Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Acquired by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,546 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 3,771 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $15,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 29.4% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,155 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $6,547,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $136,859,000 after acquiring an additional 384,985 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $277,828,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,389,000 after acquiring an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: CEO insider buy — Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares (~$10.0M) at an average price near $146.87, raising his direct stake to ~343,394 shares (a ~24.7% increase). Markets often treat sizable insider purchases as a bullish signal about valuation and near‑term outlook. CNBC: Palo Alto shares pop as CEO Nikesh Arora buys stock for first time in years
• Positive Sentiment: Product momentum — Palo Alto’s Prisma AIRS is being highlighted for rapid customer growth, rising bookings and expanding AI security capabilities, supporting medium‑term revenue growth expectations if adoption continues. Zacks: Is Prisma AIRS Emerging as a Key Growth Driver for Palo Alto Networks?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance — Several firms maintain Buy/Overweight ratings and price targets well above the current level (consensus target roughly ~$210), providing potential upside but reflecting varied views on valuation vs. growth. Barron’s: Tech Stocks Look Cheap but Some Are a ‘Value Trap’
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/positioning context — Trading volume is above average today, but the share price remains below the 50‑ and 200‑day moving averages; that can limit follow‑through unless sentiment or fundamentals change. InsiderTrades: PANW CEO Buys 68,085 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Sector headwinds from AI fears — Cybersecurity names have been under pressure as investors debate whether AI tools reduce the need for traditional security or instead expand the attack surface; that controversy has depressed multiples and could mute a sustained rally unless clarity emerges. 247WallSt: Palo Alto Networks CEO Drops $10M on His Own Stock After Saying AI “Expands the Attack Surface Area”

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.19.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora acquired 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.81, for a total transaction of $147,848.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,005 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,502,184.05. This trade represents a 1.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 144,252 shares of company stock valued at $26,947,635. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW stock opened at $154.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $125.95 billion, a PE ratio of 85.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.98.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.Palo Alto Networks’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks 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.