Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Trimmed by First Interstate Bank

Key Points

• First Interstate Bank cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 6% in the third quarter, selling 2,734 shares and retaining 42,962 shares valued at approximately $17.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 50 analysts and an average price target of $398.55. Citigroup raised its target to $440, while UBS maintained a neutral rating with a $390 target.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, exceeding estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion. However, insiders sold 54,210 shares worth about $20.8 million during the last quarter.

First Interstate Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,962 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 2,734 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 0.9% of First Interstate Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. First Interstate Bank's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $65,796,000 after buying an additional 53,485 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $2,159,000. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% in the third quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 240,029 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $95,366,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 126.6% in the third quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 18,600 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,390,000 after acquiring an additional 10,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price target (up from $410.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.68, for a total transaction of $336,312.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 72,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,085,821.12. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total transaction of $373,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,031,317.57. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $380.55 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $311.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 746.19, a P/E/G ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $432.33. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $369.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $308.82.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc NASDAQ: PANW is a global cybersecurity company that helps organizations protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, and digital infrastructure. Its offerings are designed to prevent cyberattacks, identify security risks, monitor activity, and support incident response across enterprise, government, and service-provider environments.

The company's portfolio includes network security products such as next-generation firewalls and security operations tools; Prisma, its cloud security platform; and Cortex, a suite focused on endpoint protection, threat detection, security analytics, and automated response.

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