Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc cut its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.3% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 65,168 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 847 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.3% of L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% in the first quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 25.3% during the second quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 205,053 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $41,957,000 after purchasing an additional 41,392 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.2% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 39,893 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,164,000 after buying an additional 3,351 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This trade represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total value of $23,081,119.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 177,954 shares in the company, valued at $34,008,788.94. This represents a 40.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,160,428. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.5%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $204.77 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $208.86 and a 200 day moving average of $196.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.58, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. BTIG Research raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $220.95.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.