Entropy Technologies LP Sells 5,057 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Entropy Technologies LP decreased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 51.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,749 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 5,057 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $810,000 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 PANW. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 147.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,761 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,031 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 115.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 43,985 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $8,004,000 after purchasing an additional 23,586 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,440 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 110.6% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 554,578 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $100,932,000 after acquiring an additional 291,219 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 19,672 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,580,000 after acquiring an additional 9,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PANW. Barclays reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $213.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Roth Capital began coverage on Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp downgraded Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $217.52.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.14, for a total value of $23,567,838.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 264,246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $51,564,964.44. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total transaction of $99,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,632 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,080. This represents a 5.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock worth $126,423,337 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 4.3%

PANW stock opened at $175.40 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $193.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $186.70. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.15 and a 52-week high of $210.39. The firm has a market cap of $116.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.23, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.94.

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