Liontrust Investment Partners LLP lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 20.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 252,805 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 64,644 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $86,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,833,462,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,364,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,968,304,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,569,755,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,481,236,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This trade represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 38,835 shares of company stock valued at $11,127,854 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.
Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.9%
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 earnings per share for the current year.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have commented on PANW. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $415.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. FBN Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $368.42.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on PANW
More Palo Alto Networks News
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
Palo Alto Networks Company 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.
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