Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Sells 2,040 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC reduced its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 42,755 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,040 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 1.1% of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 12,657 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $249,000. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 26,839 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $1,205,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 324,055 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $66,315,000 after purchasing an additional 72,559 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $141,512.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 32,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,564,943.84. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $259,351,606 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $212.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Tigress Financial began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.64.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $209.30 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $188.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $210.39. The firm has a market cap of $140.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.40, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.