Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management sharply increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, reporting ownership of 127,298 shares after buying 126,998 additional shares in the fourth quarter. The position was valued at about $23.8 million.
• Palo Alto Networks also saw mixed insider activity, with EVP Dipak Golechha and Director John P. Key both selling shares in recent transactions. Insiders sold 81,044 shares worth about $20.4 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain broadly positive after the company’s latest earnings beat, with Palo Alto reporting $0.85 EPS on $3.0 billion in revenue, both ahead of estimates. Several firms raised price targets, and the consensus rating stands at Moderate Buy with an average target of $306.59.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 42,332.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,298 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 126,998 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $23,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 81,044 shares of company stock valued at $20,424,722 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PANW. Loop Capital increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $268.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $284.54 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $302.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.95. The company has a market cap of $231.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 233.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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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