HighTower Advisors LLC Has $126.08 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 684,472 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 28,308 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $126,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Verde Capital Management boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 17,289 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,185,000 after buying an additional 2,263 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 26,525 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,886,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,346 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Odyssey Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $937,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $240.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.67, a P/E/G ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $178.00 and its 200-day moving average is $181.34. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $248.85.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% 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 over the last ninety 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: Truist raised its price target to $275 and kept a Buy rating, signaling confidence in continued upside for Palo Alto Networks. Truist raises PANW target
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer lifted its target to $275 and reiterated an Outperform rating after noting encouraging signs from the company’s CyberArk-related product launch and customer feedback. Oppenheimer lifts PANW target
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho increased its target to $265 and maintained an Outperform rating, citing strength in subscriptions and possible upside to remaining performance obligations. Mizuho raises PANW target
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also raised its target to $275 and kept a Buy rating, adding to the broad analyst optimism around the stock. Rosenblatt positive forecast
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora said AI is expected to help engineers ship more features, not reduce headcount, suggesting the company sees AI as a growth driver rather than a cost-cutting story. Business Insider article
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider buying was highlighted as value-positive, but the item is more of a confidence signal than a clear near-term catalyst. Insider buying article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted the stock has rallied sharply and is technically overbought, which could make it vulnerable to volatility if upcoming earnings disappoint. Technical analysis article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.49.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.