Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Short Interest Update

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 45,790,000 shares, agrowthof33.2% from the July 31st total of 34,380,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 7,570,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total value of $23,081,119.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 177,954 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,008,788.94. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 569,422 shares of company stock worth $106,629,618 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $28,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America raised Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $185.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $211.68.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $197.38 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $188.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.67. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The company has a market cap of $132.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.

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