Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,012 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,464 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 196.2% in the fourth quarter. Luken Investment Analytics LLC now owns 154 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palo Alto Networks

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

• Positive Sentiment: PANW is benefiting from a broad cybersecurity rally, with buyers moving into the group after cooler-than-expected inflation data eased pressure on high-valuation tech stocks. CrowdStrike Climbs 11%, Palo Alto Rises 7% as Cybersecurity Stocks Rally on Cooling Inflation
• Positive Sentiment: IBM’s warning about “rapidly-evolving” cybersecurity concerns is also lifting sentiment across the sector, as it suggests more corporate demand for security tools and services. IBM Heads for Worst Day Ever — But Why Are Cybersecurity Stocks Up?
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer called Palo Alto Networks “unbelievable,” adding another bullish headline that can help support investor enthusiasm around the stock. Jim Cramer Reveals Why Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) Is “Unbelievable”
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent articles note that PANW has attracted heavy investor attention and has already delivered strong gains over the past year, which underscores momentum but does not add a new fundamental catalyst. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analyst-style coverage still points to higher integration costs and says Zscaler has the edge on valuation and Zero Trust adoption, which is more of a relative comparison than a direct blow to PANW. PANW vs. ZS: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PANW shares. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $209.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $350.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-nine have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.96.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 6.8%

PANW stock opened at $352.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $368.17. The company’s 50 day moving average is $280.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.93. The stock has a market cap of $287.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 289.25, a PEG ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 7.95% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue 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. Research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Helle Thorning-Schmidt sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $346.85, for a total value of $242,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,898 shares in the company, valued at $2,045,721.30. This represents a 10.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total value of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,598,000. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 101,239 shares of company stock valued at $27,174,360 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.