Shell Asset Management Co. Raises Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 17.9%, now owning 44,382 shares, valued at approximately $9 million.
• Analysts project a consensus price target of $214.64 for Palo Alto Networks, with ratings including 30 "Buy," 12 "Hold," and 2 "Sell."
• Recent insider transactions indicate a significant sale of 100,000 shares by EVP Nir Zuk, valued at $17.28 million, reflecting a decrease in his stake by 3.08%.

Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 17.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,382 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,750 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $10,712,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541,637 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,234,650,000 after buying an additional 2,134,735 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 950,765 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $810,047,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,422,037 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $754,576,000 after purchasing an additional 219,111 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. KeyCorp cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They set a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $214.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,194,356 shares of company stock worth $235,092,941. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $212.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.19 billion, a PE ratio of 132.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $213.85. The firm's 50-day moving average is $190.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.45.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for 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%.Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last 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. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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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