PCM Encore LLC Takes Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

PCM Encore LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,313 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,471,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,833,462,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after buying an additional 594,789 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,603,473,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,756 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 37,935 shares of company stock worth $10,809,461. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Arete Research boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price target (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.67.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI security initiative expands growth opportunities. Palo Alto Networks launched the Frontier AI Critical Defense Program with technology partners to protect critical infrastructure from AI-driven exploits and vulnerabilities. The initiative could strengthen PANW’s position in the emerging AI-security market and support demand from government and enterprise customers. Palo Alto Networks Introduces Frontier AI Critical Defense Program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $425 from $340 and maintained an “overweight” rating, citing potential for continued appreciation. The higher target signals confidence in PANW’s growth prospects despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks Price Target Raised by Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI adoption may drive sales. Palo Alto Networks is positioning its network, identity, AI and security-operations products to benefit as businesses deploy more artificial intelligence. This could help PANW compete more effectively with CrowdStrike and Zscaler. Can Strong Enterprise AI Adoption Help PANW Challenge CrowdStrike and Zscaler?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage from TD Cowen and other outlets remains constructive on PANW’s long-term appreciation potential, but provides limited new operating information. TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity-sector selling is weighing on PANW. Palo Alto Networks declined even as the broader market improved, while CrowdStrike also sold off sharply. The synchronized weakness suggests investors are reducing exposure to cybersecurity stocks or taking profits, overshadowing bullish analyst commentary. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks Stock Declines

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.8%

PANW opened at $349.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $398.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 286.52, a P/E/G ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.90.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.