Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 55.3% in the third quarter, selling 8,773 shares and retaining 7,095 shares valued at approximately $2.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion and EPS of $1.02, exceeding expectations. Management provided fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.16–$4.19.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with 38 Buy ratings and 12 Holds and an average target of $391.32. However, shares recently traded at $405.57 with a P/E near 795, highlighting elevated valuation risk, while insiders sold roughly $20.7 million of stock in the latest quarter.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 55.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,095 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 8,773 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PANW. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $12,610,748,000 after buying an additional 1,493,179 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after buying an additional 205,123 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,993,802,000 after buying an additional 706,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,968,304,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial set a $400.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stephens set a $400.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $391.32.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI and cybersecurity momentum: PANW benefited from a broad rally in cybersecurity stocks after Zscaler reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 earnings outlook. Investor interest is also increasing in security tools designed to protect AI agents, following CrowdStrike’s accelerator with Amazon Web Services and NVIDIA. Palo Alto Networks Stock Reaches New Highs: What's Happening?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating results and outlook: The company’s latest quarterly revenue increased 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion, exceeding estimates, while earnings of $1.02 per share also topped expectations. Management’s fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.16–$4.19 reinforces expectations for continued growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable analyst positioning: Sell-side firms broadly maintain a constructive view, with 38 analysts issuing Buy ratings and 12 assigning Hold ratings. The overall consensus is “Moderate Buy,” although the average price target of $391.32 is below recent trading levels. Palo Alto Networks Rated Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term performance remains a selling point: A $1,000 investment held for ten years substantially outperformed the S&P 500, highlighting PANW’s successful expansion from firewall products into a broader cloud, endpoint and AI-security platform. However, past performance does not eliminate valuation risk. A $1,000 Bet on Palo Alto Networks Beat the S&P 500
• Negative Sentiment: Very elevated valuation: PANW’s market capitalization is approximately $332 billion, while its reported P/E ratio is near 800. The stock’s rally has pushed it above the consensus price target, increasing the risk of consolidation or profit-taking if growth expectations moderate.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul sold 400 shares worth approximately $158,280. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.51%, so it is a limited signal, but it may add to short-term selling pressure. Palo Alto Networks Insider Selling

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.4%

NASDAQ:PANW traded down $14.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $405.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,888,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,289,067. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $331.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 795.25, a P/E/G ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $367.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $290.71. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $432.33.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total value of $7,533,600.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 53,960 shares of company stock worth $20,719,959 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.

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.