Rep. Josh Gottheimer Buys Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Shares

Posted by Mark Dietrich on Aug 12th, 2026

Representative Josh Gottheimer (Democratic-New Jersey) recently bought shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW). In a filing disclosed on August 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Palo Alto Networks stock on July 16th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of (NASDAQ:GOOGN) on 7/24/2026.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of (NASDAQ:GOOGM) on 7/24/2026.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of (NASDAQ:GOOGN) on 7/23/2026.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) on 7/23/2026.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of SailPoint (NASDAQ:SAIL) on 7/20/2026.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of NiCE (NASDAQ:NICE) on 7/20/2026.
Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) on 7/17/2026.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Chart Industries (NYSE:GTLS) on 7/17/2026.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) on 7/16/2026.
Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) on 7/15/2026.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $383.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $387.20. The company has a market capitalization of $312.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.59, a P/E/G ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $231.33.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last 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. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $387.00 price objective (up from $320.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $333.76.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on PANW

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks led the market on Monday, with Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike reaching record levels after the Black Hat conference highlighted how AI agents are creating new security risks. Analysts said the changing threat landscape could increase demand for cybersecurity products. CrowdStrike, Palo Alto hit records after Black Hat cyber conference illuminates rising AI threat
Positive Sentiment: Broader cybersecurity shares surged even as the overall market declined, making Palo Alto Networks a relative strength leader and reinforcing investor enthusiasm for the sector. Cybersecurity Stocks Surge, With Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike Leading the Charge
Positive Sentiment: Coverage describing a “massive update” and booming performance in 2026 is supporting the bullish narrative around PANW, although the available report details do not specify a new financial announcement. Massive Update for Palo Alto Stock Investors
Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s generally bullish recommendations continue to provide support for the stock. Recent quarterly results also showed earnings and revenue above consensus, with revenue growth of 31.1% year over year.
Positive Sentiment: PANW reached a new one-year high, signaling strong technical momentum and continued investor demand. Palo Alto Networks Reaches New 1-Year High
Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed zero shares and a zero-day short-interest ratio, but the stated percentage change was “NaN,” making the data unreliable and providing little meaningful insight into bearish positioning.
Negative Sentiment: The stock’s very elevated valuation—about 315 times earnings—leaves PANW vulnerable to profit-taking if growth, guidance, or cybersecurity-sector enthusiasm slows.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd 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 period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGIM Custom Harvest LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $786,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Gottheimer is also running for election for Governor of New Jersey. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 10, 2025.

Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

About Palo Alto Networks

(Get Free Report)

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.