196,715 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,067,813 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 196,715 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 0.8% of Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.25% of Palo Alto Networks worth $821,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,833,462,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $1,968,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,569,755,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,481,236,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,476,753 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,603,473,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101,267 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $475.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, October 12th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $320.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $326.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Thirty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.55.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $313.84 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $432.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $370.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.58. The company has a market cap of $256.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 615.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.70, for a total transaction of $158,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 77,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,859,455.90. This represents a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total value of $7,533,600.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats.

The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Palo Alto Networks serves businesses, government agencies and other organizations around the world.