Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Position Increased by Orion Investment Co

Key Points

• Orion Investment Co increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 44.3%, owning 10,201 shares valued at approximately $1.74 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Insider sales included EVP Lee Klarich, who sold 120,774 shares for over $20.7 million, reducing his ownership by nearly 37% in the last 90 days.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy for Palo Alto Networks, with a target price of $211.52, reflecting confidence in the stock’s future growth.

Orion Investment Co boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 44.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,201 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Orion Investment Co's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $810,047,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 6,158,580 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,120,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047,625 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 92.7% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,951,283 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,082,895,000 after purchasing an additional 2,862,718 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 18,802.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,410,290 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $411,292,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,234,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,735 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 669,422 shares of company stock valued at $126,452,337. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $190.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,189,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,148,018. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $189.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.17. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $210.39. The stock has a market cap of $127.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.