Howard Capital Management Group LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Howard Capital Management Group LLC lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 209,620 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 5,052 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 2.4% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $38,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,070,000. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $192,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.95.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company insiders (including the CEO) bought roughly $10 million of PANW stock, a vote of confidence that investors often view as a bullish signal. Insider purchase article
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted the CEO’s $10M buy on Mad Money, framing it as evidence that AI threats are not undermining Palo Alto’s business — national TV endorsement can lift sentiment and short-term flows. Cramer commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $200 price target, citing progress toward Rule-of-60-style profitability — an analyst upgrade that boosts upside expectations. Benchmark initiation
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks noted the stock outperformed the market intraday, reflecting the broader positive sentiment mix. Short-term price strength is consistent with the above catalysts. Zacks upswing note
• Neutral Sentiment: A law firm announced a partner hire in Palo Alto — unrelated to Palo Alto Networks’ business and unlikely to affect the stock. Business Wire hiring notice
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage points out PANW is down ~12% over the past three months, flagging near-term pressure despite long-term SASE momentum and enterprise wins — a reminder of recent volatility and profit-taking risk. Zacks pullback analysis

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of PANW opened at $163.21 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The stock has a market cap of $133.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.17, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $162.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $186.38.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.