Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Key Points

• Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 17.4% in the third quarter, adding 29,587 shares to hold nearly 200,000 shares valued at about $79.4 million.
• Analyst sentiment is positive: 39 analysts rate the stock Buy and 11 Hold, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $398.55.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.02 and revenue of $3.41 billion; revenue rose 34.5% year over year.

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 199,960 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 29,587 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $79,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $25,833,462,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,968,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,569,755,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,481,236,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,603,473,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101,267 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $415.00 target price (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $398.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total transaction of $10,769,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,110,900. This represents a 18.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total transaction of $7,533,600.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029 over the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 5.4%

Shares of PANW opened at $330.89 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $369.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $274.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The stock has a market cap of $270.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 648.82, a P/E/G ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.96. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $432.33.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business'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 predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats.

The company's product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Palo Alto Networks serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations around the world.

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