The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its Palo Alto Networks stake by 38.7% in the first quarter, adding 246,421 shares to own 883,419 shares valued at approximately $141.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Palo Alto Networks reported quarterly EPS of $0.85, topping estimates of $0.79, while revenue rose 31.1% year over year to $3 billion. The company issued fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $3.77–$3.79.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $331.48; however, insiders sold 101,239 shares worth $27.2 million during the past quarter.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 38.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 883,419 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 246,421 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.11% of Palo Alto Networks worth $141,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its position 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Benchmark upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $340.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.48.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $319.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 261.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $368.80. The company's 50-day moving average is $303.77 and its 200 day moving average is $219.63.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business 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 business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The company'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 forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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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