Bearing Point Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Bearing Point Capital LLC increased its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 24.3% during the first quarter, now holding 60,287 shares worth approximately $10.29 million.
• Palo Alto Networks received mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price averaging $209.42.
• Insiders have sold significant amounts of stock in the last 90 days, with a total of 569,248 shares valued at over $111 million sold by executives.

Bearing Point Capital LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 24.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,287 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,797 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks makes up 2.2% of Bearing Point Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bearing Point Capital LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $10,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Kiely Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 150 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Barclays lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.42.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $203.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $135.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 116.15, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day moving average is $196.34 and its 200 day moving average is $186.72. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39.

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

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.86, for a total value of $24,258,665.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 235,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,298,914.52. This represents a 33.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock valued at $111,279,829. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Palo Alto Networks

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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