Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Increases Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 448,460 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,101 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned about 0.06% of Palo Alto Networks worth $82,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,389 shares during the period. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% in the second quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $900,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Arete Research raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total transaction of $313,588.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of PANW opened at $279.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.87 billion, a PE ratio of 228.89, a P/E/G ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 0.94. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $302.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Dozens of brokerages lifted their price targets on PANW following the company’s strong fiscal Q3 results and raised outlook, including upgrades/target hikes from Citi, Wedbush, DA Davidson, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Oppenheimer, RBC, Rosenblatt, Berenberg, Truist, Needham and others, signaling Wall Street sees more upside after the earnings beat. Analyst price target raises
• Positive Sentiment: FBN Securities upgraded Palo Alto Networks to strong-buy, and multiple firms described the company’s AI-security demand and next-generation security growth as strong, which can support investor confidence in future revenue growth. FBN upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported fiscal Q3 earnings of $0.85 per share versus $0.79 expected, with revenue of $3.0 billion topping estimates and up 31.1% year over year, then raised FY2026 guidance, reinforcing the growth story. Earnings beat article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary says the stock may have run too far after its earnings-driven rally, suggesting investors are taking profits even though the fundamental update was strong. Seeking Alpha commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market pieces noted PANW was slipping after earnings despite the beat, indicating the stock’s move may be driven more by valuation and post-rally consolidation than by any deterioration in the business. Invezz article
• Negative Sentiment: Even with the upbeat earnings and analyst upgrades, the stock has been under pressure as investors appear to question whether acquisition-driven growth and a rich valuation justify the recent surge. Barron’s article

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.