Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 407,496 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 36.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 703,335 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 407,496 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $278,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PANW. Verus Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verus Financial Partners Inc. now owns 632 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the third quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,117 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the third quarter. MBA Advisors LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 7.0% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 472 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Riversedge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,285 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $322.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $264.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 632.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $367.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $276.51. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $432.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $412.28, for a total value of $103,070.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,825,163.56. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total transaction of $940,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,760,300. The trade was a 20.00% 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 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029 over the last three months. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Top Palo Alto Networks Stories

Investors following PANW have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto’s software-firewall annual recurring revenue rose 29%, with cloud and AI workloads supporting demand for its network-security products. Can Software Firewall Demand Boost PANW’s Network Security Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: An article described Palo Alto’s AI security tool as its fastest product ramp and noted CIBC placed PANW seventh on a list of stocks to buy after the U.S. midterm elections. Palo Alto Networks: Its AI Security Tool Became the Company’s Fastest Product Ramp
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America says Palo Alto must beat quarterly estimates by at least 3% and raise its outlook to justify its premium valuation, setting a high bar for results. Bank of America’s outlook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PANW. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Citizens Jmp lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $320.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Forty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.49.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.