Equitable Holdings Inc. Has $40.47 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Equitable Holdings Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 118,669 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,697 shares during the quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $40,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after acquiring an additional 594,789 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $7,734,973,000 after acquiring an additional 205,123 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,934,935,000 after acquiring an additional 540,756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $1,415,364,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target for Palo Alto Networks to $384, modestly above the current trading level, while maintaining its view of the cybersecurity company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Palo Alto Networks Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive: BTIG reaffirmed a “Buy” rating, and other Wall Street commentary continues to characterize PANW as a buy and a cybersecurity stock worth researching. Wall Street Analysts See Palo Alto as a Buy Benchmark Analyst Expects Palo Alto Stock to Rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on estimates for PANW’s fiscal fourth quarter ended July 2026, including key operating metrics beyond revenue and earnings. The upcoming results could become the next major catalyst. Palo Alto Q4 Performance Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader markets may remain sensitive to next week’s U.S. jobs report and its implications for Federal Reserve policy, which could influence high-growth technology valuations. The Week Ahead: August Jobs Report Takes Center Stage
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000. The sale reduced his holdings by 1.21%, a relatively small transaction but a potential short-term sentiment headwind. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG’s $380 price target is slightly below PANW’s current level despite its Buy rating, while the stock’s very high earnings multiple leaves it vulnerable to disappointment if growth or guidance slows. BTIG Reiterates Buy Rating on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $382.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. 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 $312.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 313.81, a P/E/G ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. 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, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PANW. New Street Research set a $415.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.77, for a total value of $318,393.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 73,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,950,444.58. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 38,835 shares of company stock valued at $11,127,854 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.