Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) CAO Josh Paul Sells 900 Shares of Stock

Key Points

  • Insider sale: Chief Accounting Officer Josh Paul sold 900 Palo Alto Networks shares for approximately $318,000, reducing his ownership by 1.21% while retaining 73,354 shares.
  • Strong operating performance: Palo Alto Networks exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue expectations, reporting $0.85 EPS and $3.0 billion in revenue, with revenue up 31.1% year over year.
  • Positive analyst sentiment but elevated valuation: The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $365.87 average price target, while shares recently traded near $383 and carried a very high P/E ratio of 313.81.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) CAO Josh Paul sold 900 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.77, for a total transaction of $318,393.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 73,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,950,444.58. The trade was a 1.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 12.8%

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $382.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $312.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 313.81, a PEG ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $139.57 and a 1-year high of $398.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $342.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.58. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.02 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup




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

  • Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target for Palo Alto Networks to $384, modestly above the current trading level, while maintaining its view of the cybersecurity company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Palo Alto Networks Price Target
  • Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly constructive: BTIG reaffirmed a “Buy” rating, and other Wall Street commentary continues to characterize PANW as a buy and a cybersecurity stock worth researching. Wall Street Analysts See Palo Alto as a Buy Benchmark Analyst Expects Palo Alto Stock to Rise
  • Neutral Sentiment: Investors are focused on estimates for PANW’s fiscal fourth quarter ended July 2026, including key operating metrics beyond revenue and earnings. The upcoming results could become the next major catalyst. Palo Alto Q4 Performance Estimates
  • Neutral Sentiment: Broader markets may remain sensitive to next week’s U.S. jobs report and its implications for Federal Reserve policy, which could influence high-growth technology valuations. The Week Ahead: August Jobs Report Takes Center Stage
  • Negative Sentiment: Chief Accounting Officer Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares for approximately $318,000. The sale reduced his holdings by 1.21%, a relatively small transaction but a potential short-term sentiment headwind. SEC Insider Transaction Filing
  • Negative Sentiment: BTIG’s $380 price target is slightly below PANW’s current level despite its Buy rating, while the stock’s very high earnings multiple leaves it vulnerable to disappointment if growth or guidance slows. BTIG Reiterates Buy Rating on Palo Alto Networks

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PANW. Capital One Financial set a $421.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $370.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. New Street Research set a $415.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, forty have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $365.87.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Palo Alto Networks

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 125.0% during the 2nd quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 81 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 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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