Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $294.25 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,445,107 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,296 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Palo Alto Networks worth $294,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 186.3% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 743 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $144.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.19 billion, a PE ratio of 80.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.11.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Westpark Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. New Street Research dropped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, UBS Group set a $183.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.62.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big drop in short interest — Short interest fell roughly 50.8% in February to ~22.8M shares (2.8% of float) and a short-interest ratio of ~1.3 days, reducing immediate short-squeeze risk and removing a pressure point on the shares. (no link)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus still generally constructive — PANW has received an average analyst rating around “Moderate Buy,” supporting a baseline of continued institutional interest. Palo Alto Networks Receives Average Rating of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Media pieces pitching the AI/security upside — Commentary argues PANW’s AI-security investments could drive a turnaround, but these are thematic narratives rather than new fundamental beats. PANW Is Down 19% But Its AI Security Bet May Change That
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context vs. CrowdStrike — Coverage compares Palo Alto’s platform strategy to CrowdStrike’s M&A growth path; useful for positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Cybersecurity Showdown: CrowdStrike vs Palo Alto
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile commentary — Jim Cramer discussed PANW on air, increasing retail visibility but not adding new company-guidance information. Jim Cramer Discusses Palo Alto Networks’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Daiwa cuts price target but keeps outperform rating — PT lowered from $212 to $175, signaling reduced near-term upside expectations from that shop while still endorsing the name. Daiwa Securities Adjusts PT on Palo Alto Networks to $175
• Negative Sentiment: Q3/organic growth commentary; EPS dilution concern — Analysis notes organic growth normalizing and that a Q3 EPS miss was driven by share dilution, which could pressure near-term EPS multiples if buybacks don’t offset dilution. Palo Alto Networks: Organic Growth Begins To Normalize

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last quarter. 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.