<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Ascent Group LLC grew its position in  Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 231.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,569 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,865 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Palo Alto Networks</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>CrowdStrike Is Still Best-in-Breed—But 2026 May Be a Tough Trade</li></ul><p>Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of  Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000.  Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of  Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% in the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period.  Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in  Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in  Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000.  Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in  Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks</h2><p>In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total value of $940,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.39, for a total transaction of $132,573.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,805 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,864,398.95. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 381,222 shares of company stock valued at $78,762,727 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders. </p><h2>Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance</h2><ul><li>Top 3 Winter Stocks With Solid Growth Opportunities</li></ul><p>Shares of PANW opened at $184.20 on Thursday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.15 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $198.32 and a 200 day moving average of $196.80. The firm has a market cap of $128.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 116.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.79. </p><p>Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.04. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis.  As a group, research analysts predict that  Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><ul><li>Okta: Excuses to Sell Vs. Reasons to Buy</li></ul><p>A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PANW. Jefferies Financial Group  reaffirmed a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $250.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Needham &amp; Company LLC  restated a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $232.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an &#34;outperform&#34; rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group  reiterated a &#34;buy&#34; rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $236.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Palo Alto Networks from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;reduce&#34; rating and set a $157.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Thirty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued  a Hold rating and two have assigned  a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock  has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average price target of $226.20.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Analysis on Palo Alto Networks</b></p><h2>About Palo Alto Networks</h2> (Free Report)<p>Palo Alto Networks <span>NASDAQ: PANW<span></span></span> 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.  </p><p>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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Palo Alto Networks</li><li>The Best $1 You'll Spend This Holiday Season</li><li>Holiday surprise: $1 gets you everything</li><li>America’s “most deplorable” Christmas sale</li><li>Market Panic: Trump Just Dropped a Bomb on Your Stocks</li><li>Your family's wealth expires in 2026?</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9UEFOVw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9UEFOVw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Palo Alto Networks Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Palo Alto Networks, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Palo Alto Networks wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Palo Alto Networks currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

PANW

<p>Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 231% in Q3, acquiring an additional 10,865 shares, bringing its total to 15,569 shares valued at $3.17 million. Other investors also adjusted their holdings, with 79.82% of the stock owned by institutional investors. Recent insider transactions included sales by EVP Dipak Golechha and CAO Josh D. Paul. Palo Alto Networks reported Q3 earnings of $0.93 per share, exceeding estimates, with revenue of $2.47 billion, a 15.7% year-over-year increase. Analysts maintain a positive outlook with several buy ratings and target price increases.</p>

Ascent Group LLC Buys 10,865 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW