Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Davis R M Inc.

Davis R M Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 699,810 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.0% of Davis R M Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $112,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Palo Alto Networks as a key beneficiary of rising AI-driven cybersecurity spending, with Morgan Stanley saying sentiment on software stocks may be too negative and Barron’s arguing PANW could be a major winner in the new AI era. Article: Morgan Stanley Analysts Say Sentiment Has Gotten ‘Too Negative’ on Software Stocks. These Are Their Picks
• Positive Sentiment: Market watchers are also pointing to broader enterprise demand for cybersecurity as AI agents proliferate, which could support future security product spending and reinforce PANW’s growth narrative. Article: Citi Wealth CIO Warns “Infinite AI Agents” Will Accelerate Cybersecurity’s Share of Enterprise Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks announced it will acquire Embrace to extend its observability platform with Real User Monitoring and Synthetics, a move aimed at improving digital experience monitoring and AI-driven operations. Investors may see this as an expansion into a higher-value adjacent market. Article: Palo Alto Networks to Extend Leading Observability Platform with Innovative Digital Experience Monitoring
• Neutral Sentiment: Another brief note flagged PANW as a cybersecurity stock to follow, but did not add any new catalyst beyond the broader sector interest. Article: Cybersecurity Stocks To Follow Now – July 20th
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat long-term themes, one article noted PANW had slipped intraday, suggesting some investors are still taking profits or reacting to overall software sector weakness. Article: Palo Alto slips 3%: Why this analyst still sees it as a top cyber pick

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total value of $16,270,119.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 101,239 shares of company stock worth $27,174,360 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $335.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $273.25 billion, a PE ratio of 274.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $297.43 and a 200-day moving average of $215.80. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $368.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $340.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $114.00 to $207.00 in a report on Thursday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.48.

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.