Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $104.28 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 305,775 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 17,560 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $104,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 15.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 410,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $65,796,000 after buying an additional 53,485 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $104,774,000 after purchasing an additional 29,230 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $353,000. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,159,000. Finally, Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 43.6% during the first quarter. Granite Islands Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,342 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,453,000 after purchasing an additional 4,659 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.77, for a total transaction of $318,393.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 73,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,950,444.58. This represents a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total transaction of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. The trade was a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,835 shares of company stock worth $11,127,854. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target for Palo Alto Networks to $384, modestly above the current trading level, while maintaining its view of the cybersecurity company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Palo Alto Networks Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive: BTIG reaffirmed a “Buy” rating, and other Wall Street commentary continues to characterize PANW as a buy and a cybersecurity stock worth researching. Wall Street Analysts See Palo Alto as a Buy Benchmark Analyst Expects Palo Alto Stock to Rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on estimates for PANW’s fiscal fourth quarter ended July 2026, including key operating metrics beyond revenue and earnings. The upcoming results could become the next major catalyst. Palo Alto Q4 Performance Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader markets may remain sensitive to next week’s U.S. jobs report and its implications for Federal Reserve policy, which could influence high-growth technology valuations. The Week Ahead: August Jobs Report Takes Center Stage
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000. The sale reduced his holdings by 1.21%, a relatively small transaction but a potential short-term sentiment headwind. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG’s $380 price target is slightly below PANW’s current level despite its Buy rating, while the stock’s very high earnings multiple leaves it vulnerable to disappointment if growth or guidance slows. BTIG Reiterates Buy Rating on Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $382.85 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $398.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $342.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.58. The company has a market cap of $312.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 313.81, a PEG ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.