Meiji Yasuda America Inc Takes $6.35 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Meiji Yasuda America Inc purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 34,461 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,348,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.5% of Meiji Yasuda America Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $279.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $227.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.12, a PEG ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.58. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $302.95.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. New Street Research lowered their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $285.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-seven have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.59.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,037,002.95. This trade represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 72,076 shares of company stock valued at $17,930,587 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank nudged its FY2027 EPS estimate higher for PANW, signaling modest confidence in longer-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary on Prisma AIRS suggests AI security is gaining traction and could boost revenue growth and deal size.
• Positive Sentiment: Broader cybersecurity-sector coverage remains constructive, with analysts and institutions still favoring the group amid rising AI-related security demand.
• Neutral Sentiment: Northland Securities kept a $302 price target and Market Perform rating while issuing a range of earnings estimates, indicating a cautious but not bearish stance.
• Negative Sentiment: Northland also trimmed some near- and mid-term EPS forecasts for PANW, reflecting lingering concern about profitability assumptions and valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: PANW still trades at a demanding valuation, so any slowdown in AI-security momentum could increase volatility.

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.