Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Mason & Associates Inc

Mason & Associates Inc cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 75.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 757 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,322 shares during the quarter. Mason & Associates Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. EMC Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,721.30. This trade represents a 10.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total value of $101,134.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $2,244,839.38. This represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 38,635 shares of company stock valued at $11,150,578 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fiscal fourth-quarter results: Revenue rose 34% year over year to $3.41 billion, exceeding the $3.35 billion consensus estimate, while adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share topped expectations by $0.04. Next-generation security annual recurring revenue increased 63% to $9.1 billion, including nearly $1 billion of net new ARR. Palo Alto crushes earnings expectations: stock is down 8%- here’s why
• Positive Sentiment: Optimistic outlook and AI demand: Management issued fiscal 2027 guidance above Wall Street expectations and highlighted rising demand for platform-based cybersecurity solutions as AI-related threats expand. Analysts also cited strong cash flow, platform adoption and the company’s AI-led growth strategy. PANW Q4 Earnings Call Focuses on AI-Led Platformization
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong: Citigroup raised its price target to $410, while RBC lifted its target to $475. DA Davidson, Susquehanna, Rosenblatt, BTIG, Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald also maintained or reiterated bullish ratings with targets generally above the current trading level.
• Positive Sentiment: External bullish commentary: Jim Cramer described Palo Alto Networks favorably following the earnings report, potentially supporting investor sentiment toward the cybersecurity leader. Jim Cramer is Bullish on Palo Alto After Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Console acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid approximately $500 million in cash and stock for AI help-desk startup Console. The deal could expand its AI capabilities, but the price and integration risks may temper the immediate benefit. Palo Alto Networks paid $500M for Thrive-backed Console
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking pressured the stock: Despite the earnings beat, shares fell sharply after investors viewed the results as insufficient relative to PANW’s premium valuation and lofty growth expectations. Barclays reportedly warned that the stock may have limited upside after a substantial prior rally. Palo Alto Networks Topped Estimates. The Stock Is Sinking Anyway
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $336,000. The sale represented only 1.23% of his holdings, limiting its significance, but it may add modestly to investor caution.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PANW. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Forty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $331.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.53 billion, a PE ratio of 650.88, a P/E/G ratio of 10.04 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $349.60 and a 200-day moving average of $254.27. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.