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,705 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 25,705 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.7% of Insight Holdings Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Insight Holdings Group LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $104,774,000 after acquiring an additional 29,230 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $75,412,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,926,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $277,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 101,044 shares of company stock worth $26,022,722 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 price target (up from $285.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.8%

PANW stock opened at $282.13 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $223.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.30. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $302.95. The company has a market cap of $229.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 231.25, a PEG ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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