Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 32,443 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 8.8% in Q2 2023, selling 32,443 shares, and now holds approximately $68.8 million worth of the stock.
• Analysts have positive expectations for Palo Alto Networks, with most issuing a "buy" rating and an average price target around $214.95.
• Insider selling has been noted, with Palo Alto's EVP Nir Zuk selling 100,000 shares for over $17 million in August 2023, marking a 3.08% decrease in his ownership.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lessened its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 8.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 336,272 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 32,443 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up about 1.6% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI owned about 0.05% of Palo Alto Networks worth $68,815,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $33,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 58.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 224 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 232 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. New Street Research lifted their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. UBS Group set a $245.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Twenty-eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.80, for a total transaction of $17,280,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. This trade represents a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.19, for a total value of $1,020,950.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,629,805.65. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,315,130 shares of company stock valued at $260,687,367. Company insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ:PANW opened at $215.17 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a one year low of $144.15 and a one year high of $217.94. The company has a market cap of $143.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $192.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.02.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 18th. The network technology company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.30% and a return on equity of 17.66%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue was up 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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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