Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Lynch Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Lynch Asset Management increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 29.2% in the first quarter, buying 7,900 additional shares to bring its total to 35,000 shares worth about $5.61 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish, with multiple analysts raising price targets, including Wells Fargo to $420 and BTIG and BNP Paribas Exane to $380. The broader consensus rating is “Moderate Buy.”
• Palo Alto Networks posted strong quarterly results, beating both earnings and revenue estimates as revenue rose 31.1% year over year. However, several insiders sold shares recently, including an EVP and a director.

Lynch Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 29.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,000 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.9% of Lynch Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Lynch Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Squire Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $491,000. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 9,718 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,558,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Vertrix Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,204,000. Finally, USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 23.1% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 135,448 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $21,715,000 after buying an additional 25,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420 from $325 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential. Wells Fargo target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and reiterated an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst tone around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research also raised its target to $380 from $333 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for continued share-price strength. BTIG target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted PANW’s strong fiscal Q3 results, with revenue and ARR beats and growing demand tied to AI-driven cybersecurity and observability, which has helped keep sentiment constructive. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders sold small blocks of stock, including CAO Josh D. Paul and Director Aparna Bawa. While routine, insider selling can modestly temper enthusiasm for the stock. SEC filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 102,111 shares of company stock worth $27,204,024. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $352.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.56, a PEG ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $251.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.26. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $358.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group set a $300.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $316.15.

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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