Champlain Investment Partners LLC Sells 58,128 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.8% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 688,480 shares valued at $117.48 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their holdings, with Nuveen LLC buying a new stake worth $810 million and GAMMA Investing LLC increasing their holdings by over 18,800% during the same period.
• A majority of investment analysts maintain a positive outlook on Palo Alto Networks, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of approximately $211.52.

Champlain Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 688,480 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 58,128 shares during the quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Palo Alto Networks worth $117,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $8,004,000 after buying an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 511 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 101.4% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 397,698 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $72,365,000 after buying an additional 200,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 90.9% in the fourth quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 1,504 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $3.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $191.02. 6,023,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,337,660. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $210.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $189.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.21. The company has a market cap of $127.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 119.02, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 669,948 shares of company stock valued at $126,552,277 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $232.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $211.52.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.