Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 6.7% in the third quarter, selling 5,349 shares and retaining 74,450 shares valued at approximately $29.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly earnings of $1.02 per share, beating estimates of $0.98, while revenue rose 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion. The company issued fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.16–$4.19.
• PANW shares opened at $340.28, below the analyst consensus price target of $398.55. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with 39 Buy ratings and 11 Holds.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,450 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 5,349 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $29,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $25,833,462,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $1,968,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $1,569,755,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $1,481,236,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,603,473,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101,267 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $340.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 667.23, a PEG ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day moving average is $371.03 and its 200 day moving average is $304.63. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $432.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total value of $7,533,600.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.68, for a total transaction of $336,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 72,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,085,821.12. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and set a $430.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. FBN Securities reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Capital One Financial lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $421.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $398.55.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc NASDAQ: PANW is a global cybersecurity company that helps organizations protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, and digital infrastructure. Its offerings are designed to prevent cyberattacks, identify security risks, monitor activity, and support incident response across enterprise, government, and service-provider environments.

The company's portfolio includes network security products such as next-generation firewalls and security operations tools; Prisma, its cloud security platform; and Cortex, a suite focused on endpoint protection, threat detection, security analytics, and automated response.

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