Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Holdings Raised by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.7%, purchasing an additional 261,997 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 1.83 million shares valued at $374.8 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with EVP Lee Klarich selling 120,774 shares worth over $23 million, and EVP Nir Zuk selling 100,000 shares valued at $17.28 million, reflecting a decrease in their respective positions.
• Palo Alto Networks reported Q1 earnings of $0.95 EPS, beating expectations, with revenue of $2.54 billion, which exceeded estimates and indicated a revenue growth of 15.8% year-over-year.

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,831,684 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 261,997 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.27% of Palo Alto Networks worth $374,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 12.6% in the second quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,459,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 112.9% during the second quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 13,240 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 7,020 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 12.7% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 87,893 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $17,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,883 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.3% in the second quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 38,650 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,909,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $323,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $208.19. 8,643,982 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,444,992. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $188.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.52. The company has a market cap of $139.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.15 and a 52 week high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 568,622 shares of company stock valued at $106,468,778 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Bank of America upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, September 15th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.39.

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.