Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Lee Klarich Sells 120,774 Shares

Key Points

• Lee Klarich, Executive Vice President of Palo Alto Networks, sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $211.92, totaling over $25.5 million, which marked a 44.74% reduction in his ownership.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $0.95 earnings per share for its recent quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.89, with a revenue of $2.54 billion.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Palo Alto Networks, with a target price averaging $214.64, indicating potential growth opportunities.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total value of $25,594,426.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 149,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,616,344.80. The trade was a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Lee Klarich also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, September 3rd, Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total transaction of $23,081,119.14.
• On Monday, August 4th, Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.58, for a total transaction of $20,722,402.92.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.04. 4,980,841 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,364,465. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.16 billion, a PE ratio of 131.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $214.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $190.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.45.

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. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The company's revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. New Street Research increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Piper Sandler raised Palo Alto Networks from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Tigress Financial began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $207.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.64.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PANW. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $2,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 161,840 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $33,119,000 after buying an additional 9,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.9% in the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 181,691 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $37,181,000 after buying an additional 49,971 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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