Aubrey Capital Management Ltd Purchases New Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Aubrey Capital Management Ltd initiated a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter, buying 14,000 shares worth about $2.58 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with CAO Josh D. Paul and EVP Dipak Golechha both selling shares; over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,356 shares worth nearly $5.0 million.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.03 EPS on $2.59 billion in revenue, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $211.64.

Aubrey Capital Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,000 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,579,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% during 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 last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during 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 last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares in the company, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock worth $4,981,575. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $185.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.64.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $207.88 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $166.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $180.61. The company has a market capitalization of $169.63 billion, a PE ratio of 114.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.49 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.

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

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.

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