Hodges Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 3,784 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,784 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $607,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the 4th quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham & Company raised its price target on Palo Alto Networks (PANW) to $425 from $350 and reiterated a Buy rating, implying further upside versus the current share price. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG and Wells Fargo both lifted price targets on Palo Alto Networks, citing stronger operating momentum and continued demand for AI-driven security solutions, helping push the stock to a record high. Palo Alto Networks stock hits record high as analysts raise price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Additional coverage highlighted PANW as one of the high-growth cybersecurity stocks to own, reinforcing the bullish sentiment around the name. Here’s Why Palo Alto (PANW) is Among the 8 High Growth Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: One recent article noted that while Palo Alto Networks remains a strong company, valuation may be stretched at current levels, which could temper enthusiasm for some investors. Palo Alto Networks: Great Company, But Don’t Buy At Nosebleed Prices

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $357.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $291.39 billion, a PE ratio of 293.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $258.43 and a 200-day moving average of $201.50. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $139.57 and a one year high of $368.17.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 7.95%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.00, for a total value of $310,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 79,644 shares in the company, valued at $27,477,180. This trade represents a 1.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 290 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $348.74, for a total transaction of $101,134.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,244,839.38. This trade represents a 4.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 102,111 shares of company stock valued at $27,204,024. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on PANW shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. DA Davidson increased their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $330.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.78.

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.