NEOS Investment Management LLC Acquires 58,834 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 10.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 618,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 58,834 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 0.8% of NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. NEOS Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $211,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. Arete Research increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $420.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. The trade was a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,635 shares of company stock worth $11,150,578. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.1%

PANW stock opened at $331.94 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $398.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 650.88, a PEG ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $349.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fiscal fourth-quarter results: Revenue rose 34% year over year to $3.41 billion, exceeding the $3.35 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share topped expectations by $0.04. Next-generation security annual recurring revenue increased 63% to $9.1 billion, including nearly $1 billion of net new ARR. Palo Alto crushes earnings expectations: stock is down 8%- here’s why
• Positive Sentiment: Optimistic outlook and AI demand: Management issued fiscal 2027 guidance above Wall Street expectations and highlighted rising demand for platform-based cybersecurity solutions as AI-related threats expand. Analysts also cited strong cash flow, platform adoption and the company’s AI-led growth strategy. PANW Q4 Earnings Call Focuses on AI-Led Platformization
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Citigroup raised its price target to $410, while RBC lifted its target to $475. DA Davidson, Susquehanna, Rosenblatt, BTIG, Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald also maintained or reiterated bullish ratings with targets generally above the current trading level.
• Positive Sentiment: External bullish commentary: Jim Cramer described Palo Alto Networks favorably following the earnings report, potentially supporting investor sentiment toward the cybersecurity leader. Jim Cramer is Bullish on Palo Alto After Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Console acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid approximately $500 million in cash and stock for AI help-desk startup Console. The deal could expand its AI capabilities, but the price and integration risks may temper the immediate benefit. Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking pressured the stock: Despite the earnings beat, shares fell sharply after investors viewed the results as insufficient relative to PANW’s premium valuation and lofty growth expectations. Barclays reportedly warned that the stock may have limited upside after a substantial prior rally. Palo Alto Networks Topped Estimates. The Stock Is Sinking Anyway
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $336,000. The sale represented only 1.23% of his holdings, limiting its significance, but it may add modestly to investor caution.

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.