Novare Capital Management LLC Has $1.81 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Novare Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,845 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.98.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $245.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.