Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by First Financial Bankshares Inc

Key Points

• First Financial Bankshares cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,509 shares and leaving it with 36,437 shares valued at about $6.7 million.
• PANW shares rose 6.2% in Friday trading, and the stock has climbed to $279.53, near its 52-week high of $302.95.
• Recent earnings beat expectations, with Palo Alto Networks reporting $0.85 EPS on $3.0 billion in revenue, both above analyst estimates, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

First Financial Bankshares Inc decreased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,437 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 9,509 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 6.2%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $279.53 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $214.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.58. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $302.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 229.12, a PEG ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up from $285.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank nudged its FY2027 EPS estimate higher for PANW, signaling modest confidence in longer-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on Prisma AIRS suggests AI security is gaining traction and could boost revenue growth and deal size.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader cybersecurity-sector coverage remains constructive, with analysts and institutions still favoring the group amid rising AI-related security demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland Securities kept a $302 price target and Market Perform rating while issuing a range of earnings estimates, indicating a cautious but not bearish stance.
• Negative Sentiment: Northland also trimmed some near- and mid-term EPS forecasts for PANW, reflecting lingering concern about profitability assumptions and valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: PANW still trades at a demanding valuation, so any slowdown in AI-security momentum could increase volatility.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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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