Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Acquired by Profund Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Profund Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,216 shares and bringing its total to 65,703 shares worth about $12.1 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding nearly 79.82% of the company’s stock. Several firms also boosted their positions during the quarter, including ProShare Advisors LLC and Cascade Financial Partners LLC.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on PANW despite mixed target changes, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.59. The company also recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.03 EPS on revenue of $2.59 billion, up 14.9% year over year.

Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 65,703 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,216 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $12,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,236,644 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $227,790,000 after buying an additional 370,076 shares in the last quarter. Verde Capital Management grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 17,289 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,185,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 26,525 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $4,886,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $247.55 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $248.85. The company has a market capitalization of $202.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $176.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.59.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225 to $275 and kept a buy rating, signaling stronger confidence in the company’s outlook. Rosenblatt Securities Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW Stock Price
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho increased its price target from $200 to $265 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish view from analysts on PANW’s earnings and growth prospects. Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW Price Target Raised to $265.00 at Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer highlighted Palo Alto Networks as “having the last laugh,” reinforcing investor optimism around the stock’s resilience and market leadership. Jim Cramer Shares Why Palo Alto (PANW) Is Having The Last Laugh
• Neutral Sentiment: One market recap noted PANW advanced while the broader market declined, but the report was mainly descriptive and did not add new fundamental information. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison piece said CrowdStrike currently has an edge over Palo Alto Networks on growth momentum and ARR trends, but this was more of an industry comparison than a direct negative catalyst. CRWD vs. PANW: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?

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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