Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Holdings Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 11.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 611,375 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 0.9% of First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.86% of Palo Alto Networks worth $1,202,776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,502,184.05. The trade was a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,068 shares of company stock worth $26,600,684. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $165.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $134.68 billion, a PE ratio of 91.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.09. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.19.

Palo Alto Networks 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.