Generali Investments Management Co LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC cut its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 31.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,106 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 10,404 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises 1.1% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $3,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the 1st quarter valued at $328,000. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 12,637 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 110.0% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 13,493 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067 shares in the last quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 9,378 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Management Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 9,032 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $2.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $199.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,304,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,524,412. The firm's 50 day moving average is $180.48 and its 200 day moving average is $185.09. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.01 and a twelve month high of $208.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.45, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.97.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 21.93% and a net margin of 14.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $217.50 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $208.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Nir Zuk sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.41, for a total value of $16,541,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,543,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,132,981.56. This trade represents a 2.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 227,414 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total value of $39,281,220.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 789,736 shares of company stock valued at $139,837,528 in the last three months. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

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.