Moody National Bank Trust Division Reduces Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Moody National Bank Trust Division trimmed its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 29.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,766 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 4,173 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after acquiring an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,859,000 after purchasing an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 8,282 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Barclays set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, January 5th. Argus raised shares of Palo Alto Networks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ PANW opened at $157.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $223.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $166.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.24.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company rolled out Prisma AIRS 3.0, positioning PANW to secure “agentic” / autonomous AI agents across discovery, risk assessment and protection — a direct product play into the growing AI‑security spending cycle that could drive upsells and stickier enterprise relationships. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple simultaneous launches (Next‑Generation Trust Security for certificate lifecycle automation, an industry‑focused secure browser for agentic AI, and Prisma Browser for Business for SMBs) broaden PANW’s platform coverage — reinforcing the company’s “platform consolidation” thesis that supports long‑term ARR and margin expansion. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights PANW as a leading beneficiary of the shift to autonomous security (alongside CRWD), framing recent product launches as durable growth catalysts that strengthen investor case for platform incumbents. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity: Freedom Capital maintained a Buy rating but lowered the price target (from $230 to $210), signaling continued confidence in demand yet a slightly reduced near‑term valuation outlook. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Scotiabank posted an FY2027 earnings estimate for PANW — an incremental data point for modeling but not a clear directional catalyst by itself. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several outlets (PR Newswire, MSN) amplified the new product releases — positive PR flow that supports awareness but may take quarters to translate into material ARR upside. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Datafeed entries show a large increase in “short interest” but report zero shares / NaN values — indicating a likely reporting error. Still, any perceived rise in short activity or noisy headlines can pressure the stock short‑term if investors interpret the data as negative. (No reliable link available.)

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 144,252 shares of company stock worth $26,947,635 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.