Strategic Global Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Strategic Global Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,064 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 1,669 shares during the quarter. Strategic Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PANW. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 97.2% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 140 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 246.3% in the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 265.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Westpark Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $196.40 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.46.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total value of $22,858,894.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 293,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,458,002.70. This represents a 29.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 317,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 568,962 shares of company stock valued at $96,933,690 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $192.98 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.72, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 1.02. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.01 and a 52 week high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The network technology company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.06. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 14.64% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.