Dougherty & Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 13,045 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Dougherty & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 13,045 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for 2.1% of Dougherty & Associates LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
• Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $223.00 target price (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.98.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $174.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.99. The company has a market cap of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,103,105. This trade represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.