Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Aparna Bawa Sells 500 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total value of $188,590.00. Following the sale, the director owned 4,937 shares in the company, valued at $1,862,137.66. This represents a 9.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Aparna Bawa also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 14th, Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total value of $373,610.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total transaction of $101,134.60.
• On Monday, June 29th, Aparna Bawa sold 632 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.67, for a total transaction of $201,399.44.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Aparna Bawa sold 345 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $100,108.65.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $375.65 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 736.58, a P/E/G ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $351.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Trilogy Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $597,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI adoption is increasing demand for cybersecurity platforms as companies seek protection against automated attacks, evolving malware and other AI-related risks. J.P. Morgan identified Palo Alto Networks among the cybersecurity companies positioned to benefit from this trend. AI Is Boosting Cybersecurity. CrowdStrike and 4 More Stocks to Buy.
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate for PANW to $2.30 from $2.11, matching the current consensus forecast. The upgrade to earnings expectations supports the case for improving fundamentals, although the bank retained a “Hold” rating. Scotiabank earnings estimate report
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks have attracted investor interest as security spending remains more resilient than broader enterprise software spending. However, much of the sector’s AI-driven growth outlook may already be reflected in valuations, making continued execution important for PANW.
• Negative Sentiment: Directors disclosed several stock sales: Aparna Bawa sold 1,500 shares across September 14–15 for approximately $562,200, while John P. Key sold 2,500 shares for about $940,075. The transactions reduced their respective holdings by roughly 9% to 20%, potentially creating a modest sentiment overhang. Palo Alto Networks insider filings
• Negative Sentiment: Recent commentary highlights a trade-off for PANW: sales are accelerating as agentic AI expands security needs, but margins are contracting. With the stock trading at a very high earnings multiple, weaker profitability or slower growth could increase valuation risk. The Proliferation of Agentic AI Has Been Great News for Palo Alto Stock Investors

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $371.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $201.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Thirty-nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $387.60.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.