First Financial Bankshares Inc Grows Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 28.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,946 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,237 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% during the third quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $144.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $177.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.61. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.30 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $117.62 billion, a PE ratio of 79.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Palo Alto’s FY2026 EPS estimate, signaling higher expected profitability for next fiscal year. FY2026 EPS Estimate for Palo Alto Networks Raised by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-facing coverage highlights PANW as a strong AI/security play, praising its comprehensive product portfolio and positioning against AI-driven threats — supportive narrative for longer-term demand. 1 No-Brainer Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Buy With $160 and Hold for the Long Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes PANW is a trending stock among its users and summarizes factors investors should review before taking a position; this increases attention but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: The Motley Fool asks whether PANW is a buy on the dip: it notes solid fiscal Q2 growth but warns recent acquisitions will pressure near-term EPS — a mixed view that supports longer-term conviction but flags short-term dilution. Is It Time to Buy Palo Alto Networks Stock on the Dip?
• Negative Sentiment: Sector weakness: CNBC reports cybersecurity stocks fell after Anthropic launched an AI tool that can scan code for vulnerabilities, stoking fears AI could automate tasks currently sold by security vendors — a direct headwind to valuation multiples. Cybersecurity stocks drop for a second day as new Anthropic tool fuels AI disruption fears
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and price-target cuts pressured the stock: reports show PANW trading down after at least one downgrade, and HSBC slashed its price target to $114 — a steep cut that likely weighs on sentiment and selling. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms adjusted targets lower: HSBC’s $114 target is highly negative, while New Street trimmed its target to $220 — mixed magnitude but overall adds downward pressure on consensus expectations. HSBC Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $114.00 New Street Research Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $220.00

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Thirty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.