Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 48.7% in the first quarter, leaving it with 3,771 shares valued at about $605,000.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including EVP Lee Klarich and Director John P. Key; insiders have sold 101,239 shares worth $27.2 million over the last three months.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly expectations with $0.85 EPS on $3 billion in revenue, and analysts remain bullish with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $331.48.

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 48.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,771 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 3,585 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $65,796,000 after acquiring an additional 53,485 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $104,774,000 after purchasing an additional 29,230 shares during the period. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,926,000 after purchasing an additional 3,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,554,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. The trade was a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.48.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $325.63 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $299.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.83. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $368.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $265.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 266.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company's revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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