Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management increased its Palo Alto Networks position by 16.4% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 195,958 shares valued at approximately $65.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.42; several firms recently raised their targets as high as $433.
• Palo Alto Networks exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue rising 31.1% year over year, but its valuation remains elevated at a price-to-earnings ratio above 300, leaving the stock vulnerable if upcoming earnings or guidance disappoint.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 16.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,958 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,642 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $65,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,587,100,000 after buying an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after acquiring an additional 205,123 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after buying an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $1,415,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Arete Research lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Palo Alto Networks from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $368.42.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $371.59 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $398.88. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $344.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.45. The firm has a market cap of $302.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 304.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. The trade was a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,835 shares of company stock valued at $11,127,854. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $400 from $340 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside to next-generation security annual recurring revenue, revenue, operating income and margins. The forecast reinforces expectations that Palo Alto Networks’ AI-security strategy is gaining traction. Palo Alto Networks Gets a $400 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are taking confidence from CrowdStrike’s stronger-than-expected results, which highlighted robust AI-related cybersecurity demand and lifted sentiment across the sector. Palo Alto Networks is viewed as a potential beneficiary of the same spending cycle. Palo Alto Networks Stock Trades Up
• Positive Sentiment: Platformization, adoption of AI-security products and recent deal wins are expected to support fourth-quarter growth. BTIG also assigned PANW a Buy rating, adding to broadly favorable analyst coverage. Palo Alto Networks to Report Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant movement after the report, while analysts are watching recurring revenue, margins, operating income and guidance—not just revenue and EPS. Expected Post-Earnings Stock Move
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition-related costs could pressure results, and the stock’s triple-digit P/E ratio—above 300 based on the supplied data—means much of the AI-growth outlook may already be reflected in the price. Any shortfall in growth or guidance could trigger profit-taking. Palo Alto’s Rally Has One Big Problem Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000, reducing his position by 1.21%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining holdings but may create a modest sentiment headwind. Palo Alto Networks Insider Sale

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.

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