Cercano Management LLC Has $19.57 Million Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Cercano Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 44.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,090 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 77,938 shares during the quarter. Cercano Management LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $19,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the third quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $558,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Mattern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. PTM Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. PTM Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total value of $23,177,738.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total value of $2,441,625.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. This trade represents a 14.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock worth $49,910,995 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 2.1%

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $163.50 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.48, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 11.69% and a return on equity of 17.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PANW shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. UBS Group set a $215.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. DA Davidson cut their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Thirty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.89.

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.