Aspiriant LLC Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Aspiriant LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,497 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Aspiriant LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 46.8% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. Bank of America raised Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $215.00 price target (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $217.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock worth $260,687,367 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $207.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.06 billion, a PE ratio of 129.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $196.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.41. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $217.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. Analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.