KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Grows Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 290,142 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 8,900 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $53,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 804 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,057 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Financial LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 130,629 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $24,062,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares in the last quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 997,868 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $185,221,000 after purchasing an additional 21,310 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, with a total value of $9,999,643.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This represents a 24.73% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total transaction of $3,729,476.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 3.2%

PANW opened at $174.96 on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.77 billion, a PE ratio of 96.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.12 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $160.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.61.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Palo Alto Networks’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Palo Alto Networks

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.