Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Shares Sold by Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA

Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA cut its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 93.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,175 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 43,437 shares during the period. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 169.1% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,212 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 66.3% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,484 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $713,000 after buying an additional 1,389 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 9.3% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 242,851 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $49,697,000 after buying an additional 20,649 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $224.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. New Street Research lowered their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $240.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.19.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total value of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 149,252 shares of company stock valued at $27,888,535 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.7%

PANW stock opened at $167.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $136.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.27, a PEG ratio of 6.07 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.57 and a twelve month high of $223.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is $169.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.47.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.