Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stake Cut by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 803,974 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 73,086 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.10% of Palo Alto Networks worth $274,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advus Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $291,000. January Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $205,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth about $12,828,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 35,252.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 417,760,413 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $142,464,656,000 after buying an additional 416,578,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tanager Wealth Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Technical and earnings support: A bullish hammer chart pattern suggests potential near-term support after the recent pullback. Rising earnings estimates and the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter beat—$1.02 in adjusted EPS versus $0.98 expected, with revenue up 34.5% to $3.41 billion—also support the possibility of a rebound. Palo Alto Could Find a Support Soon
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: DA Davidson raised its price target to $420, while Susquehanna and BTIG lifted targets to $415 and $404, respectively. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating, adding to a generally bullish Wall Street view. DA Davidson Raises Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term AI opportunity: Analysts and commentary continue to highlight Palo Alto Networks’ expanding cybersecurity platform and products designed to protect enterprises from AI-related threats. The company’s strong growth profile has helped sustain investor interest despite recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks AI Cybersecurity Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector pressure is limiting momentum: Zscaler’s softer fiscal 2027 growth outlook overshadowed its earnings beat and weighed on cybersecurity peers. Palo Alto Networks has been more resilient than some competitors, but sector-wide concerns remain. Zscaler Growth Guidance Pressures Cybersecurity Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: AI acquisition: Palo Alto Networks reportedly paid about $500 million in cash and stock for Console, an AI help-desk automation startup. The deal could broaden its AI capabilities, although integration and valuation risks may limit its immediate stock impact. Palo Alto Networks Console Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Premium valuation and insider sale: PANW’s very high valuation leaves little room for disappointment, while Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul’s sale of 900 shares worth approximately $336,000 adds a minor cautionary signal. However, the sale reduced his holdings by only 1.23%, limiting its significance.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 145,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,058,590. This represents a 3.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,635 shares of company stock worth $11,150,578. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $415.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Arete Research upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $185.00 to $433.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $430.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 price objective (up from $345.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Forty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW opened at $333.26 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $350.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $255.44. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $398.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 653.46, a PEG ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The firm’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.