Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 408.5% in the first quarter, acquiring 177,919 additional shares for a total holding of 221,478 shares valued at approximately $35.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly revenue of $3 billion, up 31.1% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $0.85 exceeded analyst expectations of $0.79. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.77 to $3.79.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $331.48. However, insiders sold 101,239 shares worth $27.2 million over the past 90 days, including sizable sales by a director and an executive vice president.

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 408.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,478 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 177,919 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $35,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares in the last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $317.32 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $302.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $218.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $258.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 260.10, a PEG ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $368.80.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Argus set a $425.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $340.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $387.00 price objective (up from $320.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, FBN Securities restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.48.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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