Rathbones Group PLC Sells 11,378 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Rathbones Group PLC lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 857,605 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 11,378 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $157,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. New Street Research dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $275.00 target price (up from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. The trade was a 30.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $246.66 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $201.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 136.28, a P/E/G ratio of 8.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $179.63 and a 200 day moving average of $181.54. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $250.00.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $270 from $200 and kept an outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can continue higher. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley increased its target to $253 from $223 and maintained an overweight rating, adding to the cluster of bullish analyst calls. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus boosted its target to $275 from $185 and reiterated a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for further upside in PANW shares. The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial also raised its price target to $275 from $200 and kept a buy rating, indicating broad analyst enthusiasm for Palo Alto Networks’ growth outlook. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary about AI reshaping cybersecurity and articles highlighting PANW as a cybersecurity stock to watch support the long-term theme, but they do not appear to be immediate stock-moving catalysts. ETF Trends

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.