EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Sells 2,816 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. decreased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,849 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 2,816 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $5,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 6,400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 130 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $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 bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $235.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $228.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Thirty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.09.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of PANW opened at $184.22 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $188.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.91. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $223.61. The company has a market capitalization of $128.40 billion, a PE ratio of 116.59, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.76.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.05% and a net margin of 11.69%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.94, for a total transaction of $26,321,485.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 356,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,675,777.46. This trade represents a 25.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.33, for a total transaction of $2,441,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 75,184 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,685,690.72. The trade was a 14.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 382,016 shares of company stock worth $76,386,460 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company 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.