Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Decreases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,353 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,379 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,252 shares of company stock worth $26,947,635. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $160.32 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The company has a market cap of $130.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora bought about $10M of PANW stock in an open‑market purchase (first disclosed purchase since 2019), a direct bullish signal that sparked buying interest and a short-term rally. CEO Nikesh Arora buys shares (CNBC)
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan described the CEO purchase as a “substantial vote of confidence,” reinforcing institutional support and helping sentiment around the stock. JPMorgan: insider buy is substantial vote (24/7 Wall St.)
• Positive Sentiment: Company product momentum: Prisma AIRS is showing rapid customer growth and rising bookings, suggesting a tangible AI‑security growth driver that could support future revenues and offset valuation concerns. Prisma AIRS growth (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are mixed on valuation: some market commentators see select tech names as “cheap” but potentially value traps, so investors should weigh growth durability versus current multiples. Analyst caution on tech valuations (Barron’s)
• Negative Sentiment: Broader AI-driven software selloff has pressured PANW (shares were down earlier in 2026), as some investors worry AI could disrupt legacy security vendors; that selling pressure is the principal headwind the insider buy seeks to counter. Selloff and AI concerns (Yahoo Finance)

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks 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.