Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 33,590 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 972,250 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 33,590 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $197,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,174,029 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,093,262,000 after buying an additional 169,055 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.7% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,295,588 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,083,689,000 after buying an additional 377,496 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,476,638 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $916,099,000 after buying an additional 54,601 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $675,865,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. This trade represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $144.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.19 billion, a PE ratio of 80.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $176.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.11.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. 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 company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter 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. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Big drop in short interest — Short interest fell roughly 50.8% in February to ~22.8M shares (2.8% of float) and a short-interest ratio of ~1.3 days, reducing immediate short-squeeze risk and removing a pressure point on the shares. (no link)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst consensus still generally constructive — PANW has received an average analyst rating around “Moderate Buy,” supporting a baseline of continued institutional interest. Palo Alto Networks Receives Average Rating of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Media pieces pitching the AI/security upside — Commentary argues PANW’s AI-security investments could drive a turnaround, but these are thematic narratives rather than new fundamental beats. PANW Is Down 19% But Its AI Security Bet May Change That
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive context vs. CrowdStrike — Coverage compares Palo Alto’s platform strategy to CrowdStrike’s M&A growth path; useful for positioning but not an immediate catalyst. Cybersecurity Showdown: CrowdStrike vs Palo Alto
• Neutral Sentiment: High-profile commentary — Jim Cramer discussed PANW on air, increasing retail visibility but not adding new company-guidance information. Jim Cramer Discusses Palo Alto Networks’ Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Daiwa cuts price target but keeps outperform rating — PT lowered from $212 to $175, signaling reduced near-term upside expectations from that shop while still endorsing the name. Daiwa Securities Adjusts PT on Palo Alto Networks to $175
• Negative Sentiment: Q3/organic growth commentary; EPS dilution concern — Analysis notes organic growth normalizing and that a Q3 EPS miss was driven by share dilution, which could pressure near-term EPS multiples if buybacks don’t offset dilution. Palo Alto Networks: Organic Growth Begins To Normalize

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Northland Securities lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.62.

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.