Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Sells 18,476 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 159,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 18,476 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $29,426,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,055,031,000 after buying an additional 505,924 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,532,902,000 after buying an additional 36,511 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,202,776,000 after buying an additional 611,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,356,617 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $802,691,000 after buying an additional 319,751 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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?

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. This represents a 7.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.98.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $242.83 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.16, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $174.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.99. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.