S&CO Inc. Makes New Investment in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

S&CO Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 91,852 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,323,000. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.8% of S&CO Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Luken Investment Analytics LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $384.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $328.02 and its 200-day moving average is $235.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $313.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 314.98, a P/E/G ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $398.88.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.08, for a total value of $313,588.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 81,636 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,272,790.88. This represents a 1.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Arete Research increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citizens Jmp raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $320.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $339.61.

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.