Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Sandhill Capital Partners LLC

Key Points

• Sandhill Capital Partners LLC has reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 1.9%, now owning 416,478 shares which constitutes about 5.8% of its portfolio.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $0.95 EPS for its latest quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate, with revenues of $2.54 billion, marking a 15.8% year-over-year increase.
• Institutional ownership of Palo Alto Networks remains strong, with 79.82% of the stock held by institutional investors and multiple analysts giving it a "Moderate Buy" rating.

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 416,478 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 8,123 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 5.8% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $71,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 200 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $183.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,173,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,798,669. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $190.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.31. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $210.39. The company has a market capitalization of $122.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 114.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, 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 weighed in on PANW. KeyCorp lowered Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $185.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Twenty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $211.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

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.