Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Dorsey Wright & Associates

Key Points

• Dorsey Wright & Associates sharply cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 92% in the first quarter, selling 17,218 shares and leaving it with 1,504 shares worth about $241,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, with revenue up 31.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: several firms raised price targets, and the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $327.74.

Dorsey Wright & Associates trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 92.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,504 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 17,218 shares during the period. Dorsey Wright & Associates' holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,665.1% during the first quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 2,761,909 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $442,788,000 after purchasing an additional 2,605,433 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,568,964,000 after buying an additional 2,065,776 shares during the period. Finally, Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $281,542,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $358.68 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $290.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.30. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $368.80. The company has a market capitalization of $292.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 294.00, a PEG ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. FBN Securities reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Capital One Financial set a $421.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a "positive" rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.74.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.

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.