WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 3,548 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,548 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $654,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.98.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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 Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $242.83 on Monday. The stock 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. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $245.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.99.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS 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.