Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 932.7% in the first quarter, ending with 197,529 shares valued at about $31.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their positions, and roughly 79.82% of Palo Alto Networks stock is now owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 and revenue of $3 billion, both beating estimates, while analysts remain generally bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $318.65.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 932.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197,529 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 178,401 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $31,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 6,100 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the first quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 43,252 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $6,934,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% during the first quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 89,601 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $14,365,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 10.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,542,415 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $247,280,000 after buying an additional 149,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 291 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $12.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $325.91. 4,677,069 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,047,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $274.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.64. The company has a market capitalization of $265.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 267.14, a PEG ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $368.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business'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. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. FBN Securities restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho raised 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. Wedbush lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $318.65.

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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