Aviso Wealth Management Trims Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Aviso Wealth Management has reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 47.1%, now owning 2,552 shares valued at $435,000.
• Insider activity showed notable sales, including EVP Lee Klarich selling 120,774 shares worth approximately $22.86 million, reducing his ownership by 29.19%.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Palo Alto Networks, with the average target around $209.61 and fourteen analysts rating the stock as a hold.

Aviso Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 47.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,552 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 2,272 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.27, for a total transaction of $22,858,894.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 293,010 shares in the company, valued at $55,458,002.70. The trade was a 29.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PANW opened at $172.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.79, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.20. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $210.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Northland Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $210.00 to $177.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $209.61.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.

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