United Asset Strategies Inc. Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during Q1, holding a total of 94,861 shares valued at approximately $16.2 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.95, exceeding estimates, and had revenue of $2.54 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 15.8%.
• Analysts' consensus rating for Palo Alto Networks is "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $211.52, while various analysts' targets range from $135.00 to $230.00.

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,861 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 1.5% of United Asset Strategies Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $16,187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $261,000. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 106.4% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,378 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,430 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.0% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 137,663 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $23,491,000 after acquiring an additional 10,180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.88. The company had a trading volume of 6,857,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,063,346. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $210.39. The firm has a market cap of $123.94 billion, a PE ratio of 115.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50 day moving average price is $190.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.33.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks'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, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Northland Securities dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $215.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. The trade was a 31.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total value of $160,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,450,734.65. The trade was a 1.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 669,948 shares of company stock valued at $126,552,277. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.