Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Bought by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,307 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% during the second quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 3.5%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $322.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $432.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $367.70 and a 200-day moving average of $276.51. The company has a market cap of $264.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 632.68, a PEG ratio of 9.59 and a beta of 0.96.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly 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. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 34.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.95 earnings per share. 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, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.68, for a total transaction of $7,533,600.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John P. Key sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $376.03, for a total value of $940,075.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,760,300. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 54,210 shares of company stock worth $20,823,029. 0.55% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. HSBC decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $201.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $345.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $390.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price objective (up from $370.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $326.00 to $384.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.49.

Top Palo Alto Networks Stories

Investors following PANW have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto’s software-firewall annual recurring revenue rose 29%, with cloud and AI workloads supporting demand for its network-security products. Can Software Firewall Demand Boost PANW’s Network Security Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies lowered its price target to $400 from $450 but maintained a Buy rating, while Bank of America reiterated Buy with a $420 target. Jefferies analyst action Bank of America’s outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America says Palo Alto must beat quarterly estimates by at least 3% and raise its outlook to justify its premium valuation, setting a high bar for results. Bank of America’s outlook

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a cybersecurity company that provides products and services to help organizations protect their networks, cloud environments, devices and applications. Its offerings include next-generation firewalls, cloud security tools, secure access services and platforms for detecting and responding to cyber threats. The company’s product portfolio includes Prisma for cloud and network security and Cortex for security operations, including threat detection and response. It also provides cybersecurity consulting and incident-response services through Unit 42.