Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Grows Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 58.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,511 shares of the network technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Aviva PLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 568,804 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $104,774,000 after buying an additional 29,230 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,412,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 48,458 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $8,926,000 after buying an additional 3,926 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This represents a 37.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 81,044 shares of company stock worth $20,424,722. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $279.62 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $302.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $216.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $227.89 billion, a PE ratio of 229.20, a P/E/G ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Robert W. Baird set a $320.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $253.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. New Street Research dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.59.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer singled out Palo Alto Networks as one of his favorite stocks, reinforcing a bullish narrative around the company and its role in cybersecurity. Jim Cramer Reveals Big Trend For Palo Alto’s (PANW) Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive after the company beat fiscal Q3 expectations, topped revenue estimates, and raised guidance, which continues to support the stock’s valuation.
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms recently lifted their price targets on PANW, including Mizuho, Berenberg, JPMorgan, and Susquehanna, signaling continued confidence in growth and demand for cybersecurity products.
• Neutral Sentiment: A cybersecurity industry roundup highlighted PANW as a stock to watch, but it did not provide a major new catalyst. Cybersecurity Stocks To Keep An Eye On – June 10th
• Negative Sentiment: Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares, and Director Aparna Bawa sold multiple blocks of stock over June 10-12, which can be read as a cautious insider signal even if the sales were relatively small versus the company’s size. Insider Selling: Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Sells 377 Shares of Stock

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.