Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock: Compass Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position

Compass Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,380 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 12,135 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises about 1.5% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.6% during the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,840 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $731,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. PFC Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the third quarter. PFC Capital Group Inc. now owns 13,780 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $5,475,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 119.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 52,323 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $20,788,000 after acquiring an additional 28,486 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 8,142,895 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $3,235,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 152.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total value of $7,533,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 27,500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $391.60, for a total transaction of $10,769,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 117,750 shares in the company, valued at $46,110,900. The trade was a 18.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

These are some of the PANW stories that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target from $450 to $400 but maintained a Buy rating, leaving the analyst positive while signaling a more cautious valuation view. Jefferies analyst recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: PANW was also noted as a holding in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust. This is a visibility signal, but the article provides no new company-specific operating or financial catalyst. A Jim Cramer’s Trust Stock Is Using AI to Breaks the Defenses It Helps Protect
• Negative Sentiment: A Zacks comparison favored Cloudflare over Palo Alto, citing Cloudflare’s stronger revenue-growth outlook and rising AI-security demand. This could weigh on PANW relative to peers, though it is one analyst’s comparison rather than a change to PANW’s outlook. PANW vs. NET: Which Cybersecurity Stock Should You Buy Right Now?

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $322.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $432.33. The firm has a market cap of $263.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 631.86, a P/E/G ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $367.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.20.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $371.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $300.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Forty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.12.

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.