Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $57.92 Million Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 283,832 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 30,793 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $57,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $29,000. MTM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $31,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 39.7% in the third 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 period. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total value of $147,848.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at $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. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $149.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.91 billion, a PE ratio of 82.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.75. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $223.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $175.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.82.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm 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. Research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, UBS Group set a $183.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $211.62.

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.