Rhodes Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Cuts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Rhodes Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 44.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,163 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,575 shares during the quarter. Rhodes Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,257,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 842 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.2% in the third quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 426 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $169,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PANW. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, August 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 price target (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $391.32.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW traded down $14.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $405.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,888,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,289,067. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $432.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $331.76 billion, a PE ratio of 795.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $367.69 and its 200-day moving average is $290.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI and cybersecurity momentum: PANW benefited from a broad rally in cybersecurity stocks after Zscaler reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 earnings outlook. Investor interest is also increasing in security tools designed to protect AI agents, following CrowdStrike’s accelerator with Amazon Web Services and NVIDIA. Palo Alto Networks Stock Reaches New Highs: What’s Happening?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating results and outlook: The company’s latest quarterly revenue increased 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion, exceeding estimates, while earnings of $1.02 per share also topped expectations. Management’s fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $4.16–$4.19 reinforces expectations for continued growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable analyst positioning: Sell-side firms broadly maintain a constructive view, with 38 analysts issuing Buy ratings and 12 assigning Hold ratings. The overall consensus is “Moderate Buy,” although the average price target of $391.32 is below recent trading levels. Palo Alto Networks Rated Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term performance remains a selling point: A $1,000 investment held for ten years substantially outperformed the S&P 500, highlighting PANW’s successful expansion from firewall products into a broader cloud, endpoint and AI-security platform. However, past performance does not eliminate valuation risk. A $1,000 Bet on Palo Alto Networks Beat the S&P 500
• Negative Sentiment: Very elevated valuation: PANW’s market capitalization is approximately $332 billion, while its reported P/E ratio is near 800. The stock’s rally has pushed it above the consensus price target, increasing the risk of consolidation or profit-taking if growth expectations moderate.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul sold 400 shares worth approximately $158,280. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.51%, so it is a limited signal, but it may add to short-term selling pressure. Palo Alto Networks Insider Selling

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 400 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.70, for a total value of $158,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 77,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,859,455.90. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.69, for a total transaction of $102,099.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,836,611.13. This represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,960 shares of company stock valued at $20,719,959. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.