Means Investment CO. Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Means Investment CO. Inc. lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,740 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth about $261,000. Strive Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC now owns 2,099 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,125 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $2,410,000 after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 161,840 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $33,119,000 after buying an additional 9,766 shares during the period. Finally, Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 37.9% in the second quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. now owns 181,691 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $37,181,000 after acquiring an additional 49,971 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of PANW opened at $208.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $139.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 129.94, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $217.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $192.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.17.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total value of $172,718,016.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,119,152.78. The trade was a 75.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock worth $260,687,367 over the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Westpark Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $232.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.95.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.