Hartline Investment Corp Lowers Position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Hartline Investment Corp lessened its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 46,579 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 1,337 shares during the quarter. Palo Alto Networks makes up approximately 1.1% of Hartline Investment Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $7,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PANW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 104.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,233,907 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $11,142,122,000 after buying an additional 31,281,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Palo Alto Networks by 87.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,382,116 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $2,611,013,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725,148 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at $970,736,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 133.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,842,647 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,427,048,000 after acquiring an additional 4,486,654 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 8,427,062 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,533,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,841,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of PANW stock traded up $4.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $201.50. 2,561,725 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,398,532. The firm's 50-day moving average is $193.35 and its 200 day moving average is $185.44. The company has a market capitalization of $134.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 115.14, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.01 and a 1 year high of $208.39.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,774 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.13, for a total transaction of $18,252,574.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 321,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $48,629,704.62. The trade was a 27.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.05, for a total transaction of $160,840.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 42,033 shares in the company, valued at $8,450,734.65. This trade represents a 1.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 668,722 shares of company stock worth $121,714,798 in the last 90 days. 2.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. HSBC upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on 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. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Roth Capital assumed coverage on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and twenty-seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.00.

Palo Alto Networks Company 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.