Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock: StoneX Group Inc. Increases Stake

StoneX Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 80.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,506 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,610,748,000 after buying an additional 1,493,179 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 205,123 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,993,802,000 after buying an additional 706,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 4.4% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,466,118 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,036,648,000 after buying an additional 273,103 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $313.84 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $370.30 and its 200 day moving average is $273.58. The firm has a market cap of $256.96 billion, a PE ratio of 615.38, a P/E/G ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.95 earnings per share. The company’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, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 21st. BTIG Research upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $404.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $346.00 in a report on Monday, September 7th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.55.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total transaction of $373,610.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,031,317.57. This represents a 15.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. The trade was a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 in the last ninety days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats.

The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Palo Alto Networks serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations around the world.