Phoenix Financial Ltd. Purchases 129,360 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 17.2%, buying 129,360 shares in the third quarter. It ended the period with 880,090 shares worth about $349.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 40 analysts rate PANW a Buy and 11 a Hold, for a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $397.12.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while revenue rose 34.5% year over year.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 880,090 shares of the network technology company's stock after buying an additional 129,360 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.3% of Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Phoenix Financial Ltd. owned 0.11% of Palo Alto Networks worth $349,546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PANW. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $375.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $415.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.12.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.70, for a total transaction of $158,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 77,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,859,455.90. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. 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 transaction of $7,533,600.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 in the last quarter. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $322.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,278,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,260,294. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $432.33. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $367.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.20. The company has a market capitalization of $263.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 631.86, a P/E/G ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Recent Palo Alto Networks Headlines

Here are a few of the latest headlines about PANW:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc upgraded PANW to Overweight from Sector Weight and set a $380 price target. The firm expects next-generation security growth, stronger security spending, and demand for AI protection to outweigh concerns about the traditional firewall business. The upgrade helped lift shares in premarket trading. Palo Alto Networks stock rises as KeyBanc upgrades shares to Overweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target from $450 to $400 but maintained a Buy rating, leaving the analyst positive while signaling a more cautious valuation view. Jefferies analyst recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks comparison favored Cloudflare over Palo Alto, citing Cloudflare’s stronger revenue-growth outlook and rising AI-security demand. This could weigh on PANW relative to peers, though it is one analyst’s comparison rather than a change to PANW’s outlook. PANW vs. NET: Which Cybersecurity Stock Should You Buy Right Now?

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company's product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.

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