Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Compass Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 73,794 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 16,043 shares during the period. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth $75,412,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $8,926,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $277,828,000 after acquiring an additional 8,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after acquiring an additional 15,091 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Benchmark lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $253.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. New Street Research reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,076 shares of company stock worth $17,930,587. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $279.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $227.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 229.12, a PEG ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $302.95. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $214.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.58.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank nudged its FY2027 EPS estimate higher for PANW, signaling modest confidence in longer-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on Prisma AIRS suggests AI security is gaining traction and could boost revenue growth and deal size.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader cybersecurity-sector coverage remains constructive, with analysts and institutions still favoring the group amid rising AI-related security demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland Securities kept a $302 price target and Market Perform rating while issuing a range of earnings estimates, indicating a cautious but not bearish stance.
• Negative Sentiment: Northland also trimmed some near- and mid-term EPS forecasts for PANW, reflecting lingering concern about profitability assumptions and valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: PANW still trades at a demanding valuation, so any slowdown in AI-security momentum could increase volatility.

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.