Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW Stock Holdings Decreased by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc lessened its stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,797 shares of the network technology company’s stock after selling 8,791 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $27,447,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, MTM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PANW shares. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Thirty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.36.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ PANW opened at $165.51 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $115.36 billion, a PE ratio of 104.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.93.

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

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The shares were 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 owned 298,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,096,383.61. This represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.18, for a total transaction of $940,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 155,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,190,293.42. The trade was a 3.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 260,542 shares of company stock valued at $49,910,995 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.