Lee Klarich Sells 62,904 Shares of Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 235,983 shares in the company, valued at $61,037,002.95. The trade was a 21.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $257.77 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.27. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $261.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 142.41, a PEG ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 0.77.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% in the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $11,077,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,554,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Palo Alto Networks News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms raised their price targets on PANW this week, including Benchmark to $270, Wedbush to $300, and Wells Fargo reaffirming a Buy with a $285 target, reinforcing optimism around the company’s long-term growth story. Benchmark price target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat on Palo Alto Networks’ platform expansion and cybersecurity demand, with coverage framing the company as a potential beneficiary of AI-driven security needs. AI security supercycle article
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports ahead of Q3 earnings highlight strong platform growth, but investors are waiting for confirmation in the company’s results and guidance before making a bigger move. Q3 earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Market chatter around the upcoming earnings release and key operating metrics is keeping PANW in focus, but this is more of a wait-and-see catalyst than a fresh driver. Wall Street estimates preview
• Negative Sentiment: Some investors are cautious because acquisition costs are rising and share dilution could pressure near-term earnings quality. Acquisition costs and dilution concern
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment across cybersecurity stocks has also been pressured by weak peer guidance, and an insider sale by EVP Lee Klarich added a modest overhang. Insider sale

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Benchmark lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.28.

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.