Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Holdings Boosted by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 96.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,513 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,663 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.16.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.7%

PANW stock opened at $246.66 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $250.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.54. The firm has a market cap of $201.27 billion, a PE ratio of 136.28, a PEG ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% 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 John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction 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 position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus raised Palo Alto Networks’ price target to $275 from $185 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling strong analyst confidence. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target Raised to $275.00 at Stifel Nicolaus
• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets lifted its target to $270 from $200 and kept an outperform rating, implying further upside from current levels. BMO Capital Markets price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Truist boosted its target to $275 from $200 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around PANW. Truist price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its target to $253 from $223 and held an overweight rating, suggesting continued support from institutional analysts. Morgan Stanley price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage highlighted Palo Alto Networks as one of the software names benefiting from renewed investor interest as AI disruption fears ease. ServiceNow and Other Software Stocks Are Leading the Sector Out of the Abyss
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora said AI should increase engineering productivity rather than shrink the workforce, supporting the company’s long-term growth narrative. Palo Alto Networks CEO says AI won’t mean fewer engineers

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.