Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $540,000 in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,931 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $540,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up 0.8% of Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $502,263,000 after buying an additional 1,282,738 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $750,875,000 after buying an additional 708,332 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $223.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.28.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms raised their price targets on PANW this week, including Benchmark to $270, Wedbush to $300, and Wells Fargo reaffirming a Buy with a $285 target, reinforcing optimism around the company’s long-term growth story. Benchmark price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on Palo Alto Networks’ platform expansion and cybersecurity demand, with coverage framing the company as a potential beneficiary of AI-driven security needs. AI security supercycle article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports ahead of Q3 earnings highlight strong platform growth, but investors are waiting for confirmation in the company’s results and guidance before making a bigger move. Q3 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter around the upcoming earnings release and key operating metrics is keeping PANW in focus, but this is more of a wait-and-see catalyst than a fresh driver. Wall Street estimates preview
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are cautious because acquisition costs are rising and share dilution could pressure near-term earnings quality. Acquisition costs and dilution concern
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment across cybersecurity stocks has also been pressured by weak peer guidance, and an insider sale by EVP Lee Klarich added a modest overhang. Insider sale

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.7%

PANW opened at $257.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $210.34 billion, a PE ratio of 142.41, a P/E/G ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.27. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $261.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.95, for a total transaction of $94,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 82,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,604,295.20. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 93,660 shares of company stock worth $21,346,475. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks 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.