Clearstead Advisors LLC Purchases 4,648 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,800 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,648 shares during the quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $24,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the second quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 176 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at $29,190,293.42. This trade represents a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.91, for a total transaction of $23,177,738.34. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 327,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,878,351.95. This represents a 26.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

PANW opened at $148.70 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $178.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.15, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.75.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto announced the planned acquisition of Koi, a startup focused on agentic endpoint security — a strategic move to plug AI-related security gaps and expand its AI/security platform footprint. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to Acquire Koi
• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto filed an offer relating to CyberArk’s convertible notes tied to its CyberArk acquisition, signaling active balance-sheet management as it closes recent M&A. This helps reassure investors that integration and financing steps are being executed. Palo Alto Networks Announces Offer to Purchase Relating to CyberArk Software Ltd.’s Notes
• Positive Sentiment: Recent quarter showed revenue and EPS roughly in line-to-slightly-better-than expectations and management raised revenue guidance at the low end, supporting the case for durable topline growth driven by platform and subscription momentum. (Company releases and analyst coverage)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several firms reiterated Outperform/Buy ratings (e.g., Citizens JMP, Wedbush, RBC, Rosenblatt) — indicating pockets of institutional confidence even as some analysts trimmed estimates.
• Negative Sentiment: A cluster of analyst downgrades and price-target cuts hit PANW, driving headline selling and raising near-term skepticism about margin recovery amid integration costs. See coverage of the downgrade-driven selloff. Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 6.8% on Analyst Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Susquehanna cut its price target (and multiple banks including Goldman, HSBC, Mizuho, BMO and others issued more pessimistic forecasts or lowered targets), amplifying pressure on the stock’s near-term outlook. Susquehanna Lowers Palo Alto Networks Price Target to $200.00
• Negative Sentiment: HSBC notably cut its target to $114, highlighting the range of analyst views and contributing to sentiment-driven selling. HSBC Adjusts Price Target on Palo Alto Networks to $114
• Negative Sentiment: Unusually large put-option buying and elevated volume/gap-down trading indicate traders are positioned for further near-term weakness; this increases volatility and can exacerbate downward moves until clarity on integration costs and margin recovery arrives.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. New Street Research lowered their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday. Thirty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $212.51.

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.