Quilter Plc Acquires 40,299 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 938,272 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 40,299 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 2.9% of Quilter Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $172,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: An insider reportedly bought about US$10.0m of PANW stock, a sign of confidence from management or insiders that can reassure investors and provide upward support to the share price. Insider Buy Article
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published a note highlighting that PANW outperformed the broader market in the latest session, reflecting short‑term buying momentum and attention on the name. That positive market reaction can amplify interest from momentum and quant-driven flows. Zacks Upswing Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Benchmark initiated coverage of PANW (coverage initiation often brings increased analyst visibility and trading volume). Investors should watch the new rating and price target for directional cues. Coverage Initiation
• Neutral Sentiment: Local law‑firm hiring news (Arman Pahlavan joining Dorsey & Whitney in Palo Alto) is peripheral to PANW fundamentals and unlikely to move the stock materially. Business Wire Article
• Negative Sentiment: Two senior executives disclosed open‑market sales on April 1: EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares at ~$160.42 and CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares at ~$161.40. Insider sales can create near‑term selling pressure or raise governance/rotation questions, even when not unusual for executives. SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market commentary pointing out a roughly 12% decline over three months highlights near‑term downside and investor concern, even as some pieces note SASE momentum and enterprise wins that could stabilize revenue longer term. Persistent share‑price weakness can prompt re‑rating risk. Zacks Decline Article

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $163.21 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.13 and its 200-day moving average is $185.89. The firm has a market cap of $133.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 149,552 shares of company stock worth $27,779,427 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PANW. DA Davidson set a $190.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Barclays set a $200.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Arete Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $209.95.

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.