Versor Investments LP Reduces Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Versor Investments LP lowered its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,344 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 7,001 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 12,111 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $345,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $166.95 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $182.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.27. The company has a market capitalization of $116.36 billion, a PE ratio of 105.66, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Mizuho set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 12th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.97.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bull case highlighted — several analyst/commentary pieces argue PANW remains a structural growth name in cybersecurity and a smart buy for long-term investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company growth deals and product momentum are cited as offsets to recent analyst cuts, reinforcing the view that near-term analyst noise may not derail multi-year growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 preview: Zacks notes PANW is entering Q2 with mid‑teen revenue growth expectations but flags decelerating ARR momentum and a premium valuation — a key focus for the upcoming print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary: PANW recently dropped more than the broader market in intraday moves, reflecting short-term volatility ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: JPMorgan lowered its PANW target to $225, and other firms (Rosenblatt, BTIG) trimmed targets (Rosenblatt to $225; BTIG to $200), which reduces near-term upside expectations despite some firms maintaining “buy” ratings. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deal and listing risk: reports say PANW plans a dual listing on the Tel‑Aviv Stock Exchange after closing the ~$25B CyberArk acquisition — there’s short‑term investor concern about integration complexity and political/geographic exposure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/reputational risk: Reuters reports PANW opted not to publicly tie China to a recent global hacking campaign it exposed, citing fears of retaliation — this raises potential client, regulatory and reputation considerations. Read More.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. The trade was a 26.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.