Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Sandhill Capital Partners LLC

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 414,545 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,857 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 5.9% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $84,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $675,865,000. ABN AMRO Bank N.V. purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $340,883,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $502,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $13,290,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253,589 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $430,755,000 after buying an additional 1,041,145 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $210.19.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 126,568 shares of company stock valued at $24,159,059. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $165.05 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.19, a PEG ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $171.66 and a 200 day moving average of $190.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.