Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Verde Capital Management

Verde Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,289 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 0.7% of Verde Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $502,263,000 after buying an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $750,875,000 after buying an additional 708,332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225 to $275 and kept a buy rating, signaling stronger confidence in the company’s outlook. Rosenblatt Securities Issues Positive Forecast for Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho increased its price target from $200 to $265 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish view from analysts on PANW’s earnings and growth prospects. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $265.00 at Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer highlighted Palo Alto Networks as “having the last laugh,” reinforcing investor optimism around the stock’s resilience and market leadership. Jim Cramer Shares Why Palo Alto (PANW) Is Having The Last Laugh
• Neutral Sentiment: One market recap noted PANW advanced while the broader market declined, but the report was mainly descriptive and did not add new fundamental information. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Advances While Market Declines: Some Information for Investors
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison piece said CrowdStrike currently has an edge over Palo Alto Networks on growth momentum and ARR trends, but this was more of an industry comparison than a direct negative catalyst. CRWD vs. PANW: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on PANW shares. BTIG Research increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. New Street Research dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $247.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 136.77, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $248.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $176.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.18.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.