First Financial Bankshares Inc Increases Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

First Financial Bankshares Inc lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,946 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,237 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $9,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: An analyst raised Palo Alto’s FY2026 EPS estimate, signaling higher expected profitability for next fiscal year. FY2026 EPS Estimate for Palo Alto Networks Raised by Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Investor-facing coverage highlights PANW as a strong AI/security play, praising its comprehensive product portfolio and positioning against AI-driven threats — supportive narrative for longer-term demand. 1 No-Brainer Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock to Buy With $160 and Hold for the Long Term
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks notes PANW is a trending stock among its users and summarizes factors investors should review before taking a position; this increases attention but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: The Motley Fool asks whether PANW is a buy on the dip: it notes solid fiscal Q2 growth but warns recent acquisitions will pressure near-term EPS — a mixed view that supports longer-term conviction but flags short-term dilution. Is It Time to Buy Palo Alto Networks Stock on the Dip?
• Negative Sentiment: Sector weakness: CNBC reports cybersecurity stocks fell after Anthropic launched an AI tool that can scan code for vulnerabilities, stoking fears AI could automate tasks currently sold by security vendors — a direct headwind to valuation multiples. Cybersecurity stocks drop for a second day as new Anthropic tool fuels AI disruption fears
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and price-target cuts pressured the stock: reports show PANW trading down after at least one downgrade, and HSBC slashed its price target to $114 — a steep cut that likely weighs on sentiment and selling. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Trading Down 1.5% Following Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple firms adjusted targets lower: HSBC’s $114 target is highly negative, while New Street trimmed its target to $220 — mixed magnitude but overall adds downward pressure on consensus expectations. HSBC Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $114.00 New Street Research Cuts Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Price Target to $220.00

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $144.14 on Tuesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $143.30 and a one year high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $117.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $177.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $191.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. Northland Securities increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $177.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Thirty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.51.

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.