Rathbones Group PLC Sells 11,378 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 857,605 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 11,378 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $157,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.95.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $163.21 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $133.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.17, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.89.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: An insider reportedly bought about US$10.0m of PANW stock, a sign of confidence from management or insiders that can reassure investors and provide upward support to the share price. Insider Buy Article
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a note highlighting that PANW outperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting short‑term buying momentum and attention on the name. That positive market reaction can amplify interest from momentum and quant-driven flows. Zacks Upswing Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage of PANW (coverage initiation often brings increased analyst visibility and trading volume). Investors should watch the new rating and price target for directional cues. Coverage Initiation
• Neutral Sentiment: Local law‑firm hiring news (Arman Pahlavan joining Dorsey & Whitney in Palo Alto) is peripheral to PANW fundamentals and unlikely to move the stock materially. Business Wire Article
• Negative Sentiment: Two senior executives disclosed open‑market sales on April 1: EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares at ~$160.42 and CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares at ~$161.40. Insider sales can create near‑term selling pressure or raise governance/rotation questions, even when not unusual for executives. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary pointing out a roughly 12% decline over three months highlights near‑term downside and investor concern, even as some pieces note SASE momentum and enterprise wins that could stabilize revenue longer term. Persistent share‑price weakness can prompt re‑rating risk. Zacks Decline Article

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at $50,434,276.78. The trade was a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,552 shares of company stock worth $27,779,427. Company 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.