Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 338.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,845 shares of the network technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,900 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $6,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PANW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the second quarter valued at $675,865,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Palo Alto Networks by 108.3% in 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 buying an additional 1,282,738 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 2.0% in 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. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 97.9% during the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,104,939 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $430,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth approximately $162,161,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have commented on PANW. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $157.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Barclays set a $200.00 price target on Palo Alto Networks and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group set a $183.00 price objective on Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $200.00 target price on Palo Alto Networks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $210.19.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Palo Alto Networks
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 22,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.41, for a total value of $3,729,476.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 52,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,631,525. This represents a 30.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,768 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.03, for a total transaction of $23,070,311.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 298,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,096,383.61. The trade was a 28.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 144,252 shares of company stock valued at $26,947,635 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Palo Alto Networks Price Performance
PANW stock opened at $156.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.78. The stock has a market cap of $127.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.39, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.78. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $139.57 and a 1 year high of $223.61.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The network technology company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 17.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Palo Alto Networks Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PANW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report).
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