Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC

Key Points

• Franklin Street Advisors cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 93.3% in the second quarter, selling 14,315 shares and retaining 1,026 shares valued at approximately $350,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly earnings of $0.85 per share, exceeding estimates of $0.79, while revenue rose 31.1% year over year to $3 billion. The stock opened at $363.86, near its 12-month high of $376.98.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $333.76, although insiders sold $27.2 million of shares over the past three months.

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 93.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,026 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 14,315 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $38,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $363.86 on Monday. 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 $296.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 298.25, a PEG ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.91. The firm's 50-day moving average is $317.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.49. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $376.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. 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 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. HSBC upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $333.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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