Community Bank N.A. Raises Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

by · The Cerbat Gem

Community Bank N.A. grew its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW – Free Report) by 19.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,017 shares of the network technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $1,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.1% during the second quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 10,886 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 5.3% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 57,163 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $11,698,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.1% in the second quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,467 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% in the second quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 6,172 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $1,263,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 846,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.06, for a total transaction of $172,718,016.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 275,013 shares in the company, valued at $56,119,152.78. This represents a 75.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.92, for a total transaction of $25,594,426.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 149,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,616,344.80. This trade represents a 44.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

PANW stock opened at $213.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $142.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.88, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.56. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $217.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.8% on a year-over-year basis. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PANW shares. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, September 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $245.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $232.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. New Street Research upped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Twenty-nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PANW

Palo Alto Networks Profile

(Free Report)

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.

Further Reading

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