Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Reduced by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,067,813 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 196,715 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 0.8% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $821,296,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 40.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Investment Management LLC now owns 226,514 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $90,012,000 after purchasing an additional 65,025 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 18.4% during the third quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 7,542 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% during the third quarter. Pegasus Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,261 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $9,639,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.7% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 64,033 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,441,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 51.0% during the third quarter. Abacus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wedbush started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Truist Financial set a $400.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Palo Alto Networks from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Thirty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.55.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total transaction of $7,533,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total value of $10,769,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 117,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,110,900. This trade represents a 18.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.3%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $313.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $256.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 615.38, a P/E/G ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $432.33. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $370.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.58.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats.

The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Palo Alto Networks serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations around the world.