Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires 7,291 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.9% in the first quarter, buying 7,291 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 74,265 shares worth about $11.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains high at 79.82% of the company, while recent insider activity showed several sales, including Director James J. Goetz selling 20,000 shares and CAO Josh D. Paul selling 900 shares.
• Wall Street sentiment is still positive overall, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $327.74 average price target, even as some analysts raised targets and one downgraded the stock to “reduce.”

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,265 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,291 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $11,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. 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, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 79,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,477,180. The trade was a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $327.74.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $358.68 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $290.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 294.00, a PEG ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $368.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The business's 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

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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