Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Lynch Asset Management Inc.

Lynch Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 29.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,000 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,900 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.9% of Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Lynch Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,415,364,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after buying an additional 2,659,100 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,375,486 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $3,568,964,000 after buying an additional 2,065,776 shares during the last quarter. Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $281,542,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $164,968,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,111 shares of company stock worth $27,204,024. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Guggenheim cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $222.00 to $320.00 in a report on Friday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.15.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW stock opened at $352.04 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $358.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $286.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $420 from $325 and kept an overweight rating, signaling further upside potential. Wells Fargo target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas Exane lifted its target to $380 from $330 and reiterated an outperform rating, adding to the bullish analyst tone around PANW. BNP Paribas Exane target raise
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research also raised its target to $380 from $333 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing expectations for continued share-price strength. BTIG target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted PANW’s strong fiscal Q3 results, with revenue and ARR beats and growing demand tied to AI-driven cybersecurity and observability, which has helped keep sentiment constructive. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders sold small blocks of stock, including CAO Josh D. Paul and Director Aparna Bawa. While routine, insider selling can modestly temper enthusiasm for the stock. SEC filing

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.