GAM Holding AG Acquires Shares of 16,911 Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,911 shares of the network technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,886,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 47.9% in the 1st quarter. Worth Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,691 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 161.8% in the first quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,780 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.7% in the first quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 32,859 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $5,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Dupont Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the first quarter worth $4,977,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.4% during the first quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,139 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,778,000 after buying an additional 10,390 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $39,281,220.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 317,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $54,854,038.83. This trade represents a 41.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 264,246 shares in the company, valued at $51,564,964.44. This trade represents a 31.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528. Insiders own 2.50% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Shares of PANW stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $199.24. The stock had a trading volume of 8,285,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,444,625. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.85 billion, a PE ratio of 113.85, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average is $187.43 and its 200 day moving average is $185.20. 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 released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 13.95% and a return on equity of 19.48%. Palo Alto Networks's revenue for the quarter was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PANW shares. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 note on Wednesday, May 21st. 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 report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Roth Capital started coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.00.

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.