McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. Invests $2.26 Million in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

McLaughlin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,270 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for approximately 2.0% of McLaughlin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.0% in the third quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $982,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 16,938 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,449,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 101,044 shares of company stock worth $26,022,722 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on PANW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus set a $340.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. New Street Research cut their target price on 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. 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 report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $180.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.0%

PANW opened at $287.78 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $302.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $225.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.98. The company has a market cap of $234.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 235.89, a P/E/G ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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. On average, equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current 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.