Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Rossmore Private Capital

Key Points

• Rossmore Private Capital increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 51.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 8,176 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 24,096 shares worth about $4.44 million.
• Other institutional investors also added to PANW positions, and the stock remains heavily institution-owned at 79.82% by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly bullish: several firms raised price targets recently, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $214.98.

Rossmore Private Capital lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 51.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,096 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,176 shares during the period. Rossmore Private Capital's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 155,468 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,637,000 after purchasing an additional 8,970 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 77.8% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,993 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $402,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target (up from $205.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.98.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $174.81 and a 200 day moving average of $180.99. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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