Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 67,200 shares and ending with about 1.85 million shares valued at roughly $341.7 million.
• Palo Alto Networks posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion, up 31.1% year over year. The company also issued FY2026 EPS guidance of $3.77 to $3.79.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on PANW, with several firms raising price targets after the earnings report. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.59.

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,854,900 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 67,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Palo Alto Networks worth $341,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% during the third quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the third quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $982,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 6.2%

PANW stock opened at $279.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $302.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $214.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.58. The firm has a market cap of $227.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.12, a PEG ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.94.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total transaction of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at $23,272,790.88. The trade was a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank nudged its FY2027 EPS estimate higher for PANW, signaling modest confidence in longer-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on Prisma AIRS suggests AI security is gaining traction and could boost revenue growth and deal size.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader cybersecurity-sector coverage remains constructive, with analysts and institutions still favoring the group amid rising AI-related security demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland Securities kept a $302 price target and Market Perform rating while issuing a range of earnings estimates, indicating a cautious but not bearish stance.
• Negative Sentiment: Northland also trimmed some near- and mid-term EPS forecasts for PANW, reflecting lingering concern about profitability assumptions and valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: PANW still trades at a demanding valuation, so any slowdown in AI-security momentum could increase volatility.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $330.00 price target (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $306.59.

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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