Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Lmcg Investments LLC

Key Points

• Lmcg Investments LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 71% in the first quarter, buying 33,727 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 81,228 shares worth about $13 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains bullish: multiple analysts raised price targets, and the stock now carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target price of $317.78.
• Palo Alto Networks delivered strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue expectations with 31.1% year-over-year revenue growth, while management also issued FY2026 guidance above current analyst expectations.

Lmcg Investments LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 71.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,228 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,727 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $65,796,000 after purchasing an additional 53,485 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $104,774,000 after purchasing an additional 29,230 shares in the last quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% in the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,554,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $315.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.78.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $337.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $274.69 billion, a PE ratio of 276.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $265.29 and a 200-day moving average of $203.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $368.17.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% 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 sold 100,539 shares of company stock worth $26,931,565. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350 to $425 and kept a buy rating, signaling confidence in additional upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Needham price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG recently lifted its target from $333 to $380, maintained a buy rating, and kept PANW as a top pick, citing improving business momentum and strong demand for AI-driven security solutions. BTIG raised PT on Palo Alto (PANW), Here’s Why
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo also raised its price target on the stock, adding to a wave of favorable analyst commentary that has been supporting the share price. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent articles highlighted PANW’s strong six-month rally and its position as an “agentic AI” and high-growth cybersecurity stock, reinforcing positive sentiment but not adding new fundamentals. Palo Alto (PANW) Up More than 96% Over The Past 6 Months
• Negative Sentiment: Some Seeking Alpha pieces argued the stock’s valuation has become stretched and warned that the recent re-rating may have gone too far, which could temper enthusiasm after the sharp run-up. Extreme Exuberance Is A Warning Sign

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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