GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Acquires 18,408 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• GF Fund Management raised its Palo Alto Networks stake by 11.3% in Q4, buying 18,408 shares to hold 181,902 shares worth about $33.5 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Palo Alto Networks beat quarterly estimates with $1.03 EPS vs. $0.94 expected and revenue of $2.59 billion (up 14.9% year-over-year), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target near $209.95.
• Insider activity shows recent selling — 30,356 shares sold in the past 90 days (~$5.0M) — while institutional investors own roughly 79.8% of the stock and corporate insiders hold 1.4%.

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 181,902 shares of the network technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,408 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $33,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Steph & Co. increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 88.2% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 143 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 96.1% in the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 149 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 72.7% in the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 152 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter worth about $31,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PANW opened at $167.85 on Friday. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $223.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $160.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.42.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. DA Davidson set a $190.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Citizens Jmp restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $209.95.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $802,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,103,105. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $161.40, for a total value of $177,540.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 83,136 shares in the company, valued at $13,418,150.40. The trade was a 1.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks 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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