22,518 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Bought by North Dakota State Investment Board

Posted by Mitch Edgeman on May 18th, 2026

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,518 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,148,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter worth $85,000. Rossmore Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 51.4% in the 4th quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 24,096 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $4,439,000 after acquiring an additional 8,176 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 155,468 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,637,000 after acquiring an additional 8,970 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 92.8% in the 4th quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 1,990 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 958 shares during the period. Finally, Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $917,000 after acquiring an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $242.83 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.99. The company has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a P/E/G ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, signaling confidence that the stock can keep moving higher. Oppenheimer Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $275: CyberArk Becomes Idira, Identity Security Just Got Real
Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada lifted its target to $255 from $220 and kept an Outperform rating, while Robert W. Baird also boosted its target to $265, reinforcing the bullish analyst tone around PANW. RBC raises price target on Palo Alto Networks to 255 from 220, keeps outperform rating
Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target to $265 from $215 and highlighted Palo Alto’s identity-security push after CyberArk’s IMPACT26 conference, arguing that AI-driven threats are forcing more enterprise spending on automated security tools. Jefferies Hikes Palo Alto Networks Price Target to 265: AI Is Compressing Attack Timelines
Positive Sentiment: Jefferies and other commentary point to Palo Alto’s new “Idira” platform, which could broaden the company’s identity-security offering and create a new growth engine beyond its core cybersecurity business. Palo Alto advances AI-driven identity strategy with Idira launch, shares gain
Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that PANW is drawing unusual investor attention, but the piece was mainly a watchlist-style overview rather than a fresh catalyst. Is Most-Watched Stock Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Worth Betting on Now?

Insider Activity

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,466,400. This trade represents a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.98.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on PANW

About Palo Alto Networks

(Free Report)

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.