Wormser Freres Gestion Acquires 18,156 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Wormser Freres Gestion increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1,394.5%, acquiring an additional 18,156 shares in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 19,458 shares worth approximately $3.37 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, also boosted their positions in Palo Alto Networks, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Palo Alto Networks reported a solid quarterly earnings performance with $2.54 billion in revenue, exceeding expectations, and it set guidance for FY 2026 EPS between 3.750-3.850.

Wormser Freres Gestion raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1,394.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,458 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,156 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 2.1% of Wormser Freres Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Wormser Freres Gestion's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 77.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,879,506 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $662,000,000 after acquiring an additional 1,688,432 shares during the period. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 4,058 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 795,693 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $135,777,000 after purchasing an additional 27,447 shares during the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 18,380 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $3,136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total value of $20,722,402.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 206,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,468,674.44. This represents a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total value of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $543,199,564.80. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 669,948 shares of company stock worth $126,552,277. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Capital started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $185.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.52.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PANW traded up $2.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.88. 6,857,662 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,063,346. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $210.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.94 billion, a PE ratio of 115.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $190.61 and a 200-day moving average of $186.33.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.