Aberdeen Group plc Buys 37,654 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 599,143 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,654 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.09% of Palo Alto Networks worth $121,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Long-term bull case highlighted — several analyst/commentary pieces argue PANW remains a structural growth name in cybersecurity and a smart buy for long-term investors. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company growth deals and product momentum are cited as offsets to recent analyst cuts, reinforcing the view that near-term analyst noise may not derail multi-year growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 preview: Zacks notes PANW is entering Q2 with mid‑teen revenue growth expectations but flags decelerating ARR momentum and a premium valuation — a key focus for the upcoming print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary: PANW recently dropped more than the broader market in intraday moves, reflecting short-term volatility ahead of earnings. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price-target cuts: JPMorgan lowered its PANW target to $225, and other firms (Rosenblatt, BTIG) trimmed targets (Rosenblatt to $225; BTIG to $200), which reduces near-term upside expectations despite some firms maintaining “buy” ratings. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Deal and listing risk: reports say PANW plans a dual listing on the Tel‑Aviv Stock Exchange after closing the ~$25B CyberArk acquisition — there’s short‑term investor concern about integration complexity and political/geographic exposure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/reputational risk: Reuters reports PANW opted not to publicly tie China to a recent global hacking campaign it exposed, citing fears of retaliation — this raises potential client, regulatory and reputation considerations. Read More.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stephens raised their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Thirty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $223.97.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $166.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.36 billion, a PE ratio of 105.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $182.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.26. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.15 and a twelve month high of $223.61.

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