Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Position Lessened by Bessemer Group Inc.

Posted by Brenda Bartman on May 16th, 2026

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 713,465 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 7,692 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $131,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at about $751,000. SkyOak Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. SkyOak Wealth LLC now owns 5,350 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 40.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,969 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $9,227,000 after buying an additional 14,491 shares in the last quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 5,211 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.98.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Palo Alto Networks

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.9%

PANW stock opened at $242.83 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $245.80. The company has a market cap of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $174.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

(Free Report)

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.