Versor Investments LP Decreases Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Versor Investments LP decreased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 83.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,344 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 7,001 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,111 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $345,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bull case highlighted — several analyst/commentary pieces argue PANW remains a structural growth name in cybersecurity and a smart buy for long-term investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company growth deals and product momentum are cited as offsets to recent analyst cuts, reinforcing the view that near-term analyst noise may not derail multi-year growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 preview: Zacks notes PANW is entering Q2 with mid?teen revenue growth expectations but flags decelerating ARR momentum and a premium valuation — a key focus for the upcoming print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary: PANW recently dropped more than the broader market in intraday moves, reflecting short-term volatility ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: JPMorgan lowered its PANW target to $225, and other firms (Rosenblatt, BTIG) trimmed targets (Rosenblatt to $225; BTIG to $200), which reduces near-term upside expectations despite some firms maintaining “buy” ratings. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deal and listing risk: reports say PANW plans a dual listing on the Tel?Aviv Stock Exchange after closing the ~$25B CyberArk acquisition — there’s short?term investor concern about integration complexity and political/geographic exposure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/reputational risk: Reuters reports PANW opted not to publicly tie China to a recent global hacking campaign it exposed, citing fears of retaliation — this raises potential client, regulatory and reputation considerations. Read More.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $166.95 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.36 billion, a PE ratio of 105.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.97.

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.