Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells $3,729,476.44 in Stock

Key Points

• Director James Goetz sold 22,684 shares at an average price of $164.41 for total proceeds of $3,729,476.44, reducing his position by 30.17% to 52,500 shares (≈$8.63M), according to an SEC Form 4 filing.
• Palo Alto Networks beat expectations with Q EPS of $1.03 versus $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59B (up 14.9% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of $3.65–$3.70 EPS and Q3 guidance of $0.78–$0.80.
• The stock traded around $165.58 with a market cap of ~$135.1B and a P/E of 91.5, and analysts give it a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) Director James Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.3%

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $165.58. 6,838,589 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,421,993. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $171.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.06. The firm has a market cap of $135.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.48, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.19.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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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