361,633 Shares in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Bought by Mirova US LLC

Mirova US LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 361,633 shares of the network technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,638,000. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 1.6% of Mirova US LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth $26,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $28,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Palo Alto Networks news, President William D. Jenkins, Jr. sold 1,867 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.13, for a total transaction of $523,002.71. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 25,812 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,230,715.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553 in the last three months. 3.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $277.48. 976,335 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,589,125. The firm has a market cap of $89.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.26, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $176.30 and a 52-week high of $380.84. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $300.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.27.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 36.58% and a net margin of 30.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PANW shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $400.00 to $325.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler cut Palo Alto Networks from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $350.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities cut Palo Alto Networks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $290.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $315.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $378.00 to $327.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.82.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

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.