Congress Asset Management Co. Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Congress Asset Management Co. cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 557,114 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 3,782 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.08% of Palo Alto Networks worth $113,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strive Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% during the first quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,234,551 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $457,279,000 after acquiring an additional 163,718 shares in the last quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% during the 2nd quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 3,286 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $672,000 after acquiring an additional 1,531 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 4,524.0% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 547,944 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $112,131,000 after acquiring an additional 536,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oak Associates Ltd. OH purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $904,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 327,645 shares in the company, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,228,330 shares of company stock worth $251,702,305. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $186.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.32. The stock has a market cap of $130.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.28, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.79. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.15 and a 12-month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. HSBC cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. DA Davidson set a $240.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 15th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.20.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

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.