Cornerstone Enterprises LLC Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Cornerstone Enterprises LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 27.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,472 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.8% of Cornerstone Enterprises LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Cornerstone Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% during the first quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing 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 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $217.79 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $217.94. The stock has a market cap of $145.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 135.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $191.40 and its 200 day moving average is $188.81.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.66% and a net margin of 12.30%.The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $232.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks 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.