Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 24.7% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 20,335 shares valued at approximately $6.94 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly EPS of $0.85, beating estimates by $0.06, while revenue reached $3 billion and rose 31.1% year over year. The stock opened at $371.59, near its 52-week high of $398.88, but trades at a very elevated P/E ratio above 300.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $368.42 price target, though Guggenheim issued a “Reduce” rating. Upcoming earnings are a key catalyst as investors assess AI-security demand, recurring revenue, margins and guidance; recent insider selling and the stock’s lofty valuation add downside risks.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,335 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $27,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.77, for a total transaction of $318,393.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 73,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,950,444.58. This trade represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 38,835 shares of company stock valued at $11,127,854 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $371.59 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $344.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $248.45. The company has a market capitalization of $302.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 304.58, a PEG ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $434.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 14th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, New Street Research set a $415.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $368.42.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $400 from $340 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside to next-generation security annual recurring revenue, revenue, operating income and margins. The forecast reinforces expectations that Palo Alto Networks’ AI-security strategy is gaining traction. Palo Alto Networks Gets a $400 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are taking confidence from CrowdStrike’s stronger-than-expected results, which highlighted robust AI-related cybersecurity demand and lifted sentiment across the sector. Palo Alto Networks is viewed as a potential beneficiary of the same spending cycle. Palo Alto Networks Stock Trades Up
• Positive Sentiment: Platformization, adoption of AI-security products and recent deal wins are expected to support fourth-quarter growth. BTIG also assigned PANW a Buy rating, adding to broadly favorable analyst coverage. Palo Alto Networks to Report Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant movement after the report, while analysts are watching recurring revenue, margins, operating income and guidance—not just revenue and EPS. Expected Post-Earnings Stock Move
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition-related costs could pressure results, and the stock’s triple-digit P/E ratio—above 300 based on the supplied data—means much of the AI-growth outlook may already be reflected in the price. Any shortfall in growth or guidance could trigger profit-taking. Palo Alto’s Rally Has One Big Problem Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000, reducing his position by 1.21%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining holdings but may create a modest sentiment headwind. Palo Alto Networks Insider Sale

Palo Alto Networks 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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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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