Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock: Fifth Third Bancorp Trims Stake

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,424,629 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 38,384 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 0.9% of Fifth Third Bancorp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $566,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,833,462,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,979,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,610,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,493,179 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,681,876 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $7,734,973,000 after acquiring an additional 205,123 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 8.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,778,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,993,802,000 after acquiring an additional 706,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,968,304,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $334.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $273.85 billion, a PE ratio of 655.84, a P/E/G ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 0.96. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $432.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The company’s 50 day moving average is $367.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $275.82.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. 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. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up from $475.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. New Street Research set a $415.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $355.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Phillip Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $346.00 in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,760,300. This represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh Paul sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.70, for a total value of $158,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 77,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,859,455.90. The trade was a 0.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock valued at $20,823,029. 0.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.