Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells $102,099.40 in Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Aparna Bawa sold 260 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.69, for a total value of $102,099.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,677 shares in the company, valued at $1,836,611.13. This trade represents a 5.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Aparna Bawa also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total value of $188,590.00.
• On Monday, September 14th, Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total value of $373,610.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total value of $101,134.60.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.3%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $397.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $359.05 and a 200 day moving average of $282.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $325.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 779.05, a P/E/G ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $404.69. 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 quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PANW. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $404.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Thirty-eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.47.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% in the second quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cooling inflation supports software stocks: Cooler-than-expected inflation data reduced concerns about additional Federal Reserve rate hikes, helping lift software and cybersecurity shares. Lower expected interest rates can improve the appeal of high-growth companies such as PANW. Palo Alto Stock Rises on Cool Inflation, Easing Fed Fears
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target increase: BTIG raised its PANW target to $425 from $404 and maintained a Buy rating after discussions with management. The upgrade adds near-term buying support and reflects confidence in the company’s growth outlook. Palo Alto Networks Stock Trades Up, Here Is Why
• Positive Sentiment: AI is expanding the addressable market: Analysts and investors view the expansion of AI infrastructure and agentic traffic as a potential catalyst for network, cloud and application security spending. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike both reported strong quarters and identified AI-related demand as a key budget priority for chief information officers. All In on Cybersecurity
• Positive Sentiment: Strong operating momentum: Recent results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 34.5% year over year to $3.41 billion and EPS beating consensus. Commentary around the practical monetization of AI is encouraging investors despite the company’s reported GAAP losses. Palo Alto CEO Said the Quiet Part About AI Aloud
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and valuation risk: Executive Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares, while Director Aparna Bawa sold 260 shares. The transactions were disclosed under trading plans or regulatory filings and do not necessarily signal weakening fundamentals, but they may weigh modestly on sentiment while PANW trades at a very high earnings multiple. Palo Alto Networks Insider Sale

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides solutions designed to help organizations protect networks, endpoints, cloud environments, applications and users from cyber threats. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud-delivered security services, secure access service edge (SASE) solutions, endpoint protection and security operations tools.

The company also provides platforms and services for cloud security, threat intelligence, incident response, vulnerability management and the automation of security operations.