Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Position Decreased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,692 shares and ending with 713,465 shares valued at about $131.4 million.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $1.03 beating estimates and revenue of $2.59 billion slightly topping expectations; revenue rose 14.9% year over year.
• Analysts remain bullish on PANW, with several firms raising price targets, and insider activity was mixed as CEO Nikesh Arora bought shares while EVP Dipak Golechha sold shares.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 713,465 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 7,692 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Palo Alto Networks worth $131,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.9%

PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $174.81 and a 200-day moving average of $181.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $205.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $214.98.

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.

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.