Aparna Bawa Sells 1,000 Shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Director Aparna Bawa sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.61, for a total value of $373,610.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,031,317.57. The trade was a 15.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Aparna Bawa also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 15th, Aparna Bawa sold 500 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.18, for a total value of $188,590.00.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total value of $101,134.60.
• On Monday, June 29th, Aparna Bawa sold 632 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.67, for a total value of $201,399.44.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Aparna Bawa sold 345 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.17, for a total value of $100,108.65.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $375.65. The stock had a trading volume of 5,240,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,483,044. The business has a fifty day moving average of $350.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.14. 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 cap of $307.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 736.58, a PEG ratio of 10.79 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 0.87.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 2.67%.The firm had revenue of $3.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven cybersecurity demand remains a major tailwind. J.P. Morgan identified Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Okta, Zscaler, and Varonis as beneficiaries of increased enterprise AI adoption, which is creating new security and compliance requirements. AI Is Boosting Cybersecurity. CrowdStrike and 4 More Stocks to Buy.
• Positive Sentiment: Cybersecurity spending is holding up better than broader enterprise software spending. Articles highlighted that companies may reduce discretionary technology purchases but are less willing to weaken security defenses because breaches can cause operational disruption, regulatory penalties, and customer losses. Palo Alto’s strategy of consolidating security tools into unified platforms could support demand. The Ultimate Cyber Shield: CrowdStrike Rises Past $235
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for PANW to $2.30 from $2.11. The revised forecast matches the broader consensus and suggests expectations for continued earnings growth, although the bank maintained a Hold rating. Palo Alto Networks analyst estimate update
• Neutral Sentiment: Cybersecurity stocks remain in favor, but PANW’s relative momentum appears less pronounced. CrowdStrike led a renewed sector rally while Palo Alto Networks showed more limited movement, indicating that investors may currently prefer faster-growing or more strongly momentum-driven peers. CrowdStrike Advances as AI Security Bid Outruns Falling Tech Tape
• Negative Sentiment: Three directors disclosed substantial stock sales. Aparna Bawa sold a combined 1,500 shares for approximately $562,200, while John P. Key sold 2,500 shares worth about $940,075. The transactions reduced their respective holdings by roughly 9% to 20%, potentially creating a modest sentiment overhang, though insider sales do not necessarily indicate concerns about the company’s outlook. Palo Alto Networks insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk. PANW trades well above its long-term moving averages with a very high reported P/E ratio, leaving the stock vulnerable to profit-taking if growth, margins, or guidance disappoint. Recent commentary also noted that sales are accelerating while margins are contracting.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $201.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Northland Securities set a $360.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $390.00 price objective (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued 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, September 2nd. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trilogy Capital Inc. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the second quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.