Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Holdings Lowered by Davidson Investment Advisors

Davidson Investment Advisors decreased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 25.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,979 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 27,539 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.1% of Davidson Investment Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $26,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $371.59 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $344.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $302.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 304.58, a PEG ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Arete Research boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Northland Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Capital One Financial set a $421.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $265.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.42.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $400 from $340 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside to next-generation security annual recurring revenue, revenue, operating income and margins. The forecast reinforces expectations that Palo Alto Networks’ AI-security strategy is gaining traction. Palo Alto Networks Gets a $400 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are taking confidence from CrowdStrike’s stronger-than-expected results, which highlighted robust AI-related cybersecurity demand and lifted sentiment across the sector. Palo Alto Networks is viewed as a potential beneficiary of the same spending cycle. Palo Alto Networks Stock Trades Up
• Positive Sentiment: Platformization, adoption of AI-security products and recent deal wins are expected to support fourth-quarter growth. BTIG also assigned PANW a Buy rating, adding to broadly favorable analyst coverage. Palo Alto Networks to Report Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant movement after the report, while analysts are watching recurring revenue, margins, operating income and guidance—not just revenue and EPS. Expected Post-Earnings Stock Move
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition-related costs could pressure results, and the stock’s triple-digit P/E ratio—above 300 based on the supplied data—means much of the AI-growth outlook may already be reflected in the price. Any shortfall in growth or guidance could trigger profit-taking. Palo Alto’s Rally Has One Big Problem Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000, reducing his position by 1.21%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining holdings but may create a modest sentiment headwind. Palo Alto Networks Insider Sale

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.77, for a total value of $318,393.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 73,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,950,444.58. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total value of $101,134.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,244,839.38. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 38,835 shares of company stock worth $11,127,854 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.