Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by STF Management LP

STF Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 59.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,956 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 5,794 shares during the period. STF Management LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 155,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,637,000 after acquiring an additional 8,970 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 77.8% during the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,993 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $402,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Benchmark started coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Berenberg Bank set a $215.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (up from $205.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.98.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $242.83 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $245.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.16, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.