United Bank Acquires Shares of 12,396 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

United Bank purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 12,396 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,000. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.3% of United Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 2,127 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wisconsin Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,206 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.2% during the second quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,197 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Outfitters Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Outfitters Financial LLC now owns 3,265 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $601,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Benchmark raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $270.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $434.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $350.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $360.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John P. Key sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.24, for a total value of $2,094,300.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,490,500. This trade represents a 37.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 100,839 shares of company stock valued at $27,079,580 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.8%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $359.76 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $398.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $334.41 and its 200 day moving average is $239.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $293.20 billion, a PE ratio of 294.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. 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 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target for Palo Alto Networks from $340 to $425 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. Cantor Fitzgerald price-target update
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks introduced its Frontier AI Critical Defense Program, a collaboration focused on protecting critical infrastructure from AI-driven vulnerabilities. The initiative could strengthen PANW’s positioning in the growing AI-security market, although its near-term financial impact is unclear. Frontier AI Critical Defense Program announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly expects strong appreciation for PANW shares, while other brokerage coverage gives the stock a “Moderate Buy” average recommendation. These views support the long-term outlook but did not prevent near-term selling. TD Cowen forecast
• Neutral Sentiment: A lawmaker’s disclosed purchases of several cybersecurity stocks highlight continued investor and policy interest in the sector, but the purchases were not specific to Palo Alto Networks and are unlikely to materially affect PANW’s valuation. Cybersecurity stock purchases
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity shares sold off broadly, with CrowdStrike declining sharply despite a higher Truist price target; Palo Alto Networks also fell during the session. The sector move appears to be the main immediate pressure on PANW. Cybersecurity sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Investors may also be taking profits after a substantial rally. With PANW trading at a very elevated earnings multiple, strong growth expectations leave the stock vulnerable when sector sentiment weakens or positive news fails to exceed expectations. Palo Alto Networks trading update

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.