Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 1.6% in the second quarter, adding 3,639 shares for a total of 225,037 shares valued at approximately $76.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly EPS of $1.02, exceeding estimates of $0.98, while revenue rose 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion. Shares recently traded at $336.98, up 1.1%.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with 39 Buy ratings and 10 Hold ratings, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $385.67. However, insiders sold 38,635 shares worth $11.15 million over the past 90 days.

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,037 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,639 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $76,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Key sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was 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 owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 38,635 shares of company stock valued at $11,150,578 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.72 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $336.98. The stock had a trading volume of 6,122,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,561,149. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $350.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $274.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 660.76, a P/E/G ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial set a $400.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, FBN Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

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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