Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,273,637 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,792 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Palo Alto Networks worth $204,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,331,705 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,587,100,000 after purchasing an additional 594,789 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after purchasing an additional 2,065,776 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,989,257 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,934,935,000 after purchasing an additional 540,756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $1,415,364,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 6.8%

PANW opened at $352.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $280.47 and a 200 day moving average of $208.93. 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 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $368.17. The firm has a market cap of $287.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 289.25, a P/E/G ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: PANW is benefiting from a broad cybersecurity rally, with buyers moving into the group after cooler-than-expected inflation data eased pressure on high-valuation tech stocks. CrowdStrike Climbs 11%, Palo Alto Rises 7% as Cybersecurity Stocks Rally on Cooling Inflation
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s warning about “rapidly-evolving” cybersecurity concerns is also lifting sentiment across the sector, as it suggests more corporate demand for security tools and services. IBM Heads for Worst Day Ever — But Why Are Cybersecurity Stocks Up?
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer called Palo Alto Networks “unbelievable,” adding another bullish headline that can help support investor enthusiasm around the stock. Jim Cramer Reveals Why Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Is “Unbelievable”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note that PANW has attracted heavy investor attention and has already delivered strong gains over the past year, which underscores momentum but does not add a new fundamental catalyst. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analyst-style coverage still points to higher integration costs and says Zscaler has the edge on valuation and Zero Trust adoption, which is more of a relative comparison than a direct blow to PANW. PANW vs. ZS: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Arete Research upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $340.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $255.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.96.

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.