Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 8,737 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 347,807 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,737 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 0.9% of Advisors Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Palo Alto Networks worth $70,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.2% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,794 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,809,000 after acquiring an additional 6,424 shares during the last quarter. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth $778,000. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at about $210,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 29.1% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 29,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $5,931,000 after buying an additional 6,564 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Investment Management boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 6.7% during the third quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 140,227 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,553,000 after buying an additional 8,786 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beats and solid growth — PANW posted $1.03 EPS and roughly $2.6B revenue (≈15% YoY), topping estimates and showing Next‑Generation Security ARR up ~33%, evidence of durable demand. Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue outlook upgraded — management raised full‑year revenue guidance to about $11.28B–$11.31B, a meaningful lift vs. prior range, signaling top‑line confidence. Palo Alto Networks Lifts Revenue Outlook as Second-Quarter Profit Jumps
• Neutral Sentiment: Product and research initiatives aim to monetize AI security demand — launches like MSIAM 2.0 and a Unit 42 report highlight strategic focus on AI‑era threats, supportive longer‑term catalysts but not immediate earnings relief. Palo Alto Networks Introduces MSIAM 2.0
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst activity mixed — some price‑target trims (e.g., Mizuho) but buy/positive ratings remain; watch revisions for guidance sensitivity. Price Target Lowered by Mizuho
• Negative Sentiment: Profit and cost concerns weighed on shares — management flagged rising costs tied to recent deals and cut/trimmed annual profit expectations, which the market interpreted as margin pressure from acquisitions. Palo Alto Networks cuts annual profit forecast as deal costs bite, shares fall
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term profit/guidance reaction — despite raising FY revenue, the company’s quarterly profit guidance and messaging around margins disappointed some investors, contributing to after‑hours/early selling. Palo Alto Networks slumps 6% as third quarter profit guidance falls short
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition (Koi) raised execution and cost concerns — the announced Koi deal aims to expand AI endpoint capabilities but added short‑term integration/cost uncertainty that pressured sentiment. Palo Alto Networks Announces Intent to Acquire Koi

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 75,184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. This represents a 3.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $163.50 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.21. The firm has a market cap of $113.96 billion, a PE ratio of 103.48, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.15 and a 1-year high of $223.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.650-3.700 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.800 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up previously from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Monday, December 29th. HSBC cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and set a $157.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.89.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.