Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Position Lessened by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) by 11.9%, selling 2,196 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 16,214 shares valued at approximately $2,767,000.
• Palo Alto Networks reported $0.80 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.77, and showed a 15.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $209.42 for Palo Alto Networks, with the company currently holding a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Howard Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,214 shares of the network technology company's stock after selling 2,196 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $2,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.4% in the first quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,271 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 64.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 141 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.4% in the first quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,047 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $691,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 2.5% in the first quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 2,310 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JDM Financial Group LLC increased its position in Palo Alto Networks by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. JDM Financial Group LLC now owns 322 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 79.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, Director Aparna Bawa sold 526 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $99,940.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,640,080. This trade represents a 5.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Dipak Golechha sold 5,000 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.85, for a total value of $1,009,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 101,135 shares in the company, valued at $20,414,099.75. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 569,248 shares of company stock worth $111,279,829 in the last quarter. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PANW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. HSBC raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $156.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $225.00 to $221.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded shares of Palo Alto Networks from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and twenty-six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.61.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock traded down $0.72 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $172.88. The stock had a trading volume of 16,231,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,904,851. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.79, a PEG ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 0.97. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.01 and a 1-year high of $210.39. The stock's fifty day moving average is $196.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.19.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current year.

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.