Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Holdings Increased by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 64.3% in the first quarter, adding 99,973 shares to bring its total to 255,498 shares valued at about $40.96 million.
• Palo Alto Networks beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $0.85 EPS on $3.0 billion in revenue, both above analyst estimates, with revenue rising 31.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock carrying an average Moderate Buy rating and a consensus target price of $316.15.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 64.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,498 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 99,973 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $40,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% in 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 last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% in 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 during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in 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 during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $1,554,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $340.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.15.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $348.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 285.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $358.10.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 102,111 shares of company stock valued at $27,204,024 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420 from $325 and reiterated an overweight rating, reinforcing the case for further upside. Wells Fargo price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: The stock remains a momentum name after gaining roughly 25% since its last earnings report, supported by strong demand for AI-related cybersecurity tools and recent trading interest. Zacks earnings momentum article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales were disclosed, including director Aparna Bawa and CAO Josh D. Paul. The transactions were relatively small, but insider selling can slightly temper investor enthusiasm. Insider sale disclosure

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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