LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,053 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $700,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,114,000. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,578,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $4,329,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $85,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $349.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $398.88. The company has a market cap of $284.89 billion, a PE ratio of 286.52, a PEG ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $335.81 and a 200-day moving average of $240.90.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. 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, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $362.67.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,045,721.30. This represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 37,935 shares of company stock valued at $10,809,461. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI security initiative expands growth opportunities. Palo Alto Networks launched the Frontier AI Critical Defense Program with technology partners to protect critical infrastructure from AI-driven exploits and vulnerabilities. The initiative could strengthen PANW’s position in the emerging AI-security market and support demand from government and enterprise customers. Palo Alto Networks Introduces Frontier AI Critical Defense Program
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst remains bullish. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target to $425 from $340 and maintained an “overweight” rating, citing potential for continued appreciation. The higher target signals confidence in PANW’s growth prospects despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks Price Target Raised by Cantor Fitzgerald
• Positive Sentiment: Enterprise AI adoption may drive sales. Palo Alto Networks is positioning its network, identity, AI and security-operations products to benefit as businesses deploy more artificial intelligence. This could help PANW compete more effectively with CrowdStrike and Zscaler. Can Strong Enterprise AI Adoption Help PANW Challenge CrowdStrike and Zscaler?
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage from TD Cowen and other outlets remains constructive on PANW’s long-term appreciation potential, but provides limited new operating information. TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palo Alto Networks
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity-sector selling is weighing on PANW. Palo Alto Networks declined even as the broader market improved, while CrowdStrike also sold off sharply. The synchronized weakness suggests investors are reducing exposure to cybersecurity stocks or taking profits, overshadowing bullish analyst commentary. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks Stock Declines

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.