Westpac Banking Corp Purchases New Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp acquired 4,108 Palo Alto Networks shares in the second quarter, worth approximately $1.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.82% of PANW.
• Company insiders sold 37,935 shares valued at approximately $10.8 million over the past 90 days, while insiders retain 1.40% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $362.67. Palo Alto Networks recently exceeded earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $0.85 in quarterly EPS and $3 billion in revenue, up 31.1% year over year.

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,108 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,401,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in 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 period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 37,935 shares of company stock worth $10,809,461 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $362.67.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $358.04 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $337.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $398.88. The company has a market capitalization of $291.80 billion, a PE ratio of 293.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.91.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. 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, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share 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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