Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5,399.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,037 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,509 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $17,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of PANW opened at $216.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $144.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $207.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.47.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total value of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 177,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,008,788.94. This trade represents a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,160,428. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. New Street Research lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.55.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.