Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Position Lowered by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,518 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,751 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $4,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $285 from $235 and kept an overweight rating, reinforcing a bullish outlook on the stock. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus also lifted its target to $275 and reiterated a buy rating, while BMO and Morgan Stanley recently boosted their targets as well, signaling broader Wall Street confidence in PANW’s growth outlook. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: At Jefferies’ attended Ignite On Tour event, customers showed strong interest in Palo Alto’s AI security products, including Prisma AIRS, XSIAM, Portkey, and Koi Security, suggesting the company’s AI strategy is gaining traction. Proactive Investors
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary also highlighted rising demand for AI security as a potential long-term growth driver, which could support continued multiple expansion if adoption accelerates. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: Josh Brown added Palo Alto Networks to his “best stocks in the market” list, which adds to the positive sentiment around cybersecurity names, though it is more of a watchlist/endorsement signal than a direct business catalyst. Invezz

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $252.92 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $253.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.38 billion, a PE ratio of 139.73, a PEG ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HSBC reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.33.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.