Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Aparna Bawa Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Director Aparna Bawa sold 500 Palo Alto Networks shares at an average price of $377.18, generating $188,590. After the sale, she owned 4,937 shares, a 9.2% reduction in her position.
• Palo Alto Networks shares rose 0.1% to $375.65, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $3.41 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share, both ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue increased 34.5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $387.60 price target, though valuation and recent insider selling remain risks.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) Director Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total transaction of $188,590.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,862,137.66. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

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

• On Monday, September 14th, Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total transaction of $373,610.00.
• 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 transaction of $101,134.60.
• On Monday, June 29th, Aparna Bawa sold 632 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.67, for a total transaction 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%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $350.34 and a 200 day moving average of $265.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $398.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company has a market capitalization of $307.28 billion, a PE ratio of 736.58, a P/E/G ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $430.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Mizuho set a $415.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Arete Research upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $434.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after buying an additional 205,123 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $5,587,100,000 after buying an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,993,802,000 after buying an additional 706,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,934,935,000 after buying an additional 540,756 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

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.

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