Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Groupe la Francaise

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% during the first quarter, owning 200,266 shares valued at approximately $35.4 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including APG Asset Management and Trinity Legacy Partners, have also raised their stakes in Palo Alto Networks, indicating a strong interest from institutional investors.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a quarterly revenue of $2.54 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with an EPS of $0.95, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.06.

Groupe la Francaise grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200,266 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $35,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the first quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 26,745 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $4,564,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 13.7% in the first quarter. APG Asset Management US Inc. now owns 23,464 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $4,020,000 after acquiring an additional 2,832 shares during the period. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 20.6% in the first quarter. Strategies Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,274 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 730 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% in the first quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 20,360 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. Finally, Mccarter Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the first quarter. Mccarter Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 16,243 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,772,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total transaction of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 264,246 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 669,948 shares of company stock worth $126,552,277. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded up $2.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $185.88. 6,857,662 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,233,472. The stock has a market cap of $123.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average is $190.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.32. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. Northland Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.52.

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.