Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) CAO Sells 400 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks CAO Josh Paul sold 400 shares on May 20 at an average price of $236.95, worth about $94,780. After the sale, he still owned 82,736 shares, and the filing was disclosed to the SEC.
• The stock was trading near its 52-week high, rising to $260.58 on Friday, with a 52-week range of $139.57 to $261.41. The company also has a market cap of about $212.6 billion.
• Analyst and investor sentiment remains broadly positive, with several firms lifting price targets and coverage showing strong interest in Palo Alto’s AI security offerings. MarketBeat data shows an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.33.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) CAO Josh Paul sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.95, for a total value of $94,780.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,604,295.20. This represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded up $7.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $260.58. 6,617,568 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,510,802. The stock has a market cap of $212.63 billion, a PE ratio of 143.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.77. The company's fifty day moving average is $181.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $261.41.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 116.8% in the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 538,549 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $86,340,000 after buying an additional 290,170 shares in the last quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $273,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 149,277 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $23,932,000 after purchasing an additional 19,164 shares in the last quarter. Evolutionary Tree Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $1,344,000. Finally, Montchanin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $260,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Argus raised Palo Alto Networks to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. HSBC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. New Street Research decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $226.33.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $285 from $235 and kept an overweight rating, signaling confidence in further upside.
• Positive Sentiment: Truist also boosted its price target ahead of the company’s upcoming results, adding to the wave of bullish Wall Street sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies said customer interest was strong at Palo Alto’s Ignite On Tour event, especially around its AI security products and recent acquisitions Portkey and Koi Security, suggesting solid demand for the company’s growth strategy.
• Positive Sentiment: Josh Brown added Palo Alto Networks to his “best stocks in the market” list, reflecting continued investor enthusiasm for cybersecurity as a durable IT budget priority.
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also highlighted rising AI security demand for PANW’s Prisma AIRS and XSIAM platforms, supporting the view that AI could become a major long-term growth driver. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: One article noted PANW has significantly outperformed Palantir this year, which may raise questions about portfolio rebalancing, but it is more a performance comparison than a direct fundamental catalyst.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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