Key Points
- CAO Josh Paul sold 800 shares at an average price of $184.81 for $147,848, a ~1.71% reduction that leaves him with 46,005 shares (SEC filing); the company says the sale is a small, disclosed insider transaction.
- Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly EPS estimates ($0.93 vs. $0.89) with revenue of $2.47 billion (up 15.7% YoY), a net margin of 11.69% and ROE of 17.05%, while analysts project ~1.76 EPS for the year.
- Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive—consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $227.06—despite a recent ~14% three‑month pullback; the stock carries a market cap of ~$129.5B and a high P/E (~118), and institutions own ~79.8% of shares.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) CAO Josh Paul sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Palo Alto Networks Price Performance
Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $185.86 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.15 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The firm has a market cap of $129.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.63, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $195.48 and a 200 day moving average of $196.30.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.
Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks
Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Platform strategy driving revenue expansion — Analysts note PANW’s platformization (NGS ARR growth) is encouraging customer consolidation across network, cloud and security operations, supporting longer-term recurring revenue and upsell potential. Can Platformization Continue Fueling PANW's NGS ARR Growth?
- Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment supportive — PANW received a consensus “Moderate Buy” from brokerages, which can help underpin demand for the shares as investors look for analyst backing after recent volatility. Palo Alto Networks Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy"
- Positive Sentiment: Short-term momentum note — Coverage flagged PANW moving higher than the market in the latest session, reinforcing the day’s upward move. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts
- Neutral Sentiment: Geopolitical/sector commentary — A Zacks analyst blog grouped PANW with defense and tech names that could benefit from shifting market dynamics, a thematic tailwind but not an immediate company-specific catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog: Chevron, Lockheed, Northrop, CrowdStrike and Palo Alto
- Neutral Sentiment: Insider selling disclosed — CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares (~1.71% reduction of his holding) in a small transaction disclosed via SEC filing; size and context suggest this is not a major negative signal for the stock. Josh D. Paul Insider Sale
- Negative Sentiment: Recent pullback and growth concerns — Coverage highlights PANW is down roughly 14% over three months amid slowing growth; that pullback keeps investor attention on execution and the timing of large AI-driven deals, creating downside risk if cadence stalls. PANW Plunges 14% in 3 Months
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research firms have commented on PANW. Bank of America boosted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $227.06.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Palo Alto Networks
Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 31,000 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,290,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 45,947 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,840,000 after purchasing an additional 4,215 shares during the period. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 707.1% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 84,806 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $14,471,000 after purchasing an additional 74,298 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.
About Palo Alto Networks
(
Get 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.
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