Primecap Management Co. CA Makes New $347.80 Million Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 1,019,890 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,803,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Trilogy Capital Inc. boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the first quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 703 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.1%

PANW opened at $339.90 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $398.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 278.61, a PEG ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $339.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $244.71.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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. Sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 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: Analysts raised price targets. JPMorgan increased its target from $326 to $384 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while Benchmark raised its target from $340 to $400 and reiterated a “buy” rating. These revisions reflect continued confidence in Palo Alto Networks’ growth prospects. JPMorgan price target article Benchmark price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity demand remains a long-term growth driver. Strong firewall bookings, expanding software revenue and increasing AI-related network traffic are supporting the company’s Network Security outlook. Can Rising Network Security Demand Boost PANW’s Long-Term Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. Palo Alto Networks was expected to report quarterly results on Tuesday. Investors will focus on billings, recurring software and platform growth, profitability and forward guidance to determine whether the company’s elevated valuation is justified. Palo Alto Networks Expected to Post Earnings on Tuesday
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking may be weighing on the stock. Despite favorable analyst commentary, PANW trades at a very high reported P/E ratio of about 279 and has risen sharply over the past year. The decline while the market gained indicates investors may be locking in profits or demanding stronger near-term results before bidding shares higher. Palo Alto Networks Stock Sinks As Market Gains

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total value of $1,447,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at $42,058,590. This trade represents a 3.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,935 shares of company stock valued at $10,809,461. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several recent research reports. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $333.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $415.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. HSBC raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.87.

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.