Washburn Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Washburn Capital Management reduced its Palo Alto Networks stake by 38.2% in the first quarter, selling 3,541 shares and leaving it with 5,717 shares valued at about $917,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.85 beating estimates and revenue of $3.0 billion topping expectations; revenue rose 31.1% year over year.
• Despite the solid results, the stock was down 3.7% in Friday trading, while analysts generally remain positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $318.65.

Washburn Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 38.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,717 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 3,541 shares during the quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. South Plains Financial Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,227 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.7%

PANW traded down $12.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $325.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,677,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,047,614. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $274.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.64. 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 stock has a market cap of $265.62 billion, a PE ratio of 267.14, a PEG ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $368.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. 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, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Arete Research raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group set a $300.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wedbush raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "market outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $318.65.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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