Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stake Boosted by GF Fund Management CO. LTD.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 163,494 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,152 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $33,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $220.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.97.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bull case highlighted — several analyst/commentary pieces argue PANW remains a structural growth name in cybersecurity and a smart buy for long-term investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company growth deals and product momentum are cited as offsets to recent analyst cuts, reinforcing the view that near-term analyst noise may not derail multi-year growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 preview: Zacks notes PANW is entering Q2 with mid‑teen revenue growth expectations but flags decelerating ARR momentum and a premium valuation — a key focus for the upcoming print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary: PANW recently dropped more than the broader market in intraday moves, reflecting short-term volatility ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: JPMorgan lowered its PANW target to $225, and other firms (Rosenblatt, BTIG) trimmed targets (Rosenblatt to $225; BTIG to $200), which reduces near-term upside expectations despite some firms maintaining “buy” ratings. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deal and listing risk: reports say PANW plans a dual listing on the Tel‑Aviv Stock Exchange after closing the ~$25B CyberArk acquisition — there’s short‑term investor concern about integration complexity and political/geographic exposure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/reputational risk: Reuters reports PANW opted not to publicly tie China to a recent global hacking campaign it exposed, citing fears of retaliation — this raises potential client, regulatory and reputation considerations. Read More.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $166.95 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $182.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.26. The company has a market capitalization of $116.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.66, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.