Abacus FCF Advisors LLC Sells 10,406 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Abacus FCF Advisors LLC trimmed its PANW stake by 12.3%, selling 10,406 shares and leaving it with 74,257 shares valued at $13.68 million, which represents 1.8% of the fund and is its 21st largest holding.
• Company insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares valued at $4.98 million last quarter, including Director James J. Goetz's sale of 22,684 shares ($3.73M) and John P. Key's 1,572-share sale, leaving insiders with 1.40% ownership.
• Several analysts have cut price targets (e.g., JPMorgan to $200, Morgan Stanley to $223, UBS to $183), but the consensus remains a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $210.07.

Abacus FCF Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,257 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 10,406 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 1.8% of Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $13,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $75,412,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 134.1% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 672,129 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $136,859,000 after buying an additional 384,985 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,364,442 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $277,828,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 240.1% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 11,732 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,389,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 38.4% during the third quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 54,401 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $11,077,000 after buying an additional 15,091 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "outperform" rating 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This trade represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of PANW opened at $178.54 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $139.57 and a fifty-two week high of $223.61. The company's fifty day moving average is $161.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.10. The firm has a market cap of $145.69 billion, a PE ratio of 98.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.