Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 7,507 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,507 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $281,542,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth about $164,968,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $222.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $340.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total transaction of $2,094,300.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 102,111 shares of company stock worth $27,204,024 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $352.04 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $251.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.56, a PEG ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $358.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420 from $325 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential. Wells Fargo target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and reiterated an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst tone around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research also raised its target to $380 from $333 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for continued share-price strength. BTIG target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted PANW’s strong fiscal Q3 results, with revenue and ARR beats and growing demand tied to AI-driven cybersecurity and observability, which has helped keep sentiment constructive. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders sold small blocks of stock, including CAO Josh D. Paul and Director Aparna Bawa. While routine, insider selling can modestly temper enthusiasm for the stock. SEC filing

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.