Generali Investments Management Co LLC Lowers Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Generali Investments Management cut its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 11.5% in Q4, selling 6,261 shares and retaining 48,140 shares worth about $8.87 million, roughly 1.8% of its portfolio and the firm's 12th largest holding.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently, disposing of 30,356 shares over the past three months (about $4.98 million), leaving insiders with roughly 1.40% ownership.
• Analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $210.07, supported by recent earnings that beat estimates and ~14.9% year‑over‑year revenue growth.

Generali Investments Management Co LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,140 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 6,261 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks accounts for about 1.8% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $8,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PANW. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,467,692 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $502,263,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282,738 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,269,963 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $13,290,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253,589 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $162,161,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Palo Alto Networks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $151,682,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,532,201 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $750,875,000 after acquiring an additional 708,332 shares during the period. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total value of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,100 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total transaction of $177,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 83,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,418,150.40. This represents a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Mizuho set a $200.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $209.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $210.07.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of PANW stock opened at $178.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $161.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.30. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $139.57 and a 52 week high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.69 billion, a PE ratio of 98.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 0.77.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.09. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company's product portfolio includes next‑generation firewalls as a core on‑premises capability, alongside cloud‑delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.

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