Vertrix Wealth Management LLC Takes $1.20 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Vertrix Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 7,507 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after purchasing an additional 594,789 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,934,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,756 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total transaction of $101,134.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,839.38. The trade was a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 102,111 shares of company stock worth $27,204,024 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $352.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $199.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $286.91 billion, a PE ratio of 288.56, a P/E/G ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $358.10.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.15.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420 from $325 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential. Wells Fargo target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and reiterated an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst tone around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research also raised its target to $380 from $333 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for continued share-price strength. BTIG target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted PANW’s strong fiscal Q3 results, with revenue and ARR beats and growing demand tied to AI-driven cybersecurity and observability, which has helped keep sentiment constructive. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders sold small blocks of stock, including CAO Josh D. Paul and Director Aparna Bawa. While routine, insider selling can modestly temper enthusiasm for the stock. SEC filing

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.