Josh Paul Sells 900 Shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 79,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,477,180. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $348.06 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $255.09 and a 200-day moving average of $200.36. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $358.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $283.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 285.30, a PEG ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $375.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital upped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $316.15.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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 reiterated an overweight rating, reinforcing the case for further upside. Wells Fargo price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and maintained an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst sentiment around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: The stock remains a momentum name after gaining roughly 25% since its last earnings report, supported by strong demand for AI-related cybersecurity tools and recent trading interest. Zacks earnings momentum article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insider sales were disclosed, including director Aparna Bawa and CAO Josh D. Paul. The transactions were relatively small, but insider selling can slightly temper investor enthusiasm. Insider sale disclosure

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

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.