VeraBank N.A. Raises Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

VeraBank N.A. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 233.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,037 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,131 shares during the quarter. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,775,544 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $10,712,019,000 after buying an additional 1,541,637 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 41.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,235,406 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,234,650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,134,735 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,902,048 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,177,765,000 after purchasing an additional 950,765 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth $810,047,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 5.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,422,037 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $754,576,000 after buying an additional 219,111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.0%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $216.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.05 and a beta of 0.95. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.11, for a total transaction of $23,081,119.14. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 177,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,008,788.94. This trade represents a 40.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total transaction of $1,020,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,215,830 shares of company stock worth $249,160,428. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $232.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.55.

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.