Jennison Associates LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 45.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,908 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 23,990 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $14,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

Shares of PANW opened at $181.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.78 billion, a PE ratio of 100.05, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora bought 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PANW. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $265.00 price target (up from $230.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $210.07.

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.