SCS Capital Management LLC Invests $9.42 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, purchasing 55,211 shares valued at approximately $9.42 million during the 1st quarter.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported a 15.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, with a net margin of 12.30% and a quarterly EPS of $0.95, surpassing expectations.
• Institutional ownership in Palo Alto Networks is significant, with hedge funds holding 79.82% of the company’s stock as of the latest figures.

SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 55,211 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $9,421,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,902,048 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,177,765,000 after purchasing an additional 950,765 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,753,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $53,218,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 306.1% in the first quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 398 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $282,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Thursday, reaching $198.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,324,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,431,144. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $188.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.83. The firm has a market cap of $132.66 billion, a PE ratio of 123.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $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 predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $223.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Northland Securities decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $215.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. The trade was a 4.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total transaction of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,954 shares in the company, valued at $34,008,788.94. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 569,422 shares of company stock valued at $106,629,618. 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.