Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its Palo Alto Networks stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, but it still owned 5.41 million shares worth about $997 million at the end of the period.
• Wall Street sentiment on PANW remains constructive, with several analysts raising price targets; notably, Wells Fargo lifted its target to $285 and kept an overweight rating.
• Recent commentary points to growing demand for Palo Alto Networks’ AI security offerings and continued interest in the company’s platform, even as there has also been some insider selling and stock volatility.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,413,713 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 26,718 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.78% of Palo Alto Networks worth $997,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on PANW to $285 from $235 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential for the cybersecurity leader.
• Positive Sentiment: Truist also boosted its price target ahead of results, reinforcing Wall Street’s improving view of Palo Alto Networks’ earnings and growth outlook. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Gets Major Price Target Boost from Truist Ahead of Q1 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said customers at the company’s Ignite On Tour event showed strong interest in PANW’s AI security offerings, with acquisitions Portkey and Koi Security attracting attention and little resistance to recent firewall price increases.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor commentary continued to highlight cybersecurity as a durable budget priority, with Palo Alto Networks added to Josh Brown’s “best stocks” list alongside other leading security names.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article framed PANW’s strong year-to-date outperformance versus Palantir as a possible rebalancing candidate, but the piece was more about relative performance than a new company-specific catalyst. Palo Alto Networks Is Beating Palantir by 60% This Year. Is a Rebalancing Imminent?
• Neutral Sentiment: Company insider selling by CAO Josh D. Paul was disclosed, though the 400-share sale was relatively small versus his remaining holdings and does not by itself signal a major shift in fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary also pointed to rising AI security demand for products like Prisma AIRS and XSIAM, supporting the long-term growth narrative rather than changing near-term results.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $260.58 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $183.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.06. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $261.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.63 billion, a PE ratio of 143.97, a P/E/G ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark assumed coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.33.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,756 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,355 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate 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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