Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC has reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. by 77.7%, now owning 2,381 shares worth approximately $487,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $2.54 billion in revenue for its latest quarter, surpassing estimates, and recorded earnings of $0.95 per share.
• Insider sales have occurred recently, with CEO Nikesh Arora selling over 846,000 shares, resulting in a significant decrease of his ownership in the company.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 77.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,381 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 8,298 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $31,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 46.8% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $209.30 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $190.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $188.04. The company has a market capitalization of $140.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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 forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock worth $259,351,606 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $232.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. KeyCorp downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $245.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.64.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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