Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 0.7%, now holding a total of 267,927 shares valued at approximately $54.83 million.
• A significant majority of Palo Alto Networks' stock, 79.82%, is owned by institutional investors, reflecting strong interest from large funds in the company's equity.
• Equities analysts maintain a consensus outlook of "Moderate Buy" for the stock, with a target price averaging around $212.39, supported by multiple "buy" and "outperform" ratings from various firms.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 267,927 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,771 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $54,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $31,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $33,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $37,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $212.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.20, for a total value of $128,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 37,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,948,576.60. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.66, for a total value of $19,866,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,243,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $644,356,888.56. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 563,622 shares of company stock worth $105,459,528 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $203.25 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $189.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.64, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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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