Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,839 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,134 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total transaction of $100,108.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,135,361.03. The trade was a 4.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total transaction of $313,588.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 81,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 106,389 shares of company stock valued at $27,570,630 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $160.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Scotiabank restated a “sector outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (up from $180.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, FBN Securities reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $306.59.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $304.20 on Friday. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $241.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.11. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $306.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $247.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 249.34, a P/E/G ratio of 11.30 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The business’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.