Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells $201,399.44 in Stock

Key Points

• Palo Alto Networks director Aparna Bawa sold 632 shares on June 29 at an average price of $318.67, generating about $201,399.44. The sale reduced her ownership by 8.59%, though she still held 6,727 shares afterward.
• Bawa has made multiple recent sales of PANW stock, including additional transactions on July 1, June 22, June 12, June 11, and June 10. Together, they suggest a steady pattern of insider selling over the past few weeks.
• Despite the insider selling, PANW remains strong fundamentally and in the market: the stock rose to $352.04, the company beat quarterly earnings estimates, posted 31.1% revenue growth, and raised guidance. Wall Street sentiment is still broadly positive, with multiple analysts lifting price targets.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) Director Aparna Bawa sold 632 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.67, for a total transaction of $201,399.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,727 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,693.09. The trade was a 8.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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

• 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 22nd, Aparna Bawa sold 345 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $100,108.65.
• On Friday, June 12th, Aparna Bawa sold 536 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $150,080.00.
• On Thursday, June 11th, Aparna Bawa sold 555 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $149,850.00.
• On Wednesday, June 10th, Aparna Bawa sold 377 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.00, for a total transaction of $99,905.00.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW traded up $11.02 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $352.04. The stock had a trading volume of 7,228,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,383,828. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $358.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $286.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.56, a PEG ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $247.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.12.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised PANW’s price target to $420 and reiterated an overweight rating, signaling more upside potential. Benzinga article
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst momentum. MarketScreener article
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with strong revenue growth and raised guidance, reinforcing confidence in PANW’s growth story. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around PANW’s sharp year-to-date gain suggests investors are becoming more cautious about valuation, even as sentiment remains broadly positive. Zacks article

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PANW. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $316.15.

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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