Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Purchases 12,162 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.1%, acquiring an additional 12,162 shares, bringing its total ownership to 121,764 shares valued at approximately $24.9 million.
• Insider transactions indicate a significant sell-off, with EVP Lee Klarich and CEO Nikesh Arora reducing their ownership by 44.74% and 75.48%, respectively, over the past few months.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a strong quarterly performance, with earnings per share of $0.95 exceeding estimates, and set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,764 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,162 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 0.9% of Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. St. Clair Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the second quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,233,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% during the second quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,467 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,271 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. TFG Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the second quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 4,668 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, GSG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 12,450 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,154,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total transaction of $25,594,426.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 149,190 shares in the company, valued at $31,616,344.80. This trade represents a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $211.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $217.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.67 and a 200 day moving average of $191.00.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on PANW. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price target for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, September 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $216.60.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.

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