Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells $373,610.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares at an average price of $373.61, generating $373,610 and reducing her ownership by 15.54%. She also recently disclosed additional sales, including 500 shares sold the following day.
• PANW shares traded near $375.65, close to their 52-week high, after the company reported quarterly EPS of $1.02 and revenue of $3.41 billion—both above analyst expectations. Revenue increased 34.5% year over year.
• Analysts maintained a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and $387.60 price target, while institutional investors own 79.82% of the stock. However, the company’s very high valuation and recent insider selling remain potential risks.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total value of $373,610.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,031,317.57. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Aparna Bawa also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total value of $188,590.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total value of $101,134.60.
• On Monday, June 29th, Aparna Bawa sold 632 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.67, for a total value of $201,399.44.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Aparna Bawa sold 345 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $100,108.65.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $375.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,240,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,483,044. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $398.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $350.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 736.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $65,796,000 after purchasing an additional 53,485 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $104,774,000 after buying an additional 29,230 shares in the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,159,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the 1st quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,453,000 after buying an additional 4,659 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $415.00 price target (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Phillip Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $394.00 target price (up from $387.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $434.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $410.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.60.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven cybersecurity demand remains a major tailwind. J.P. Morgan identified Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Okta, Zscaler, and Varonis as beneficiaries of increased enterprise AI adoption, which is creating new security and compliance requirements. AI Is Boosting Cybersecurity. CrowdStrike and 4 More Stocks to Buy.
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity spending is holding up better than broader enterprise software spending. Articles highlighted that companies may reduce discretionary technology purchases but are less willing to weaken security defenses because breaches can cause operational disruption, regulatory penalties, and customer losses. Palo Alto’s strategy of consolidating security tools into unified platforms could support demand. The Ultimate Cyber Shield: CrowdStrike Rises Past $235
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for PANW to $2.30 from $2.11. The revised forecast matches the broader consensus and suggests expectations for continued earnings growth, although the bank maintained a Hold rating. Palo Alto Networks analyst estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks remain in favor, but PANW’s relative momentum appears less pronounced. CrowdStrike led a renewed sector rally while Palo Alto Networks showed more limited movement, indicating that investors may currently prefer faster-growing or more strongly momentum-driven peers. CrowdStrike Advances as AI Security Bid Outruns Falling Tech Tape
• Negative Sentiment: Three directors disclosed substantial stock sales. Aparna Bawa sold a combined 1,500 shares for approximately $562,200, while John P. Key sold 2,500 shares worth about $940,075. The transactions reduced their respective holdings by roughly 9% to 20%, potentially creating a modest sentiment overhang, though insider sales do not necessarily indicate concerns about the company’s outlook. Palo Alto Networks insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk. PANW trades well above its long-term moving averages with a very high reported P/E ratio, leaving the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if growth, margins, or guidance disappoint. Recent commentary also noted that sales are accelerating while margins are contracting.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.