Clarity Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Clarity Financial LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 17.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,259 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,864 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 2.6% of Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $26,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PANW. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.20.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $186.88 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $201.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.28, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stores Impacting Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Major strategic deal — Palo Alto expanded its partnership with Google Cloud in a multibillion‑dollar agreement (reported as approaching $10B) that includes migrating key internal workloads and deepening cloud/AI security integration; this is being viewed as a material revenue and go‑to‑market catalyst. Google Cloud lands deal with Palo Alto Networks
• Positive Sentiment: Company release and partner messaging reinforce the Reuters report, highlighting expanded cloud + AI security offerings and joint go‑to‑market programs that could accelerate enterprise adoption. Palo Alto Networks and Google Cloud Forge Landmark Agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support increased — JPMorgan reinstated coverage with an Overweight rating and $235 PT, and other outlets noted a $250 price target lift, signaling renewed analyst conviction that could attract buyers. JPMorgan Reinstates Palo Alto Networks With Overweight Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum — Zacks highlights Cortex XSIAM landing larger deals and higher‑spend customers, implying a potential new growth engine that could lift ARR and margins over time. Can Cortex XSIAM Become Palo Alto Networks’ Next Major Growth Engine?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention and monitoring — Zacks notes elevated user interest and recent earnings was modestly followed by a small stock move; this keeps PANW on watch lists but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is Attracting Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑term earnings context — a Zacks note observed the stock is only slightly up since the last earnings release, suggesting the market is parsing guidance and execution details rather than reacting strongly yet. Palo Alto (PANW) Up 0.4% Since Last Earnings Report
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — recent reports show insiders sold roughly $5M in PANW stock, which some investors interpret as a cautionary signal about near‑term insider confidence. Insiders At Palo Alto Networks Sold US$5.0m In Stock

About Palo Alto Networks

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.