Rep. Josh Gottheimer Sells Off Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey) recently sold shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW). In a filing disclosed on February 10th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Palo Alto Networks stock on January 16th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – SELECT UMA ACCOUNT # 1” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) on 1/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) on 1/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Mastercard (NYSE:MA) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Visa (NYSE:V) on 1/30/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) on 1/30/2025.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $196.76. 2,612,089 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,783,638. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.28, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 1.14. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.04 and a fifty-two week high of $207.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $186.89 and its 200-day moving average is $181.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 32.99% and a return on equity of 23.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 203.0% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 2,924 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $532,000 after buying an additional 1,959 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.9% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,912 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 79,134 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $14,399,000 after purchasing an additional 44,034 shares during the period. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,775,171 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $868,890,000 after buying an additional 2,220,130 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total value of $21,564,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. This represents a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nir Zuk sold 336,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.70, for a total transaction of $65,081,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,643,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,730,831.62. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,458,864 shares of company stock valued at $269,397,331 in the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $212.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $385.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.77.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Gottheimer is also running for election for Governor of New Jersey. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 10, 2025.

Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.