Empowered Funds LLC Acquires 2,178 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 223,656 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,178 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $76,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,031 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 11,100.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. now owns 560 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. The trade was a 37.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,835 shares of company stock worth $11,127,854. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target for Palo Alto Networks to $384, modestly above the current trading level, while maintaining its view of the cybersecurity company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Palo Alto Networks Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive: BTIG reaffirmed a “Buy” rating, and other Wall Street commentary continues to characterize PANW as a buy and a cybersecurity stock worth researching. Wall Street Analysts See Palo Alto as a Buy Benchmark Analyst Expects Palo Alto Stock to Rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on estimates for PANW’s fiscal fourth quarter ended July 2026, including key operating metrics beyond revenue and earnings. The upcoming results could become the next major catalyst. Palo Alto Q4 Performance Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader markets may remain sensitive to next week’s U.S. jobs report and its implications for Federal Reserve policy, which could influence high-growth technology valuations. The Week Ahead: August Jobs Report Takes Center Stage
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000. The sale reduced his holdings by 1.21%, a relatively small transaction but a potential short-term sentiment headwind. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
• Negative Sentiment: BTIG’s $380 price target is slightly below PANW’s current level despite its Buy rating, while the stock’s very high earnings multiple leaves it vulnerable to disappointment if growth or guidance slows. BTIG Reiterates Buy Rating on Palo Alto Networks

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $245.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.87.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $382.85 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $312.02 billion, a PE ratio of 313.81, a P/E/G ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $342.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.58.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. 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. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.