Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Nikulski Financial Inc.

Nikulski Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,624 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,143 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 3.8% of Nikulski Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Nikulski Financial Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $18,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Verus Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 632 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% during the third quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. MBA Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the third quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $731,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.0% during the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 472 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,285 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

These are some of the PANW headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target to $400 from $450 but maintained a Buy rating, while Bank of America reiterated Buy with a $420 target. Jefferies analyst action Bank of America’s outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi was reported to see “powerful upside” for PANW, though the provided report did not include further details. Citi Sees Powerful Upside for Palo Alto Network Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America says Palo Alto must beat quarterly estimates by at least 3% and raise its outlook to justify its premium valuation, setting a high bar for results. Bank of America’s outlook

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’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. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh Paul sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.70, for a total transaction of $158,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 77,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,859,455.90. This trade represents a 0.51% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. HSBC lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $404.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Forty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.49.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $322.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $367.70 and its 200 day moving average is $276.51. The stock has a market cap of $264.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 632.68, a P/E/G ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.96. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $432.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.95 earnings per share. 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.