Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $5.95 Million Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,237 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,127 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after acquiring an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1,248.9% in the 3rd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 10,899 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,219,000 after acquiring an additional 10,091 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $457,279,000 after purchasing an additional 163,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Richmond Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% in the 2nd quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PANW shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Thirty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.51.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $148.70 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $121.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.15, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $178.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.78.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto announced the planned acquisition of Koi, a startup focused on agentic endpoint security — a strategic move to plug AI-related security gaps and expand its AI/security platform footprint. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Acquire Koi
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto filed an offer relating to CyberArk’s convertible notes tied to its CyberArk acquisition, signaling active balance-sheet management as it closes recent M&A. This helps reassure investors that integration and financing steps are being executed. Palo Alto Networks Announces Offer to Purchase Relating to CyberArk Software Ltd.’s Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarter showed revenue and EPS roughly in line-to-slightly-better-than expectations and management raised revenue guidance at the low end, supporting the case for durable topline growth driven by platform and subscription momentum. (Company releases and analyst coverage)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reiterated Outperform/Buy ratings (e.g., Citizens JMP, Wedbush, RBC, Rosenblatt) — indicating pockets of institutional confidence even as some analysts trimmed estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of analyst downgrades and price-target cuts hit PANW, driving headline selling and raising near-term skepticism about margin recovery amid integration costs. See coverage of the downgrade-driven selloff. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 6.8% on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target (and multiple banks including Goldman, HSBC, Mizuho, BMO and others issued more pessimistic forecasts or lowered targets), amplifying pressure on the stock’s near-term outlook. Susquehanna Lowers Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $200.00
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC notably cut its target to $114, highlighting the range of analyst views and contributing to sentiment-driven selling. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Palo Alto Networks to $114
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying and elevated volume/gap-down trading indicate traders are positioned for further near-term weakness; this increases volatility and can exacerbate downward moves until clarity on integration costs and margin recovery arrives.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.