Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC reduced its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 77.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,381 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 8,298 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock worth $259,351,606. Insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $209.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.04. The company has a market capitalization of $140.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 130.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business’s revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $212.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $232.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Thirty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.64.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.