Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stake Boosted by Sheets Smith Wealth Management

Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 44.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,881 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,107 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Knuff & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.9%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $371.59 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $398.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock has a market cap of $302.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 304.58, a P/E/G ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $344.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.45.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.56, for a total transaction of $1,447,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. The trade was a 3.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,835 shares of company stock worth $11,127,854. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Benchmark raised its price target to $400 from $340 and maintained a Buy rating, citing potential upside to next-generation security annual recurring revenue, revenue, operating income and margins. The forecast reinforces expectations that Palo Alto Networks’ AI-security strategy is gaining traction. Palo Alto Networks Gets a $400 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are taking confidence from CrowdStrike’s stronger-than-expected results, which highlighted robust AI-related cybersecurity demand and lifted sentiment across the sector. Palo Alto Networks is viewed as a potential beneficiary of the same spending cycle. Palo Alto Networks Stock Trades Up
• Positive Sentiment: Platformization, adoption of AI-security products and recent deal wins are expected to support fourth-quarter growth. BTIG also assigned PANW a Buy rating, adding to broadly favorable analyst coverage. Palo Alto Networks to Report Q4 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings are the next major catalyst. Traders expect potentially significant movement after the report, while analysts are watching recurring revenue, margins, operating income and guidance—not just revenue and EPS. Expected Post-Earnings Stock Move
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition-related costs could pressure results, and the stock’s triple-digit P/E ratio—above 300 based on the supplied data—means much of the AI-growth outlook may already be reflected in the price. Any shortfall in growth or guidance could trigger profit-taking. Palo Alto’s Rally Has One Big Problem Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000, reducing his position by 1.21%. The transaction is small relative to his remaining holdings but may create a modest sentiment headwind. Palo Alto Networks Insider Sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday. Argus set a $425.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $340.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $300.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.42.

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.