Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Sells 9,448 Shares of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. $PANW

Key Points

• Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. cut its Palo Alto Networks stake by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,448 shares and leaving it with 129,343 shares valued at about $23.8 million.
• Institutional interest remains strong, with several other large investors boosting positions and roughly 79.82% of PANW stock now held by institutions.
• Analysts remain upbeat after the company beat recent earnings estimates, with multiple firms raising price targets to as high as $275 and maintaining Buy/Outperform ratings.

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 129,343 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 9,448 shares during the quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $23,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,772,000. Saranac Partners Ltd boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Saranac Partners Ltd now owns 3,596 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,047 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 547,696 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $100,886,000 after purchasing an additional 113,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,819 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director John P. Key sold 1,572 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.32, for a total transaction of $272,459.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,466,400. The trade was a 7.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $802,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 150,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,103,105. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,356 shares of company stock valued at $4,981,575 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Palo Alto Networks News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $275 and kept a Buy rating, signaling confidence in continued upside for Palo Alto Networks. Truist raises PANW target
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer lifted its target to $275 and reiterated an Outperform rating after noting encouraging signs from the company’s CyberArk-related product launch and customer feedback. Oppenheimer lifts PANW target
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho increased its target to $265 and maintained an Outperform rating, citing strength in subscriptions and possible upside to remaining performance obligations. Mizuho raises PANW target
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt also raised its target to $275 and kept a Buy rating, adding to the broad analyst optimism around the stock. Rosenblatt positive forecast
• Positive Sentiment: CEO Nikesh Arora said AI is expected to help engineers ship more features, not reduce headcount, suggesting the company sees AI as a growth driver rather than a cost-cutting story. Business Insider article
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider buying was highlighted as value-positive, but the item is more of a confidence signal than a clear near-term catalyst. Insider buying article
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted the stock has rallied sharply and is technically overbought, which could make it vulnerable to volatility if upcoming earnings disappoint. Technical analysis article

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $240.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 132.67, a PEG ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.77. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $248.85.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PANW has been the topic of several research reports. BTIG Research lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $223.00 price target (down from $245.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $212.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Arete Research upgraded Palo Alto Networks from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $230.00 to $200.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Palo Alto Networks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.49.

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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