Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Purchased by Danske Bank A S

Danske Bank A S raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 540,572 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 41,613 shares during the quarter. Danske Bank A S’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $214,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% during 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 position in 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 valued at $7,734,973,000 after buying an additional 205,123 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,142,895 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,235,254,000 after buying an additional 2,386,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% in the 2nd 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 valued at $2,993,802,000 after buying an additional 706,003 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

These are some of the PANW news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc upgraded PANW to Overweight from Sector Weight and set a $380 price target. The firm expects next-generation security growth, stronger security spending, and demand for AI protection to outweigh concerns about the traditional firewall business. The upgrade helped lift shares in premarket trading. Palo Alto Networks stock rises as KeyBanc upgrades shares to Overweight
• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target from $450 to $400 but maintained a Buy rating, leaving the analyst positive while signaling a more cautious valuation view. Jefferies analyst recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: PANW was also noted as a holding in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust. This is a visibility signal, but the article provides no new company-specific operating or financial catalyst. A Jim Cramer’s Trust Stock Is Using AI to Breaks the Defenses It Helps Protect

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens set a $400.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $475.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, October 12th. New Street Research set a $415.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Forty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $322.24. The stock had a trading volume of 5,278,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,260,294. The firm has a market cap of $263.84 billion, a PE ratio of 631.86, a P/E/G ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $367.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $432.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

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.