Clearstead Trust LLC Buys 445 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,461 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 445 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of PANW opened at $204.77 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.06 billion, a PE ratio of 127.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.97, for a total value of $153,979.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,449,674.85. This represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock valued at $249,160,428. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. New Street Research lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Twenty-nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.95.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.