Sheets Smith Wealth Management Has $2.21 Million Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 142.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,774 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,092 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Princeton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Princeton Capital Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.0% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 4,823 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the third quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 4,310 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.3% during the third quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 16,938 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,449,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 4,227 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owned 235,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,044 shares of company stock worth $26,022,722. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $287.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $234.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 235.89, a PEG ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $228.24 and a 200-day moving average of $192.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $255.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $253.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.59.

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.