Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 204 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 142,074 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $29,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 0.5%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $218.27 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.00 billion, a PE ratio of 135.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.81.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $200.00 to $225.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday. BTIG Research raised Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total transaction of $25,594,426.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 149,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,616,344.80. The trade was a 44.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,215,130 shares of company stock valued at $243,407,367 over the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.