Forsta AP Fonden Sells 2,300 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Palo Alto Networks by selling 2,300 shares, resulting in total holdings of 197,700 shares valued at approximately $33.74 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, with Vanguard Group lifting its holdings by 2.5% and Capital Research Global Investors raising theirs by 83.8%.
• Palo Alto Networks recently reported $2.29 billion in revenue for the quarter, a 15.3% increase year-over-year, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.28 billion.

Forsta AP Fonden cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 197,700 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 2,300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $33,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 100.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Down 0.6%

PANW traded down $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,831,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,794,964. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $194.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.92. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.15 and a 12 month high of $210.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.94.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,143,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $543,199,564.80. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total transaction of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,414,099.75. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 669,248 shares of company stock valued at $126,423,337 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PANW. Stephens cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "sell" rating and set a $130.00 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price objective 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, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

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.