Strs Ohio Has $103.04 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Strs Ohio more than doubled its stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter, buying an additional 333,748 shares and lifting its holdings to 642,724 shares valued at about $103.0 million.
• Palo Alto Networks continues to attract bullish analyst attention, with firms like Wells Fargo and BNP Paribas Exane raising price targets while maintaining positive ratings.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, even as the stock traded near its 52-week high and insiders disclosed some share sales.

Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 108.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 642,724 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 333,748 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $103,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420 from $325 and reiterated an overweight rating, reinforcing the case for further upside. Wells Fargo price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: The stock remains a momentum name after gaining roughly 25% since its last earnings report, supported by strong demand for AI-related cybersecurity tools and recent trading interest. Zacks earnings momentum article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales were disclosed, including director Aparna Bawa and CAO Josh D. Paul. The transactions were relatively small, but insider selling can slightly temper investor enthusiasm. Insider sale disclosure

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $348.06 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $358.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $255.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $283.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 285.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. FBN Securities reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $316.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,272,790.88. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 102,111 shares of company stock valued at $27,204,024 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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