Novare Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,195 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Novare Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 28.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,845 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,195 shares during the quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,929,063 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $12,512,533,000 after acquiring an additional 2,659,100 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,736,916 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,055,031,000 after acquiring an additional 505,924 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,528,248 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,532,902,000 after acquiring an additional 36,511 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 5,906,963 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,202,776,000 after acquiring an additional 611,375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,356,617 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $802,691,000 after acquiring an additional 319,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 1.9%

NASDAQ PANW opened at $242.83 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $174.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.27. The company has a market capitalization of $198.15 billion, a PE ratio of 134.16, a P/E/G ratio of 8.59 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $139.57 and a 12 month high of $245.80.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $214.98.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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?

Palo Alto Networks 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.